Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine
In 2024, the International Rating Certificate (IRC) celebrates 40 years of yacht racing around the world. Back in the early 1980s, most boats were racing under the International Offshore Rule (IOR), but it was starting to be more concentrated on…
Howth's Eve McMahon Continues to Lead Women's U21 European Championships After Five Races Sailed in Mallorca
20th March 2024 Paris 2024 Olympic Sailing
Ireland's Paris 2024 representative in the ILCA 6 class, Eve McMahon, continues to lead the 2024 Women's U21 European Championships after five races sailed in Mallorca on Wednesday, but Poland's Lilly May Niezabitowska has whittled the Irish woman's margin down to…
19 GP14s Compete in Fifth Weekend of Spring Series at Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club
20th March 2024 GP14
19 GP14s set sail on St Patrick's Day for the fifth weekend of the spring series at Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club on Belfast Lough. The sailors were greeted with a light 4-5 knots from the south, with a…
Stena Line Launches Newly Refurbished Ferries on North Sea Route of Harwich-Hook van Holland
20th March 2024 Stena Line
Stena Line in response to changing needs of its customers has carried out a major renewal of its North Sea ferries, Stena Britannica and Stena Hollandica which operate the Harwich-Hook van Holland route. The unique transformation, which took just 18…
Arklow Resolve Underway in the Wadden Sea for Shipbuilder Sea Trials While Ferries Go Back & Forth
20th March 2024 Arklow Shipping
Newbuild MV Arklow Resolve departed the Dutch north-east port of Eemshaven for the Wadden Sea on the southern North Sea for shipbuilder sea trials this morning, writes Jehan Ashmore. This is Arklow Shipping Ltd.'s latest newbuild, which represents the fifth…
A Donegal-based seafood processing group plans to start producing oat milk. As The Sunday Independent reports, Errigal Bay Seafoods began examining new opportunities after “Brexit’s negative effect on the seafood processing business”. It reports that Errigal Bay Seafoods secured planning…
Representatives from the European Commission, the European Boating Industry (EBI), and the Belgian EU Presidency came together for a conference on Tuesday, March 19th, at the Egmont Palace in Brussels to discuss the pressing issue of end-of-life recreational boats. The…
Young Gun Heathcote and Team GB Veteran Grube Win Paris 2024 selection
20th March 2024 Paris 2024 Olympic Sailing
Sailors Vita Heathcote and Chris Grube will compete for Team GB in the mixed dinghy class at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the British Olympic Association has announced. Heathcote will be the youngest sailor in the Team GB line-up aged…
Drysuit Specialists Typhoon International Appoint New Leisure Distributor for Ireland
20th March 2024 Marine Trade
Drysuit specialists Typhoon International have appointed Galway city-based chandlery Galway Maritime as their leisure distributor for Ireland. “As a key player in the leisure watersports market, we are always looking at ways to maximise our market share,” says Kevin Coulthard,…
The Loughs Agency has announced the launch of its Fisheries and Angling Improvement Strategy, accompanied by action plans for the Foyle and Carlingford catchment areas. This comprehensive strategy maps out the Loughs Agency’s commitment to the sustainable expansion of fisheries…
Optimist sailors from the Royal St George achieved stellar results at the UK Spring Nationals in Rugby over St Patrick’s Weekend. Five of the Dun Laoghaire club’s nine-strong youth group placed in the top 25 out of 120 boats taking…
An Bord Pleánala Approves Construction of Enhanced Visitor Experience at Loop Head Lighthouse
20th March 2024 Lighthouses
Irish Lights has welcomed the announcement of the approval by An Bord Pleánala for the construction of an enhanced visitor experience facilities at Loop Head Lighthouse in Co. Clare. "We are delighted that approval has been granted for the enhancement…
Ireland's Paris 2024 representative in the ILCA 6 class, Eve McMahon, is leading the 2024 Women's U21 European Championships after three races sailed in Spain. The Howth Yacht Club ace is the top boat in the 65-boat fleet at the Reial Club Nautic Port…
Wicklow RNLI rescued three fishermen on Monday, March 18, after their boat suffered mechanical failure. The all-weather lifeboat RNLB Bridie O'Shea, under the command of Coxswain Alan Goucher, was called to the scene at 12.19 pm, 11 nautical miles northeast…
UK Government Ministers Have Done Nothing to Stop Repeat of P&O Ferries Scandal, Unions Say
19th March 2024 Ferry
Trade unions in the UK have called for proper legal protection for seafarers on the second anniversary of the P&O Ferries mass sudden sackings scandal, warning that government ministers have “done nothing” to stop other ferry firms from following suit.…
Increasing Winds Reduce St Patrick’s Day Viking Marine DMYC Frostbites to a Single Race!
19th March 2024 DMYC
The Viking Marine DMYC St Patrick’s Day Frostbites saw the lowest turnout of boats in Series 2 thus far, twenty-nine, due probably to a combination of factors – the day that was in it when family activity might be a…
Baltimore RNLI in West Cork successfully rescued Dixie, a terrier mix dog, after she fell from the cliff at the Beacon on Tuesday morning. The Irish Coast Guard requested the launch of their inshore lifeboat shortly before 10 am, after…
First of Two Newbuilds for CalMac’s Islay Services Successfully Launched at Shipyard in Turkey
19th March 2024 Shipyards
The first newbuild ferry of two to serve Scottish west coast islands, Islay and Jura has been successfully launched at a shipyard in Turkey. At the Cemre Marin Endustri shipyard in Yalova, the MV Isle of Islay was launched on…
Promoted
The Irish Coast Guard (IRCG) is a Division within the Irish Maritime Directorate of the Department of Transport. Its mission is to deliver a world-class search and rescue, maritime casualty, and pollution response service. The IRCG currently have vacancies for…
Sole Active Naval Service Ship Unavailable for Cork Drugs Search due to St Patrick’s Day Call in Dun Laoghaire Harbour
19th March 2024 Navy
LÉ George Bernard Shaw, the sole operational ship of the Naval Service, was unavailable to take part in a large drug search off the Cork coast this weekend as it formed part of St. Patrick’s Day festivities held in Dun…