Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

When Gary MacMahon of Limerick brought the 57ft Conor O’Brien ketch Ilen back from the Falkland Islands in 1998, the 1927-built former inter-island trading and passenger transport vessel was in danger of becoming a ghost ship writes W M Nixon.…

It was sun and fun all the way on day five of Panerai British Classic Week 2017 in Cowes, where not only did the participants enjoy some fiendishly tricky racing, but they also finally came together for the traditional Open…

The sun returned on day three of Panerai British Classic Boat Week where the fleets completed race five of the series, followed by the traditional Ladies Race. Not only had the sun reappeared, but the wind had moderated too and…

With just twelve days to go to the start of the 25th Anniversary Glandore Classic Boat Regatta 2017 from July 23rd to July 28th, Glandore Harbour Yacht Club are swinging all systems into action with the extra muscle provided by…

The opening race day of Panerai British Classic Boat Week 2017 was an absolute scorcher with barely a cloud in the sky and glorious sunshine showing the fifty-one participating classic yachts off to absolute perfection. The regatta opened with a…

The first annual championship ever to be staged in the Aran Islands in the forty year history of the West of Ireland Offshore Racing Association gets under way tomorrow at Cill Ronan on Inish Mor. There’s a busy programme afloat…

The annual Long Distance Race for Shannon One Designs (SOD’s) took place last weekend (24th & 25th July) under the Burgee of Lough Ree Yacht Club. As Afloat.ie reported earlier, this year was more special than usual as it was…

There was more for historic boat fans at today's Crosshaven Traditional Sail festival in Cork Harbour.  Afloat's Bob Bateman captured both the classic boat fleet and spectator craft (below) on another lovely afternoon at Crosshaven. See day one Traditional Sail photos here and day…

Preserving traditional boats is very important, using them even more so and racing them a sight to behold writes Tom MacSweeney. All can be seen this weekend at Crosshaven in Cork Harbour where vintage boats of all types, shapes and…

#HMScaroline - An historic ship with a wartime past that is a modern day Belfast tourist attraction has had its future secured thanks to a major programme of innovative repairs, safety upgrades and improvements. As the Belfast Telegraph writes, HMS…

Seven IDRA 14s made the trip North over the weekend for their annual Northern Championships, with the usual entourage of “camp followers” young and old to enjoy the hospitality and beautiful scenery for their 22nd consecutive year at Carlingford Lough…

It’s not every day you’re helped aboard a new boat by an international star of stage and screen writes W M Nixon. But it happened at the weekend in Baltimore, where A-list actor Jeremy Irons is now a quietly familiar…

#SaveShip! -The owner of a heritage ship is seeking about €2 million from a joint investor to convert the Naomh Éanna into a boutique hotel/ hostel, cafe and restaurant, which he then hopes to berth close to the CHQ building…

#10yearArrival – The unique venue of Dublin’s only floating bar and restaurant located on the Liffey in the form of MV Cill Airne arrived to the capital a decade ago as of last Thursday, writes Jehan Ashmore. At that stage…

The veteran Volvo Racer Green Dragon (back mast-less in her old home port of Galway since Sunday) has been sorted. Her spare mast will be stepped today, with the port’s adopted French supersailor Yannick Lemonnier playing a key role in…

The intriguing story of how a ship’s gig of 1796 came to be quietly preserved in Bantry House is well known among classic and traditional boat enthusiasts writes W M Nixon. The elegant craft was left behind after the unsuccessful…