Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine
Schull Community School Wins 20th Anniversary Irish Schools Team Racing National Championships at Bantry Bay
9th May 2024 Team Racing
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,…
Last weekend, Lough Ree Yacht Club hosted young Optimist sailors from clubs all over Ireland for their annual Development Squad training session. The session was led by Head Coach Dara O’Shea from Cork and under the guidance of IODAI Training…
The ITCA Topper Ireland Traveller is a well-established series, and Donaghadee Sailing Club on the North Down coast will host an event on 26 May. Stuart Ogg is the event organiser, and he and his team say that the club…
Kinsale Yacht Club Cruising Group Enjoy BBQ and Overnight Stay at Naval Services Yacht Squadron at Haulbowline
9th May 2024 Kinsale
Members of the Kinsale Yacht Club Cruising Group had a wonderful start to the cruising season with a BBQ and overnight stay at the Naval Services Yacht Squadron in Haulbowline Naval Base in Cork Harbour. The event was organised by…
RNLI Courtmacsherry Coxswain Mark Gannon on Astrid, Penlee, Fastnet and Free Wills Month
9th May 2024 Wavelength Podcast
RNLI coxswain Mark Gannon with West Cork’s Courtmacsherry lifeboat was on a call out in December 1981 when he and his crew heard over the radio about the Penlee lifeboat disaster - when an entire lifeboat crew was lost off…
Dun Laoghaire's New Ker 46 'Tonnerre de Breskens 3' to Contest Round Ireland Race and IRC Europeans
8th May 2024 Round Ireland
Noted Dublin Bay inshore and offshore sailor Pete Smyth of the Royal Irish Yacht Club has purchased the famous Ker 46 Tonnerre de Breskens 3 which will arrive in Dublin Bay three weeks before its first major event, the 2024…
Six Irish boats are competing at the Flying Fifteen European Championships starting on Thursday (March 9th) at Crozon Morgat in Brittany. With crews also from France, Spain, Belgium, and the usual UK contenders, it promises to be an exciting four-day event.…
Dublin and Cork Olympic Rivals Are Neck and Neck As 49er European Championships Reaches Final Day of Qualification
8th May 2024 Paris 2024 Olympic Sailing
Big breeze and massive wind shifts of day two of the 49er European Championship delivered plenty of drama in La Grande Motte, the South of France as the gap narrowed between the two Irish rivals who are using this event…
Race Officer Tadgh Donnelly, aboard the committee boat 'Spirit of the Irish', set a three-round windward/leeward course in a 10-knot southwesterly breeze for the third Water Wag race of the AIB/DBSC 2024 season. The 23-boat fleet’s start was postponed due…
Doyle Shipping Group Pulls Out of Plans to Develop Offshore Wind Energy Hub in Cork Harbour
8th May 2024 Cork Harbour
Plans to develop an offshore wind energy hub in Cork Harbour have been shelved as Doyle Shipping Group has pulled out of the scheme. As reported on Afloat.ie just three months ago, the 15-hectare Cork Dockyard facility at Rushbrooke had…
Irish Sailor of the Year Eve McMahon Selected For Olympic Torch Relay in Marseille
8th May 2024 Eve McMahon
Celebrations are about to get underway in Marseille, France today (8 May) as the city prepares for the arrival of the Olympic flame to French soil. Irish Sailor of the Year and Team Ireland Paris Scholar Eve McMahon has been…
The boss of P&O Ferries admitted at a Westminster committee hearing, that he couldn't live on the £4.87 an hour some of its crew are paid, he told MPs at the Houses of Parliament. Chief executive Peter Hebblethwaite also revealed at…
Container Operator BG Freight Line Launches Greenest Newbuild Vessels to Drive Sustainability
8th May 2024 Ports & Shipping
Short-sea container feeder operator BG Freight Line has unveiled its greenest ships yet with four new lo-lo vessels that will help its customers significantly reduce their carbon emissions. The new ships will use a state-of-the-art scrubber to catch CO2 and…
Stena Line to Increase Cargo Capacity by 30% on Twin ‘4-Runner’ Class Vessels
8th May 2024 Stena Line
On behalf of Swedish ferry operator Stena Line, Stena RoRo has signed a conversion contract with China Merchants Jinling (Weihai) Shipyard for the installation of an additional cargo deck on board the Stena Foreteller and a twin, Stena Forerunner. The…
The Corncrake population has increased by 35 per cent in the past five years, particularly in breeding areas on the Atlantic seaboard. The numbers of Corncrakes recorded in the core breeding areas of Donegal, Mayo and Galway has increased by…
The New York Yacht Club American Magic rolled out its new AC75, named 'Patriot' for the 37th America's Cup Competition in Barcelona, Spain. The deck layout places the helms and trimmers side by side and well forward. The boat has…
Cunard’s Newest Ship Sails to Southampton for Inaugural Visit & Maiden Voyage
8th May 2024 Cruise Liners
Cunard Line’s Queen Anne, the newest cruise ship addition to their prestigious fleet, arrived in the UK at the Port of Southampton. This historic moment took place on the last day of April, and the occasion marks the first time…
In a dramatic rescue operation, a sheep fell from a ledge in the Waterford Estuary and was saved from being engulfed by the rising tide. The incident occurred on Wednesday, prompting the Irish Coast Guard to dispatch the volunteer lifeboat…
A new Offshore Nesting Bird Census (ONBC) has been initiated by the North Sea oil and gas industry to research how endangered seabirds use oil and gas platforms for nesting and rearing chicks. The census which has been created by…
New Opportunities With RNLI Fundraising Roles in Dublin and Down and on Causeway Coast
8th May 2024 RNLI Lifeboats
Applications are now open to become one of the RNLI’s face-to-face fundraisers along the Causeway Coast in Antrim, and in counties Down and Dublin. This vital role helps the lifesaving charity reach thousands of people every year, sharing safety messages…