Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine
Sanctioned Russian Tanker Monitored by Air Corps Off West Coast During Trump Visit
15th September 2026 News Update
A sanctioned Russian tanker was monitored by the Air Corps off the west coast during the visit to Doonbeg, Co Clare, by US president Donald Trump. As The Irish Independent reports, a crude-oil tanker recently renamed the Dozor was within…
A fleet of 170 Swan yachts has gathered in Porto Cervo, Sardinia, for the 23rd Rolex Swan Cup as Nautor Swan celebrates its 60th anniversary. More than 90 Swan models spanning six decades of production are represented at the Yacht…
Blustery Start to Howth’s Autumn League Sees Puppeteer 22 Performance Plus
15th September 2026 Howth YC
If you want to see what became of the Puppeteer 22 OD created at Killyleagh on Strangford Lough by designer-builder Chris Boyd from 1978 onwards, then Howth is the place to be. At last Saturday’s blustery opening of the six…
As the ILCA Senior Women's World Championships came to a close in Dun Laoghaire, the ILCA Ireland end-of-season event got underway at Waterford Harbour Sailing Club, Dunmore East. Home Waters – Local sailor Nicola Harris competes in the ILCA 7…
EirGrid has launched a 12-week public consultation on proposed electricity grid infrastructure in Cork and Wexford to connect future offshore wind generation off Ireland’s south coast. The consultation, which opened on Tuesday (15 September) and runs until 8 December, sets…
Fethard RNLI volunteers responded to three incidents over three consecutive days at the weekend, including the rescue of two people cut off by the tide on rocks in poor visibility. The first call came at 3.15pm on Friday (11 September),…
Professional sailing photographers have until 12 October to submit entries for the 2026 Pantaenius Yacht Racing Image Award, with images taken since 15 October 2025 eligible for this year’s competition. Now in its 17th edition, the international photography contest celebrates…
Broken Bridge Windscreen Wiper on CalMac’s Popular Mull Ferry Halts Sailings
15th September 2026 Ferry
In West Scotland, CalMac ferry crossings between one of the country’s most popular islands were cancelled after a windscreen wiper was broken, which halted sailings on Monday, September 14th. Passengers travelling on the 90 m ferry, M.V. Isle of Mull,…
Dickson and Waddilove Face LA28 Qualification Squeeze in Wide-Open 49er Fleet
15th September 2026 Robert Dickson & Sean Waddilove
Ireland's double Olympians Robert Dickson and Seán Waddilove are among 15 nations to have reached the podium in what the International 49er Class says is the most open men's skiff fleet since the class's first Olympic cycle. But new analysis…
Twelve of the world’s leading women’s match-racing teams will contest the 2026 World Sailing Women’s Match Racing World Championship on San Francisco Bay from 30 September to 4 October. As previously reported by Afloat, the invitation-only championship will be hosted…
ABB has joined Ferrari Hypersail as its Electrification Partner, bringing its Direct Current (DC) and marine power expertise to the development of Ferrari’s 100-foot oceanic full-foiling monohull yacht. Ferrari Hypersail is powered by renewable energy and is designed to combine…
Three leading international organisations in the recreational marine industry have launched a global survey of boatbuilders and suppliers to develop a common method for assessing the environmental impact of recreational boats. The International Council of Marine Industry Associations (ICOMIA), European…
The cruise season for this year in Manx waters concluded with the final visitor, which took place this morning in Douglas, as the small ship’s sixth call this season! It involved the 90 m Corinthian of the Grand Circle Line, which…
Monday Was a Good Day at the Office for Golden Globe Racer Pat Lawless
15th September 2026 Golden Globe Race
Leader Damien Guillou of France in his Rustler 36 and second-placed Pat Lawless of Ireland in the Saga 36 Silvermines Hydro may have opened out a lead of 205 miles on the rest of the fleet in the Golden Globe…
The pioneering hydrogen-powered catamaran Energy Observer, first spotted by Afloat in Cork Harbour earlier this month, has now arrived in the capital's waters and is anchored in Scotsman's Bay off Dún Laoghaire Harbour. The distinctive 30-metre French vessel was photographed…
Irish offshore sailor Tom Dolan and Gildas Mahé finished 14th on the second leg of L’Aventura after a bold move west in the Bay of Biscay cost the Kingspan duo places on the 783-mile race from Lagos to Île d’Yeu. The result came…
Foyle Port is set to conclude its most successful cruise season to date, with close to 19,000 passengers and crew visiting Ireland’s North West during 2026. The port scheduled a record 22 cruise calls across 15 different cruise lines this…
Jakub Belica’s GK24 Guinness Kann completed a clean sweep of Kinsale Yacht Club’s Midweek Series 3, winning all five races in IRC 3 and also taking the ECHO 3 title. The fifth and final race was sailed on Wednesday, September 9,…
O’Connell Continues Winning Run in Monkstown Bay SC September League
14th September 2026 Monkstown Bay Sailing Club
Dave O’Connell has carried his winning form from August into Monkstown Bay Sailing Club’s September Dinghy League, taking victory in the second race of the series on Friday night. Sailing his Laser 7, O’Connell has won both races sailed so…
The first ever Dublin City Council Liffey Festival, which combined visiting tall ships of varying classes and sizes, along with quayside-held events, took place at the weekend, writes Jehan Asmore. The mostly free-of-charge two-day festival organised by DCC was for…
