Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Paul O’Higgins’ JPK1080 Rockabill VI from the Royal Irish Yacht Club on Dublin Bay has won the ICRA Boat of the Year Award to round off a stand out 2019 season. Rockabill’s wins in the high scoring ICRA Nationals and…

The 2020 ORC/IRC World Championship will be held September 25 to October 3, 2020, at the New York Yacht Club Harbour Court in Newport, R.I but it is not known if any Irish boats are planning to compete. As Afloat…

Representatives of the International Rating Certificate (IRC) from around the world met in France for two days of debate and discussion at the beginning of October. The 2019 Congress was hosted by l’Union Nationale pour la Course au Large (UNCL)…

Jacob VII ends the RC35 season with another regatta victory but it's still not enough to unseat reigning champions Animal from securing back to back Scottish RC35 Championships writes Robin Young. The RC35 fleet, racing in the final round of…

When the J/24 Headcase snatched the overall win in the final races of the J/24 Nationals 2019 on Lough Erne, inevitably it was a team effort with the boat carrying the usual complement of five. But as we have to…

The Irish Cruiser Racing Association (ICRA) has hailed the performance of the Under 25 J/24 National Champions who qualify for an ICRA grant for their championship result writes Dave Cullen.  As Afloat reported previously, the Irish J/24 National Championships were…

ICRA has announced further initiatives and support for under 25 development programmes throughout the country. These initiatives include further funding for Under 25 team entries to events, this time at the J24 Nationals plus the launch of development grants and…

Clwb Hwylio Pwllheli Sailing Club in conjunction with the Royal Dee Yacht Club, was once again delighted to have the opportunity to host the Spinlock IRC Welsh National Championships, as part of our 2019 Celtic Regatta, and Welsh leg of…

With just over two weeks until the Welsh IRC Championships on Cardigan Bay, Irish IRC boats are preparing for the trip across the Irish Sea to the Llŷn Peninsula and to Plas Heli - the Welsh National Sailing Academy on August 9th. Royal Irish…

For the overall ICRA Boat of the Year, solid regatta season wins at Sovereigns and the Dun Laoghaire Regatta for Checkmate XVIII has lifted them into contention with season-long front runners, Rockabill VI (Paul O'Higgins). Victory in Howth’s Autumn League…

ICRA has announced it will support the further promotion of the Under 25 sailing keelboat teams, by paying the entry fee for any Under 25 Keelboat Team entering the Irish Sailing “Pathfinder Women at the Helm” event on the 17th/18th…

It was ultra-high summer, and it was difficult sailing in Dublin Bay for the hugely varied fleet starting their racing in the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta 2019 writes W M Nixon. Today’s opening racing started with so much promise –…

A 'late' West Coast campaign won the prestigious Portcullis Trophy at the Sovereign's Cup for skipper John Gordon and the crew of his X332 X-Rated from Mayo Sailing Club last week. Afloat takes a look at how this 'no rockstar' boat…

The end of June meant the Irish Cruiser Racing Nationals (ICRA) Boat of the Year standings has begun to take shape. As Irish Times Sailing Correspondent David O'Brien reported last Friday, as a result of class victory at the Irish Cruiser…

In some of the more compact cruiser-racers, the owner-skipper’s preferred role is as crew boss, and this is the approach of HYC Honorary Sailing Secretary Caroline Gore-Grimes on her family’s well-tested X 302 DUX. It’s an arrangement which worked a…

After all the crews enjoyed a great night sampling the hospitality of Rothesay it was back to business for Day two of the Luddon Construction RC35 Scottish Championships last weekend. The first race began with a gusty 15 to 20 knots…