Afloat.ie Team
Afloat.ie is Ireland's dedicated marine journalism team.
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NY-Vendee Fleet Competes in Vendee Liberty Exhibition Speed Trials on Upper New York Harbour
25th May 2024 Vendee Globe
The wind gods only partially delivered for the NY-Vendee fleet competing in the Vendee Liberty exhibition speed trials on upper New York Harbour on Friday with puffs of breeze deciding the fortunes of the fleet. Battling north and south winds…
Ireland’s Tom Dolan and his French co-skipper Paul Morvan this morning finished a gruelling 740 miles long offshore race for the Trophée Banque Populaire Grand Ouest in seventh place from a star-studded field containing some of the most successful French…
World Cup II is off to a good start for Irish rowing. The weather stayed good in the morning for the majority of the racing. However, the Rotsee saw a big change in the afternoon, with strong winds, rain, and…
New €2.16 Million Sea Survival Training Pool Officially Opened in Greencastle, Co. Donegal
24th May 2024 BIM
The Minister for Marine, Charlie McConalogue, T.D, has officially opened the new €2.16 million national sea survival training pool at the Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), National Fisheries College of Ireland (NFCI) in Greencastle, Co. Donegal. Minister McConalogue expressed his delight…
Sean Lemass's First 40 Prima Forte was the winner of Dublin Bay Sailing Club's fifth AIB-sponsored Thursday evening race of the 2024 season as Royal Irish Yacht Club boats took the Cruisers Zero IRC podium. The Lemass boat took the victory in a…
It’ll Take a Seismic Kinetic Event for Ireland to Take National Security Seriously - Senator Gerard Craughwell
25th May 2024 Navy
Only one of Ireland’s naval fleet is operational because there are no crews. Independent Senator Gerard Craughwell writes that Ireland’s waters are also EU waters. Ireland is the ‘lame duck’ in securing the European Union’s (EU) maritime domain, but particularly both its…
TechWorks Marine Completes Oceanographic Survey for Clogherhead Wind Park for ESB and Parkwind
24th May 2024 Marine Tech
Metocean company TechWorks Marine has successfully completed a 12-month oceanographic campaign in the North Eastern Irish Sea for ESB and Parkwind at Clogherhead. The marine tech campaign involved the deployment of three metocean data buoys within the wind park area…
Waterways Ireland advises masters of vessels on the Erne System that the 2024 Erne Boat Rally will be taking place from Friday 24 to Monday 27 May. Boaters taking part with gather at Lisnaskea Boat Club on Friday evening for…
Ministers Launch €25M Scheme to Protect Breeding Waders in Shannon Harbour
23rd May 2024 Marine Wildlife
A landmark new project has been launched to protect Ireland’s most vulnerable group of birds, breeding waders, at Shannon Harbour. The €25 million Breeding Waders EIP is funded jointly by the National Parks and Wildlife Service at the Department of…
The anticipation for the 2024 Dragon Gold Cup at Kinsale Yacht Club is building as some of the biggest names in Dragon sailing have already confirmed their participation in the upcoming event, sponsored by Astra Construction Services Ltd. With almost…
New York Yacht Club Launches Performance Sailing Fund, Awards Initial Six Grants
23rd May 2024 Paris 2024 Olympic Sailing
The New York Yacht Club has added another facet to its diverse support of high-performance sailing by unveiling the Club’s Performance Sailing Fund, which has announced its first six grants. “We are so proud of the six Club members who…
Foynes Yacht Club Raises €3,000 at 'Darkness Into Light Event' on the Shannon Estuary
23rd May 2024 Shannon Estuary
The recent Darkness Into Light event at Foynes Yacht Club on the Shannon Estuary proved to be a tremendous success, raising an impressive €3,000 in donations. The event, which took place in May, saw the participation of several skippers and…
Starting an hour early, two coastal courses, including the popular lap of Capri, were completed on the third and penultimate day of the IMA Maxi European Championship. The 20 maxi yachts faced a sub-10 knot southwesterly. At Wednesday’s conclusion, the…
Irish J24 competitors gathered at Foynes Yacht Club this past weekend for the Western Championships on the Shannon Estuary. Saturday's races saw challenging conditions, with four races completed in 10 to 12 knots of breeze. Anticipating calm conditions on Sunday,…
As Loughs Agency marks Invasive Species Week, the pressing need for heightened awareness and collaborative efforts to mitigate the impact of these species becomes increasingly evident. Invasive non-native species pose a major threat to the delicate balance of the ecosystems…
National Yacht Club 'Women at the Helm' Regatta Attracts 63 Boats for Weekend Racing at Dun Laoghaire
22nd May 2024 Women in Sailing
This weekend's Women at the Helm Regatta 2024, hosted by the National Yacht Club and supported by Sia Partners and Irish Sailing, begins on Friday, May 24th, with a motivational panel featuring Olympic sailing silver medallist Annalise Murphy, solo offshore…
A Cork Harbour houseboat resident has told of his shock at seeing a “tornado” whipping towards him on Tuesday afternoon (21 May). As Echo Live reports, Gavin Higgins was watching TV below deck on his converted classic RNLI lifeboat in…
Dubin Bay Sailing Club (DBSC) Water Wag racing tonight (May 22) is cancelled due to gusty north-to-northwest winds reaching over 26 knots inside Dun Laoghaire Harbour.
Record Eight Olympic Crews are Bound for Paris 2024 as Irish Rowers Prepare for World Cup II
22nd May 2024 Rowing
Rowing Ireland’s High-Performance Director, Antonio Maurogiovanni, has announced the athletes that will represent Ireland at World Cup II, and he has also reviewed this week's Final Olympic Qualification Regatta which saw Ireland's women's four qualify for Paris 2024. "The Final Olympic…
Rosslare Europort's Port Authority, Iarnród Éireann, has initiated a non-statutory consultation regarding the establishment of an Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Hub at Rosslare Europort. With Ireland's expansive sea area of 490,000 sq km, the country is poised to become a…