Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine
The National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire is offering a pre-race coaching series to help Water Wags sailors preparing for evening racing on Dublin Bay. This series will be led by the club head coach and may receive the input…
Irish Sailors Celebrate 100 Years of Ireland's Participation at the Olympic Games
16th March 2024 Olympic
Irish Olympic sailing was well represented by 20 sailors when the Olympic Federation of Ireland and the Irish Olympians Association celebrated 100 years of Ireland's participation at the Olympic Games (1924 - 2024) on March 13th. The evening marked the…
IRC rating's 40th anniversary year sees the GBR IRC National Championship leave the Solent for the first time; in 2024, it will be held at 'International' Poole Regatta over the spring bank holiday, 25-27 May, with three days of racing…
Annual maintenance dredging at Warrenpoint Harbour in County Down will continue until the end of March and possibly into April. According to Afloat reader Lee Maginnis, residents and visitors to Warrenpoint and, indeed, Omeath have been treated to the sight…
A Connemara shellfish business is using Brexit-related grant aid for a new packaging and labelling machine. Killary Fjord Shellfish in Leenane received grant aid of over €16,000 through Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) under the Brexit Sustainable Aquaculture Growth Scheme. The…
The national sailing organisation is proposing to raise club affiliation fees and will be asking for approval at the annual general meeting in the Royal Cork Yacht Club at Crosshaven on Tuesday week (March 26th) The proposed increase is 15%,…
Northabout crew from the Irish yacht’s historic polar circumnavigation marked the 80th birthday of their expedition skipper Jarlath Cunnane in Mayo last weekend. The adventurer, boat builder and holder of the prestigious Blue Water Medal, was joined by fellow sailors…
New Boats Arriving to Compete at June's Bangor Regatta on Belfast Lough
16th March 2024 Bangor Town Regatta
Word on the grapevine is that Jonathan Anderson's Danish-designed X 4.3 will be among the boats new to Royal Ulster’s Bangor Regatta in June. The new boat is still in the factory so brand new. He was the previous owner…
Ireland’s Inland Waterways Assert Their Individuality As IWAI’s 70th Anniversary Arrives
16th March 2024 W M Nixon
If you were trying to think of the most utterly rural town in all Ireland, Longford would certainly be among the top ten - maybe tops of all. And our rustic view of it is emphasised by the fact that…
Kick Off Your St Patrick’s Weekend at NYC Cruising Club Boat Show This Saturday
15th March 2024 National YC
Kick off your St Patrick’s Weekend at the National Yacht Club’s Cruising Club Boat Show on Saturday 16 March from 11am. See a live demonstration on life-raft deployment and entering presented by Solas Marine Services. The RNLI’s sea safety team…
Water Safety Organisations Make Joint Appeal Ahead of St Patrick’s Day Bank Holiday Weekend
15th March 2024 Water Safety
Ahead of the St Patrick’s Day Bank Holiday weekend, the Irish Coast Guard, RNLI and Water Safety Ireland are issuing a joint water safety appeal, asking people to stay safe when in, near or on the water. Water temperatures are…
Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club to Host 2026 GP14 Worlds as Championships Returns to Ireland For Second Time in Four Years
15th March 2024 GP14
Ireland will stage the GP14 World Championships for the second time in four years following a decision by the International Committee to relocate the 2026 World Championship from Sri Lanka. Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club, Belfast, has agreed to…
Tom Dolan overcame a torn spinnaker to finish in 11th place on the 370-mile offshore race of the Solo Guy Cotten-Concarneau, the Irish solo skipper’s first offshore race of the 2024 season. The spinnaker tear happened within the first couple…
Ireland’s Boating Season Officially Reopens on the Waterways from March 17th
15th March 2024 Inland Waterways
Ireland’s inland boating season officially reopens from March 17th, in line with other European countries, with all services and facilities once again accessible at the extensive range of moorings and harbours across Ireland. Over 15,000 registered boats avail of Ireland’s…
It seems a new comedy movie, working title "Carry On Smuggling", may be in the early stages of production in West Cork. Articulated trucks being sent down one-lane cul de sacs near supposed "secret coves" that everyone happens to know…
The first keynote speaker at February's well-attended Irish Cruiser Racing Association (ICRA) Conference at the Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire was Dr Jason Smithwick (technical director of RORC). Jason outlined the composition of the IRC Technical Committee and…
The 40th edition of the Primo Cup was recently held at Yacht Club De Monaco, where fifty J70s competed. Other fleets included Cape 31, Smeralda 888 and Longtze Premier, representing over ten countries. In the J70 class, Ireland’s Team Wildcard,…
90 Nations to Compete in Hyères for Semaine Olympique Française and Last-Chance Regatta
15th March 2024 Paris 2024 Olympic Sailing
The world’s best Olympic sailors have made Hyères on the French Riviera their meeting spot each April for more than 50 years. And this year the stakes are even higher, as the 55th edition of Semaine Olympique Française de Hyères…
Fines and Costs Totalling €8k Secured Against Two Dublin Men for Illegal Fish Netting in Laois
15th March 2024 Angling
Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) has secured convictions against two men for illegal netting, with fines and costs reaching €8,000. Valiulis Dalius and Bloslanas Dzapbarovas, both of Kilnamanagh in Dublin 24, were prosecuted for using a net to capture fish in…
IFI Gains Convictions Against Three Men for Illegal Angling on Lough Sheelin
15th March 2024 Angling
Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) has secured convictions against three men in two separate cases of illegal angling on Lough Sheelin. Jason Bennett of Blue Ball, Co Offaly and Thomas McCarthy of Tullamore, Co Offaly were prosecuted for trolling — where…