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Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine
Darrach Dineen (with trophy) and crew Sean Pecknam and Breda Magner, were the winners of the 2024 Munster Mermaid Championship at Foynes Yacht Club on the Shannon Estuary
The recent Munster Mermaid Championships at Foynes Yacht Club on the Shannon Estuary were filled with intense racing, camaraderie, and some special moments. Despite a disappointing start on Saturday, as racing had to be abandoned due to a lack of…
Rankin racing in Cork Harbour at the Cove Sailing Club Wednesday night dinghy racing series
The Cove Sailing Club Wednesday night dinghy racing series overall league leader is Ruadhán Jackson, with Dan O’Regan’s Rankin 14 second and John Cotter third. Rankin 14 is leading the Rankin Class with Owen O’Connell’s TR3 second. MONKSTOWN BAY MBSC…
David Riome’s Valfreya is lying second in the White Sails division at Kinsale Yacht Club's 'TGIF' Series
John Stallard’s Siboney topped the whitesail ECHO 1 fleet 'Thank Goodness its Friday' (TGIF) series overall after last Friday night’s racing at Kinsale Yacht Club, with David Riome’s Valfreya second and David O’Sullivan’s Cimarron third. ECHO 2 fleet leader was…
LÉ Eithne, the last to be constructed in Ireland at the Verolme Cork Dockyard in Cork, left Cork harbour last week to be scrapped abroad
Former Defence Forces chief of staff Vice Admiral Mark Mellett has paid tribute to the LÉ Eithne which left Cork harbour last week to be scrapped abroad. As Afloat has reported, the 1,920 displacement tonnes ship was the Naval Service’s…
Royal Cork Yacht Club's May Coastal Race winner in IRC was Ronan and John Downing’s Miss Whiplash
There has been strong support for evening cruiser racing at the Royal Cork Yacht Club since it began last month. The number of yachts taking part is considerably higher than last season. “It has been a fantastic show,” Rear Admiral…
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The UK’s Cruising Association has welcomed a new protocol for small boats entering France from outside the European Union. As of 1 June 2024, 53 marinas in France along its Channel coast now have the right to process boats both…
Short-sea ro-ro freight operator CLdN which includes Ireland-mainland Europe routes, has joined the Maritime Battery Forum, a global community in the sector aiming towards a future of zero-emissions. Above dubbed the ‘Brexit-buster’ is the Delphine with its Rotor Sails installed last year. Afloat notes, the MBF is to attend the Electric & Hybrid Marine Expo (18-20 June) held in the Dutch port of Amsterdam.
Major European short-sea ro-ro freight operator Compagnie Luxembourgouise de Navigation (CLdN), which in recent months launched a new Cork-Rotterdam lo-lo route, has announced that it has joined the Maritime Battery Forum. The MBF was founded with the aim of promoting new…
Enter the Afloat.ie online Crossword competition below to be in with a chance to win a pair of Dubarry Palermo High-Performance trainers in this free to enter competition
Afloat.ie in association with Dubarry brings you a bi-monthly nautical crossword competition (No. 209). Win a pair of Dubarry Palermo High-Performance trainers! Complete the crossword below and add your details below and the first correct entry out of the hat…
Irish-built cranes: The first of Peel Ports Group’s two new £25 million ship-to-shore (STS) container cranes arrived in Scotland to the above Clydeside port of Greenock. The cranes will facilitate increased demand from cargo owners while at the same time supporting growth in transatlantic trade. AFLOAT adds that the cranes built by Liebherr outside Killarney were assembled at Doyle Shipping Group’s Cork Dockyard and lifted aboard Jumbo Maritime’s heavy-lift vessel Jumbo Jubilee.
The first of two new ship-to-shore container cranes, costing £25 million and built by Liebherr in Ireland, arrived in Scotland aboard a vessel from Cork Harbour, will be a major boost for productivity at the Port of Greenock. At 932-tons,…
Irish student Skipper Michéal O’Suilléabhain and his Irish University Sailing Team will compete in Lake Garda at the  International University Sports Federation (FISU) World Sailing Championships on Lake Garda this week
University College Cork (UCC) will compete in the FISU world sailing fleet racing championships on Lake Garda, Italy, later this week.  UCC was selected to represent Ireland after the Irish University Sailing Association (IUSA) completed a 'rigorous' selection process. The…
Farewell LÉ Eithne: The former flagship with helicopter capability on its introduction was the largest and most advanced of the Naval Service fleet, which enhanced fishery and patrol duties in Ireland's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
The Naval Service said an emotional and fond farewell to its former flagship, the LÉ Eithne, as the distinctive twin funnel vessel departed at the weekend from its homeport of Cork Harbour for the final time. LÉ Eithne, which was…
Cork Harbour Festival Gold Sponsors Ardmore Shipping training for the Ocean to City Race taking place on the 8th of June
Some 200 craft will participate in the 28 km-long Ocean to City or "An Rás Mór" event in Cork harbour on June 8th. Organisers Meitheal Mara have appealed for volunteers for the event, with a variety of roles available including…
A file photo of GP14 racing on Dublin Bay. 34 boats competed at the 2024 GP14 Leinster Championships at Howth Yacht Club at the weekend
With no race wins but five results in the top four, Dubliners Sean Craig and Stephen Boyle proved consistency pays at Howth Yacht Club on Sunday with overall victory by a single point at the 34-boat GP14 Leinster Championships. Royal North Of…
Tramore RNLI inshore lifeboat
On Sunday, the 2nd of June 2024, Tramore RNLI were called into action following reports of a person in difficulty in a small inflatable dinghy off Tramore beach, near the Ladies slip. The alert was raised by a concerned member…
File image of Lough Derg RNLI’s inshore lifeboat
On Saturday afternoon (1 June), Valentia Coast Guard requested Lough Derg RNLI lifeboat to launch to locate, assess and escort to safe harbour a vessel that a member of the public reported had made contact with rocks at Ryan’s Point.…
The trenching support vessel Aethra
The Department of Transport has been notified by Asso.subsea that they will be performing boulder clearance and pre-trenching works on behalf of Nexans as part of the Celtic Interconnector Project. The works will be located at various points along the…
The Sandpiper jack-up barge
Kish Offshore Wind Ltd and Bray Offshore Wind Ltd are conducting site investigation operations and geotechnical surveys on the Dublin Array offshore wind farm project site and associated Export Corridor Route (ECR) off the coast of Dublin and Wicklow. These…
File image of Youghal RNLI’s inshore lifeboat
Youghal RNLI’s volunteer lifeboat crew were requested to launch at 2.48pm on Friday afternoon (31 May) to reports of two children on an inflatable toy craft that was blown out to sea off the Strand beach in East Cork. The…
Caitriona Lucas challenge trio (from left) Bernard Lucas, Deirdre Linnane and Cormac Coyne
Late Irish Coast Guard volunteer Caitriona Lucas will be remembered when three mountaineers tackle the five highest peaks in Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales over a three-day period this month. As The Sunday Independent reports, the team for the fourth…
Boeing Poseidon P-8, a UK maritime patrol aircraft
France, Britain and Norway sent military aircraft to the west Irish coast to search for a Russian submarine last week. As The Sunday Times reports, the aircraft included a French Bréguet 1150 Atlantic plane which flew off the Clare coast,…

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