Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Marine wildlife in Strangford Lough faces a “real risk” from an increase in recreational watersport, as The Irish News reports. Rangers from the National Trust in Northern Ireland recorded a record number of grey seal pups and a “stable” population…

Last Saturday (16th October) saw the final races of Strangford Lough Yacht Club's Frostie 2021 series. In all over five Saturdays, ten races were completed, with the organisers pleased to have returned to some sort of normality. The event which…

A young harbour seal spotted in Belfast Lough earlier this month with an aluminium can stuck on its lower jaw has been rescued by police in Scotland. The Irish News reports that the juvenile marine mammal had swum across the…

The Essex based subsea engineering company, Global Marine, is planning to install the Scot-NI 3 and Scot-NI 4 Telecommunications cables in Scottish and Northern Irish waters on behalf of British Telecommunications plc, between November 1st and December 20th this year.…

As with so many events over the last 18 months, East Antrim Boat Club's annual Hot Toddy GP 14 event suffered the effects of the pandemic but next weekend (23rd/24th October) the class will take to the waters of Larne…

As reported earlier this year on Afloat.ie, the ban on the use of red diesel to propel private pleasure craft in Northern Ireland has come into effect. As of 1 October 2021, following an extension from this past summer, private pleasure…

A gas storage project, located off the coast of Northern Ireland, has been awarded a Marine Construction Licence, giving it the green light to proceed towards construction. Islandmagee Energy’s gas storage project will initially unlock seven much-needed gas storage caverns.…

The Formula Kite World Championships will take place in Torregrande, Sardinia, from October 13 to 17. The event is part of the Open Water Challenge, which celebrates board sports including kite, wing foil and SUP. A whole host of British…

Portrush RNLI has had a busy Sunday launching to separate reports of kayakers and paddle boarders in difficulty yesterday (10 October). In the first callout, the all-weather lifeboat crew were paged just after 10am to reports of kayakers in difficulty…

Michael Beckett has become the third Brit in as many years to claim the ILCA 7/Laser class European title. Beckett, who has twice come runner up at the Euros, in 2018 and 2020, led the week-long regatta in Varna, Bulgaria,…

Coming as it does from David Tasker - an Afloat.ie reader from the Isle of Wight - a typically Autumnal query received a day or two ago from this new owner of an interesting and much-loved vintage boat is one…

The volunteer crew at Portaferry RNLI launched at the request of a stand-up paddle boarder in difficulty on Guns Island in Co Down yesterday afternoon (Tuesday 5 October). Launching at 3.14pm in sunny weather with good visibility and a Force…

After a hiatus of two years, Northern Ireland's RS400 Winter series is back. The Belfast Lough sailing event will kick off on Sunday 31st October for eight consecutive weeks up to 19th December. This event was the last run in…

Donaghadee RNLI came to the aid of seven people onboard an 18ft Bayliner boat that broke down a mile off Ballyhalbert on the Ards Peninsula yesterday afternoon (Sunday 3 October). The volunteer crew were requested by Belfast Coastguard to launch…

In the early evening of Saturday, 2nd October, Belfast Coastguard put out a MAYDAY in response to a 20ft yacht with four people on board reportedly taking on water and without power, a mile north of Corsewall Point, at the…

A group of enthusiastic young sailors have come together for the first meeting of RYA Northern Ireland's Youth Forum at Ballyholme Yacht Club. RYA Northern Ireland identified youth engagement as a key area for the organisation, and this strand of…