Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

#CheekiRafiki - The director of the yacht company that operated the Cheeki Rafiki — which sank in the Atlantic four years ago, claiming the lives of its four crew — has been given a suspended sentence over the incident, as…

The 39th Middle Sea Race starts on the 20th October 2018. With this year marking the 50th anniversary of the founding of this remarkable offshore race, the Royal Malta Yacht Club (RMYC) is anticipating its highest entry yet. Some 30…

After five races (and three race wins) at the Les Voiles de St-Barth 2018 Regatta, Michael Cotter's Windfall from Dun Laoghaire was the winner of the Maxi two division earlier this month. There was some close combat between Dutch Maxi…

#Offshore - Offshore vessels around the Caribbean are being asked to watch out for a toy ship on the waves that’s in need of a recharge. As BBC News reports, the appeal comes from a family in Scotland that launched…

Recent political turmoil in Catalonia has been cited by race organisers in their decision to cancel next year’s Barcelona World Race. The fourth edition of the double-handed round-the-world race for IMOCAs was due to start on 12 January 2019, and…

Britain's Ocean City, Plymouth, has won the bid to host the start of the next edition of The Transat in 2020, the first and oldest single-handed transatlantic race in history. The iconic and historic port on the Devon coast, which…

The Atlantic Anniversary Regatta is the first ever regatta series with two Atlantic Ocean races in both directions. Celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein (NRV), based in Hamburg, Germany. The first part of this extraordinary series was…

At about 1600h (CET) today, Monday 15 January 2018, Spindrift 2 was sailing just off Point St Matthieu and Camaret in Brittany on her way to the start line of the Jules Verne Trophy, when she dismasted. At the time…

Yann Guichard and his crew arrived in Brest last night to start the Jules Verne Trophy. Despite a good though not ideal weather window, after two months on stand-by Spindrift racing has decided to take its chance and will leave…

2017 was the best season for Irish Sea offshore racing (ISORA) in many years with 68 boats taking part in the 15-race series writes ISORA Chairman Peter Ryan. In 2016, 54 boats took part. To put these numbers in context, in…

Francois Gabart, who left Ouessant on 4 November 10:05 (UTC+1), crossed the finishing line of his solo round the world, located between Lizard Point and Ouessant, at 02:45 (French time, UTC+1) this 17 December. For his first attempt, the MACIF…

Some decisions and the sentiment expressed at World Sailing’s 2017 Conference recently suggest that the door might be opening for offshore sailing to become an Olympic sailing event. Submission 108 presented by the World Sailing Board, and passed by the…

Alex Pella, the world-record breaking sailor, said today (Wednesday) that the Transat Jacques Vabre offshore 2017 will mark the emergence of a new future for multihulls. With all eyes on just how fast the latest 30-metre Ultime to launch is…

#Offshore - Doubts have been cast over the predicament of two female sailors rescued in the Pacific last week after investigators called into question some parts of their story. As previously reported on Afloat.ie, Jennifer Appel and Tasha Fuiaba were…

#Offshore - Two women have been rescued in the Pacific Ocean after a dream voyage from Hawaii to Tahiti turned into a months-long nightmare, as RTÉ News reports. Jennifer Appel and Tasha Fuiaba set out five months ago on their…

If you had to be in a 35-footer as the remaining fleet in the Rolex Middle Sea Race 2017 negotiated those foul gale-and-backwash conditions off the huge cliffs of northwest Sicily earlier this week, then the JPK10.80 would have been…