Historic Boats
One of Galway’s fleet of traditional craft has been lit in Ukrainian national colours in support of the people of Ukraine The Naomh Cronán is decked out in yellow and blue on Galway’s Claddagh basin each evening after sunset. The…
Royal Cork's Paris Boat Show announcement last December that there is to be a dedicated Classics Class at Volvo Cork Week has been receiving a steady uptake of entries. As Afloat reported earlier, a former famous Morning Cloud yacht from the…
Focus on The Sailing Trawlers of Ringsend at Cormac Lowth Lecture in Dun Laoghaire's Maritime Museum
11th March 2022 Historic Boats
Maritime historian Cormac Lowth will present the final talk in The National Maritime Museum's winter series when he discusses the Sailing Trawlers of Ringsend on Thursday, 24th March at 7.30 pm. For one hundred years, from 1818 until 1919, there was a…
Currachs take to the water in Barcelona, Spain this Sunday to mark Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations. The 11th annual Mediterranean Currach regatta is a festival of Irish heritage and culture, run by the Iomramh Cultural Association and the Irish in…
Shackleton's Endurance Shipwreck Found in the Weddell Sea a Century After Explorer's Funeral
10th March 2022 News Update
Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endurance has been located in Antarctica’s Weddell Sea just 106 years after it was crushed in ice. The wreck of the ship has been filmed by the Endurance 22 expedition at a depth of 3009 metres (9868…
The search for the remains of Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic-exploring achieved success today with ghostly images of the remarkably well-preserved vessel being sent to the search expedition. Afloat has more on the story here
It’s good news that a proper Classics Division is going to be included in Volvo Cork Week in July, and it’s even better news that one of the first to step up to the plate is Opposition, the gold standard…
The boating community and those who treasured the maritime heritage of County Fermanagh’s Lough Erne learned with shock last weekend of the sudden death of Fred Ternan. Fred was a true son of Fermanagh. He was born on Inniscoonra Island…
Lecture: 'The Sailing Trawlers of Ringsend' at the National Maritime Museum, Dun Laoghaire
2nd March 2022 Historic Boats
A lecture 'The Sailing Trawlers of Ringsend' is to be held in the National Maritime Museum of Ireland, Dun Laoghaire. The lecture is to take place on Thursday, March 24th (19:30 – 21:00). Cormac Lowth will explore the Ringsend Trawlers…
In recent years we’ve become accustomed to the handsome blue mini-cruise-liner St Bridget plying her day-excursion trade along the coasts around Dublin Bay between Dublin Port, Howth and Dun Laoghaire. She’s now a welcome and integral part of the summer…
Fund-Raising Campaign to Save Veteran Timber Hulled Former Minesweeper on Merseyside
28th February 2022 Historic Boats
A fund-raising campaign is underway to save and restore a former UK Royal Navy minesweeper that lies partially submerged in Birkenhead Dock on Merseyside. HMS Bronington which belonged to the 'Ton' class of minesweepers, where intended to meet the threat…
Kilrush Adds St Ayles Skiff to Shannon Estuary’s Growing Traditional Fleet
22nd February 2022 Coastal Rowing
Kilrush may be best known internationally these days as the place where the Dublin Bay 21 fleet - originally from 1902 - is being re-born through the developing skills of the Steve Morris-led boat-building team in the south Clare harbour…
Dublin Bay Old Gaffers to Hear Tale of Báidín, a Chameleon Nesting Dinghy
22nd February 2022 Dublin Bay Old Gaffers
In the latest Dublin Bay Old Gaffers Zoom talk Mark Sweetman will recount his search for a nesting dinghy design to suit his needs and how he ended up building one himself. For a long time, Mark wanted a hard tender…
There’s a great buzz of woodworking activity in the Belleek Men’s Shed and on West Island in County Fermanagh. But this is no ordinary woodworking – this is the building of traditional Lough Erne Cots. The Cot was originally a…
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Dublin Bay sailors can walk very tall indeed. Their selections over the years of various One Design concepts have spread worldwide among discerning owners, who appreciated that the Dublin Bay sailors’…
An Rás Mór, Cork harbour’s Ocean to City race, returns to the water this June after a break of two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Registration will open on March 1st for the multi-craft rowing and paddling race set…