Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Although West Cork is home to several clusters of classic boats and the boatyards of the master-craftsmen who build and maintain them, they’re at scattered locations. Thus it can take quite a bit of encouragement and persuasion, plus much pre-planning…

Sunshine in December imparts a surreal look to everything it illuminates with its vivid low-angled delineation. And for anyone who happened to be on the Shannon Estuary between Kilrush and Scattery Island on Monday afternoon this week, the sense of…

After a full lap of the course, racing was very tight for the Water Wags on Monday 26th August for the Single-Handed race as they rounded the leeward mark in Dun Laoghaire Harbour. Our photo above shows No.3 Pansy (Delany)…

The theme of this week's National Heritage Week for 2019 is ‘Pastimes'. In recognition of this, the 113-year-old Water Wag dinghy‘Pansy,’ will be put on public display on the East Pier, Dun Laoghaire on Dublin Bay on Tuesday 20th August…

On 17th July the wind was in an unusual direction for the Water Wag Race in Dun Laoghaire Harbour, blowing from the south-south-east at about 6 knots with occasional stronger gusts. Henry Leonard the RO set the start line for…

Martin Byrne, noted International Dragon sailor and former Commodore of the Royal St George YC in Dun Laoghaire, has happy memories of family sailing going back more than fifty years, when his parents decided that it was a sport which…

The Water Wag dinghy fleet in Dun Laoghaire competed in the second race of their 132nd season of one design racing on Wednesday 1st May. Three prizes were on offer, division 1A raced the second of three legs for the…

The sad death of Owen McNally a few days before Christmas deprived the Dun Laoghaire sailing community of one of its most active and devoted participants, an enthusiast who put even more into our sport than he took from it…

Peter Kennedy made waves on Lough Ree when the current SB20 national champion took the Helmsman’s Cup at the weekend. However, a special mention must go to Water Wag pair Guy Kilroy and Adam Winkelmann for their ‘catch of the day’ as…

On 22 August, Division 1A Water Wags raced the second match for The Newsom Memorial Trophy, while division 1B raced for The Hilpotsteiner Tankard and Division 2 raced for The Phyllis Cup. It was a warm evening in Dun Laoghaire,…

People often ask which is the most competitive fleet in Dublin Bay? You will be given twenty different answers, depending on who you ask. However, despite its venerable status, the Water Wag class is experiencing a boost in popularity, because…

The Water Wag club has a long tradition of single-handed races as is shown by this picture above. Ideally, the weather for a single-handed race should be an evening with not too much wind, and not too many waves. On…

With a history going back to 1887, some sixty-eight double-ended Water Wags were built between 1887 and 1900. All but one of these has fallen by the wayside and its location is no longer known. That one surviving Water Wag…

In looking at the numbers of one design dinghies at National championships in Ireland, there are few enough adult classes which can muster a fleet of 25 competitors. However, the Water Wag Club in Dun Laoghaire does not hold a…

What a shame! The Water Wags, the largest one-design fleet in Dun Laoghaire on Dublin Bay have lost three out of their last five races, due to inclement weather. On 23 May the problem was, that the valiant Race Officers could…

In contrast with many one design classes, the Water Wags hold regular handicap races during the sailing season. On 16th May the first handicap race was held with 24 boats competing. The plan for the evening was for Division 2…