Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Two protests lodged over competing boats allegedly sailing in Traffic Separation Schemes (TSS), an area in the sea where navigation of ships is highly regulated, in this week's Round Ireland Race were dismissed or deemed invalid following hearings. As Afloat…

Today – Day 3 of Bangor Town Regatta turned out to be one of those High Stool Days WM Nixon wrote about in Afloat’s Sailing on Saturdays. For the same unseasonably windy weather which has put paid to several sailing…

In response to Marine Casualty Investigation Board (MCIB) recommendations, Marine Notice No 42 of 2022 from the Department of Transport draws attention to the safety advice and recommendations in Chapter 8 of the Code of Practice for the Safe Operation…

Musto’s range of Volvo Cork Week 2022 branded marine clothing is now available for pre-order from CH Marine. The exclusive collection has an expected release date of this coming Thursday 30 June — in plenty of time for the Cork Harbour…

The class bands and fleets are now finalised for the ICRA Nationals which take place as part of Volvo Cork Week this year. With the fleet split across Classes 0,1,2,3 along with Non Spinnaker and Coastal, ICRA trophies and more…

Saturday's much anticipated Drumshanbo Gin Royal Irish Yacht Club regatta racing at Dun Laoghaire has been cancelled due to strong winds. Race officers went to sea to check the conditions and reported strong southerly winds gusting to 33 knots on…

There has been a dramatic start to the WIORA Championships at Kilrush on the Shannon Estuary with one boat sinking and the second day of racing cancelled due to strong winds. This year has a bumper numbers of entries for the…

We can only be wishing this morning that the traditional-type low pressure areas which march across the Atlantic from New England towards Old Ireland could take aboard some of the strict Sabbatarianism of the regions they’re passing through in their…

What a difference a day makes! There’s a eucalyptus tree near my house and if it’s all moving there’s a good chance the fleet is thrashing about Belfast Lough half a mile away. It was pretty active today. Flukey breezes…

Courtmacsherry RNLI was alerted by Valentia Coast Guard on Wednesday afternoon (22 June) to two people onboard a 42ft yacht with mechanical problems 25 miles off the Old Head of Kinsale in West Cork. Shortly after 3.30pm the all-weather lifeboat…

Aran Islands RNLI on Inis Mór were called on to assist a local woman in need of medical attention on Wednesday evening, 22 June. The woman was transferred safely aboard the lifeboat by the volunteer crew shortly after 6.15pm and the…

US Sailing will soon announce the appointment of a panel to investigate the fatal crew-overboard incident in the Newport Bermuda Race last weekend, race organisers have confirmed. As previously reported on Afloat.ie, Colin Golder, captain of the 42-foot sloop Morgan…

The fleet set out in classic Kinsale weather with 20 knots and waves. The championships were both decided on the water in the final race at the Bandon Co-op Squib National Championships. After the many black flags of yesterday, the…

Youghal RNLI went to the aid of a sailor in difficulty 400 yards off Mangan’s Bay on Thursday afternon (23 June) after their boat suffered engine failure. The volunteer lifeboat crew were requested to launch their Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat…

The final night of Royal Cork Yacht Club's Friday, June League for white sails was cancelled tonight. The decision was taken due to prevailing weather conditions in Cork Harbour. It is the second time the Friday racing has had to…

An all-weather Shannon class lifeboat for Dunmore East RNLI is to be officially named William and Agnes Wray during a ceremony at Dunmore East Lighthouse at 2pm this Sunday 26 June.  The lifeboat, which went on service in September last year, is named…

On arrival at the National Yacht Club on Thursday evening, the prospects for sailing didn’t look that good. The forecast had been for a handful of knots and the boats trying to finish the Round Ireland race were limping down…

Monkstown Bay Sailing Club has postponed its 'At Home' which had been scheduled to take place in Cork Harbour on Saturday. The club says this is due to the forecast of adverse weather predictions. A new date of Saturday, September…

Birdwatch Ireland has expressed concern about the potential impacts of safety measures being taken on Skellig Michael, following last week’s rockfall which led to the temporary closure of the UNESCO world heritage site. The independent bird conservation organisation said it…

The European Commission is proposing to set legally binding nature restoration targets on both sea and land. The Nature Restoration Law will apply to every EU member state and will complement existing laws and targets. The proposal has been welcomed…