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Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine
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 
Several J-boat designs are among 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 when they set sail from the Dun…
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,…
Irish Optimist Development Squad in alphabetical order by first name: Aisling Morrin, Alex Hoban, Amy Russell, Arthur Fegan, Ben Smyth, Brendan Hughes, Caroline Byrne, Cian Farrell, Edward Fitzmaurice, Eabha Brennan-Hobbs, Elena Hoffman, George Creighton, Jack Ryan, Jamie Blennerhassett, Jess Tottenham, Jess Walsh, Joe Kingston, Louis Trickett, Maximilian Millane, Max O’Sullivan, Milo Slattery, Oliver Kenneally, Oscar Rowan, Oran Collins, Rebecca Murdock, Ruairi Slattery, Stephanie Rock, Tristan Bendon, Zoe O’Hare (Felix Crinion not pictured)
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 comes to Donaghdee in late May Topper Ireland
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…
Some of the 18-boat Kinsale Yacht Club cruising fleet berthed at the Naval Services Yacht Squadron at Haulbowline for their overnight visit
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…
Mark Gannon, coxswain with RNLI Courtmacsherry
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…
The former Tonnerre de Breskens 3 has spent the last number of years racing in the Meditteranean as Tonnerre de Glen but will be Dublin Bay based from June under new Royal Irish Yacht Club skipper Pete Smyth
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…
Alan Green and Chris Doorly of the National Yacht Club are one of six Irish Flying Fifteens racing at the 2024 European Championships in Brittany
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.…
Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove from Dublin's Howth Yacht Club lead Irish hopes at the 49er European Championships in La Grande Motte in the South of France
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…

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