Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Who gets your vote as Afloat Sailor of the Year 2017? The past year, in the view of Winkie Nixon, has produced some 'extra-special sailors', and over the past 12 months we have picked out 28 individual sailors and pairings who have excelled in…

With the year drawing to a close, it looked as though Liam Manning of Schull would be seen as 2017’s ultimate bridesmaid, as he was crew for Fionn Lyden’s All-Ireland Sailing victory in October. But the dark days of November…

Paul O’Higgins (RIYC) is November’s Afloat.ie “Sailor of the Month (Offshore)” for the sporting way he campaigns his JPK 10.80 Rockabill VI. He knew when to make it serious to win the Volvo Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race, but equally…

If you accept that West Cork begins at Kinsale, then West Cork has made a clean sweep of Irish Sailing’s All-Ireland Titles for 2017. Before Fionn Lyden of Baltimore put his stamp on the Seniors’ historic silver salver at Mullingar…

The Afloat.ie “Sailor of the Month” process in October is normally self-selecting, as the Senior and Junior awards go to the new Irish Sailing All-Ireland Champions. But when Fionn Lyden of Baltimore demonstrated at Mullingar in 2017’s Championship of Champions…

Lorcan Tighe of Dun Laoghaire makes such a broadly-based contribution to Irish sailing as a sailor, an instructor and a race officer, that you’d assume he was somebody with many years of experience under his belt. But he’s only 17…

The Irish Sea Offshore Racing Association’s increasingly busy annual programme is notable for the way several leading crews take in recruits from both sides of St George’s Channel, and September’s Afloat.ie Sailors of the Month (Offshore) reflect this. Vicky Cox…

Michael O’Connor of Royal St George YC is the Afloat.ie “Sailor of the Month (Inshore)” after celebrating September with the Corinthian Division overall win in the SB20 Worlds on the Solent early in the month and then, in an intense…

In the 21 years since the Afloat.ie “Sailor of the Month” awards were first introduced, we had always dutifully waited until the end of the month before allocating the plaudits, even when it had been clear for days or even…

Michael Boyd of the Royal Irish Yacht Club is so successful in his multi-tasking as an impressive Commodore of the Royal Ocean Racing Club, and a very competent and frequently-competing skipper in in its annual 12-race Mainseries Points Championship, that…

Fionn Lyden of Baltimore Sailing Club, who initially drew attention as an immediate star of university sailing in his first year at College in Cork in 2015, may only have become active in the demanding Olympic Finn Class in December.…

In the 21 years since the Afloat.ie “Sailor of the Month” awards were first introduced, we have always dutifully waited until the end of the month before allocating the plaudits, even when it has been clear for days or even…

When that definitive image of young Aoife Hopkins leppin’ her Laser with rocket power out of a breaking wave at the European Women’s Laser Radials Under 21 Championship 2017 (July 17th to 24th) at Douarnenez in Brittany went viral, we…

When the JPK 10.80 Yes! crossed the finish line at Cowes in the huge-fleet Round the Island Race 2017 on Saturday July 1st, it provided Irish sailing with something very special to savour. Skippered by Crosshaven’s Nicholas ‘Nin’ O’Leary, Yes!…

The very special powerboats of SafeHaven Marine in East Cork have multiple uses, but high speed potential in a wide variety of sea conditions is invariably top of a list of very demanding priorities among the highly-regarded company’s prestigious customers.…

Although the Irish Cruiser Racing Association caters for boats with offshore potential, the annual ICRA Nationals are fought with all the intensity of a major inshore series, and the pressure of several races a day keeps up the heat. The…