Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

#ports - As Brexit looms and all the uncertainty, the Port of Felixstowe in England, has announced an agreement (see story: UK Government contract) with Danish ferry operator DFDS to increase its roll-on/roll-off (ro/ro) capacity by over 40%. According to…

Dun Laoghaire campaign group Save Our Seafront will hold a public meeting next Monday 28 January to discuss ongoing and future plans for Dun Laoghaire Harbour, including its baths restoration project. The meeting is scheduled for 8pm next Monday night…

North Sails Ireland will be hosting its successful Sail Trim presentation at Arklow Sailing Club from 7.30pm this coming Friday 25 January. Following on from last week’s trim talk in Greystones, North Sails Ireland expert Shane Hughes will take Arklow…

Gardaí in Cork have launched an investigation after human remains were recovered by the crew of a fishing vessel 180 nautical miles off Castletownbere in Co Cork at the weekend. TheJournal.ie reports that the vessel docked in Castletownbere on Sunday…

#navy - PDforra, the organisation representing enlisted personnel in the Defence Forces has said recruitment in the Naval Service has reached a new crisis point and the only way to solve it is with pay increases to retain personnel. As…

#ferries - The European Investment Bank is providing EUR 155 million to finance two new passenger and vehicle ships for the Irish Continental Group subsidiary Irish Ferries. The announcement was made as the first of the new cruiseferries, W.B. Yeats…

There was a full house to hear solo sailor Tom Dolan outline his 2019 plans in the new foiling Figaro 3 at Kinsale Yacht Club last Thursday.  As Afloat.ie previously reported, the evening also featured Mark Mansfield from UK Sailmakers Ireland…

The International Laser Class says it has no plans to replace or remove any of its existing classes in response to recent media speculation on the future direction of the Olympic class boat plus a statement on social media from…

As Afloat.ie reported earlier, the No.11 Liffey Ferry aka the “dockers’ taxi” is back in service after 35 years following a restoration project involving Richie Saunders of Ringsend, the Irish Nautical Trust, Dublin Port Company and Dublin City Council. It…

#Lifeboats - Hundreds gathered on the high wall in Dunmore East on Sunday evening (20 January) to welcome the town’s all-weather lifeboat Elizabeth and Ronald back home after more than a year out of service. On 1 December 2017, Dunmore…

#Lifeboats - The RNLI's all-weather lifeboat from Courtmacsherry rescued a fishing vessel which got into difficulty today with two people onboard yesterday afternoon (Monday 21 January). The lifeboat was called out at 1.15pm to go to the aid of the 40ft…

#ferries - W.B. Yeats has finally made its maiden sailing this morning, as the €147m cruiseferry completed a Dublin-Holyhead crossing by arriving in the Welsh port before lunch-hour, writes Jehan Ashmore. The impressive 1,885 passenger and crew/300 car/165 truck capacity…

#ports - The Scottish south-west Port of Ayr, operated by Associated British Ports (ABP) has announced a £2.2m investment in a new state-of-the-art warehouse which will improve its customer offering. Work on the new 4,000 sqm agribulk terminal according to…

The Irish Times reports that helicopter search and rescue pilots with the Irish Coast Guard are to take industrial action from Thursday (24 January) in a dispute over rostering hours. Brendan O’Hanlon of trade union Fórsa, whose branch Ialpa represents…

#dublinport -  In Dublin’s Docklands, the historic No.11 Liffey Ferry otherwise known as the 'Dockers' ferry will today officially return to the capital’s waters after a 35-year absence. The much-loved service that linked the north and south docks is to…

#ferries - A Royal Navy nuclear-powered submarine has been involved in a near-miss with a ferry in the Irish Sea. An investigation writes The Irish Times, has been launched into the previously unreported incident, which occurred on November 6th. The ferry…

#Lifeboats - Youghal RNLI is looking for new volunteer crew members to join its search and rescue service in East Cork. The lifeboat station will be hosting an open day at the lifeboat station in Youghal this coming Sunday 27 January…

Inland Fisheries Ireland has launched a recruitment campaign for seasonal fisheries officers nationwide. The seasonal positions offer an opportunity to protect and develop Ireland’s rivers, lakes and waterways during the summer months. There are up to 40 positions on offer…

#ports- Last year, growth in ABP South Wales saw an increase in the amount of cargo handled across several commodities as a result of continued investment in infrastructure and services. Year-on-year growth of the UK ports group operator ABP at…

After two successive Sundays were lost to the vagaries of the weather, with 6th January lost to no wind at all and 13th January abandoned on the Saturday due to a pessimistic forecast of 30-knot gusts for the Sunday, the…