Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine
Pembroke Port, which is owned and operated by the Port of Milford Haven, has welcomed the first customer to its new pontoons to facilitate workboats.
In South Wales, Pembroke Port, which is owned and operated by the Port of Milford Haven, has welcomed the first customer to its new workboat pontoons. The infrastructure was installed as part of the Pembroke Dock Marine project to modernise…
Ballyholme Yacht Club 1984 and 1988 Olympian Bill O'Hara competing at the 2023 ILCA/Laser Masters Championships hosted by the Royal St. George Yacht Club
Olympians and former champions are set to compete in this year's ILCA Masters Championships at Howth Yacht Club. The event comes just nine months after the North Dublin club hosted the national championships for the 2023 class last August. One…
Europe’s longest and oldest inland dinghy race takes a 30-nautical mile course from Lisloughrey pier, near Cong at the north end of lough Corrib to Galway city
The organisers of the annual Cong-Galway race have decided to change the date to August 31st. An initial date of June 2nd had been set when registration opened this week. Europe’s longest and oldest inland dinghy race takes a 30…
The RNLI station at Clogherhead now has a state-of-the-art Shannon class all-weather lifeboat, the ‘Michael O’Brien’, which arrived in 2019. It serves the north-east coast sometimes in collaboration with its sister stations in Skerries and Kilkeel and often with the Coast Guard land and air facilities and the Garda
The Clogherhead RNLI station in County Louth is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year, marking over a century of dedicated service to saving lives at sea. Established in 1899 under the auspices of the RNLI, the station was built with…
The 2022 Inistearaght Race line honours winner Aurelia (meaning the 'golden one') skippered by Chris Power Smith
With just two weeks to go until the start of Kinsale Yacht Club's biennial Inishtearaght Race sponsored by the Matthews Centre, all of the boats that raced the 2022 edition are returning for another shot at offshore glory in the 280-miler…
The Master of Glandore. The late Don Street in full flow at a 21st Century Glandore Harbour YC awards ceremony, hitting the usual interesting dress-style note with a tweed jacket in high summer rather than his customary reefer
Donald MacQueen Street Jnr of Glandore and the Caribbean and formerly New York has gone from among us after an extraordinary life of nearly 94 years, in which he experienced a sometimes picaresque existence. Throughout it, he significantly encouraged, instructed,…
The National Maritime College of Ireland at Munster Technological University
CILT Mobility & Supply Chain Skillnet and the National Maritime College of Ireland (NMCI) at Munster Technological University are hosting a launch for their newest Master’s programme supporting development in the offshore renewable energy, ports, transport and logistics, and maritime…
Aerial view of Dun Laoghaire Harbour
Local sailing stalwart Hal Sisk will deliver a lecture on ‘developments in transforming Dun Laoghaire Harbour’ next Wednesday 15 May at the Royal Marine Hotel in Dun Laoghaire. The talk begins at 8pm and admission is €5. Parking is free…
File image of the Grand Canal’s 30th Lock at Ballincloughin Bridge in Co Offaly
Waterways Ireland advises all masters of vessels on the Grand Canal that the 30th Lock at Ballincloughin Bridge, west of Tullamore in Co Offaly, will be closed for maintenance from Monday 13 May to Saturday 18 May. Navigation through the…
Seabourn Venture, at anchorage off Schull Harbour in West Cork this week, is the first cruise ship of the season. The arrival of a prestigious high-end operator, Seabourn, with international visitors is a valuable contributor not only to the local economy but also to the region’s reputation and visibility.
The first cruise ship of the season in West Cork was welcomed by Cork County Council to its harbours, Schull and Kinsale, located in Ireland’s largest county. The ultra-luxury expedition cruise ship Seabourn Venture, as Afloat previously reported visiting Killybegs,…
Dublin Port 3FM Project has published an updated overview illustration of its Maritime Village proposals
Dublin Port Company (DPC) has today announced an update on its 3FM Project. The changes proposed are a direct result of an extensive consultation process and a consideration of alternative options – a key requirement of the planning process. The…
Royal Irish Yacht Club JPK 10.80 champion Rockabill VI (Paul O'Higgins) was the only finisher in Class Zero of the Dublin Bay Sailing Club's third AIB Thursday evening race of the 2024 summer season. O'Higgins races to Wales on Saturday in the first ISORA cross-channel race of the year
After last week's cancellation, Dublin Bay Sailing Club's third AIB Thursday evening race of the 2024 season was another gentle affair in light southerly winds where results were marred by plenty of retirals. On the North Bay race course, in division…
File image of Enniskillen RNLI’s inshore lifeboat
Enniskillen RNLI came to aid of two people on Tuesday (7 May) after their boat ran aground near Belleek, Co Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The volunteer crew launched their inshore lifeboat, the John and Jean Lewis, at 2.30pm following a…
Dun Laoghaire's new Ker 46 'Tonnerre de Breskens 3' will contest the Mals Group RORC IRC European Championships under skipper Pete Smyth
The Royal Irish Yacht Club (RIYC) has announced that Dublin law firm Maples Group will be the title sponsor of the upcoming IRC European Championship sailing regatta. Taking place on the Irish capital's waters of Dublin Bay, the Maples Group…
The Isle of Man Post Office stamp collection will depict Peel Traditional Boats and will be available starting May 13, 2024
The Isle of Man Post Office has announced the upcoming release of a stunning stamp collection featuring the works of Isle of Man-based artist Nicola Dixon. The collection will depict Peel Traditional Boats and will be available starting May 13,…
Royal Cork's Séafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan are proving themselves able contenders for the Irish 49er Paris 2024 Olympic nomination
As the 49er European Sailing Championship enters its halfway stage in La Grande Motte, France, two Irish sailing teams have qualified for the Gold fleet final round that begins on Friday. Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove, veterans of the Tokyo…
Seismic support ship Mainport Ceder called to its owners’ homeport of Cork, where a class annual inspection of the vessel took place with the ship classification society, (BV) Bureau Veritas. In addition, the brief call-in between seismic project contracts involved a crew change, with some members from both crews seen above at a city centre quay.
Irish Mainport Holdings was delighted to welcome one of their two seismic support ships, Mainport Cedar, when the vessel made a brief call to Cork Harbour recently. The 54.6m length overall (LOA) Mainport Cedar, made the call to the Port…
Revenues at Irish Continental Group (ICG) were up 8.3% in the first four months of this year, according to today’s trading statement. Above, chartered cruise ferry Oscar Wilde, when providing dry-dock cover on the Rosslare-Pembroke route, is currently operating Dublin-Holyhead and between the capital and Cherbourg, France.
The Irish Continental Group (ICG), the parent company of Irish Ferries, has reported revenues of €177 million for the first quarter of this year; this reflects an increase of 8.3% when compared with the same time last year. In a…

