Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Today you couldn’t swim across Bangor Bay on Belfast Lough without skirting the Marina but from 1910 till the 80s the ‘Pickie to Pier’ annual sea swim saw many participants taking part in the 650-metre race from Skippingstone Beach, beside…

A sudden and violent rip current may have been the cause of a tragedy at a Northern Ireland beach in which one woman drowned, an expert has said. Two women, part of a group of experienced cold water sea swimmers,…

When it comes to safety and warmth on the water, we all know how important our gear is, and we wouldn’t go sailing in summer without water and suncream. But we often forget the importance of keeping our blood sugar…

BreakingNews.ie reports that a man in his 50s has died after an incident at the Forty Foot swimming spot in south Co Dublin. The alarm was raised after the man got into difficulty in the water this afternoon (Sunday 29…

The RNLI says it wants to help children Swim Safe with free water safety sessions at the Share Discovery Village on Upper Lough Erne for the first time this September. The fun, hour-long sessions teach young people how to swim…

A man has died after getting into difficulty swimming in Galway Bay yesterday (Friday 23 August). Independent.ie reports that the man aged in his late 70s had been swimming off Salthill around noon yesterday when he got into difficulty. His…

Ireland’s biggest triathlon of 2019 comes to Dun Laoghaire this weekend as IRONMAN 70.3 Dun Laoghaire brings premier athletes from across the island and around the globe to Dublin Bay. Sunday 25 August is the date for the three-part race…

The 100th edition of the Liffey Swim saw one of its youngest ever winners, as 15-year-old Mark Hanley from Meath clinched the men’s title yesterday afternoon (Saturday 3 August). “Never in a million years did we think he’d win it,”…

After seven weeks and 500km of open water, ‘Marathon Man’ Alan Corcoran completed his epic swimming challenge from the Causeway Coast to Tramore on Monday morning, 22 July. Sadly Alan wasn’t able to join supporters in the mass public swim…

Close to 130 hardy souls will take to the waters of Galway Bay tomorrow (Saturday 20 July) for the 14th annual Frances Thornton Memorial Galway Bay Swim. As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the early sell-out event is one of Ireland’s…

As open water sea swimmers prepare for a Galway Bay crossing this weekend, Irish Water has said there is “no proven link” between a recent serious pollution incident in the city and the quality of bathing water off Galway’s beaches…

'Forty-foot' can mean different things to different people on Dublin Bay. In sailing terms, it might very well be a nick-name for 'Class Zero' but for most of the Capital's citizens, it's the stronghold for sea bathers on the southern tip of…

‘Marathon Man’ Alan Corcoran has reached Howth and Dublin Bay, 36 days into his 500km open water swimming challenge from the Causeway Coast to Tramore. As previously reported on Afloat.ie, Alan took on the mammoth task after completing an already…

Heavy rains in recent days have led to another wastewater overflow at the Ringsend treatment plant, as well as other pumping stations, that has prompted a new swimming ban at several Dublin Bay beaches. It marks the second time this…

Husband-and-wife pair Tom Healy and Rachel Lee took top honours in the annual Boyne Swim through Drogheda yesterday (Saturday 15 June). Tom claimed the overall race title with a time of 27.25 minutes, while his wife Rachel Lee finished a…

Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has put up warning signs in the lifeguarded area of Sandycove in south Dublin after sightings of lion’s mane jellyfish in the water. Though the notice was put in place yesterday (Thursday 13 June), it’s emerged…