The Simon Knowles skippered HYC boat is a double winner in ISORA's April coastal mini-series, winning both races in light to medium airs that look likely to be repeated in this weekend's race to Wales but the HYC campaign is not racing with ISORA this weekend. Photo: Afloat 
The Howth Yacht Club J109 Indian will start as one of the favourites for Saturday's first ISORA cross-channel race of the season from Dun Laoghaire to Pwllheli. Ten Welsh entries, including the new J122 Mojito, will swell the fleet to over 20…
Irish Schools Team Racing National Champions 2024. Schull Community School (from left to right) Billy Coakley Commodore Bantry Bay Sailing Club, Killian Power, David Copithorne, Lucy Copithorne, Ryan O’Driscoll Captain, Silvia Abeila Garrido, Heidi Hogan and Kathryn Kingston Event Director
Saturday 4th of May 2024 saw 14 schools taking to the water to compete in the Irish Schools Team Racing National Championships 2024. For the first time since the inception of this event in 2004 and marking its 20th anniversary,…

Featured Sailing School

INSS sidebutton

Featured Clubs

dbsc mainbutton
Howth Yacht Club
Kinsale Yacht Club
National Yacht Club
Royal Cork Yacht Club
Royal Irish Yacht club
Royal Saint George Yacht Club

Featured Brokers

leinster sidebutton

Featured Webcams

Featured Associations

ISA sidebutton
ICRA
isora sidebutton

Featured Marinas

dlmarina sidebutton

Featured Chandleries

CHMarine Afloat logo
https://afloat.ie/resources/marine-industry-news/viking-marine

Featured Sailmakers

northsails sidebutton
uksails sidebutton
watson sidebutton

Featured Blogs

W M Nixon - Sailing on Saturday
podcast sidebutton
BSB sidebutton
wavelengths sidebutton
 

Please show your support for Afloat by donating