Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Reviewing the equipment on my Sigma 33. Scribbler, before launching this year, I've been wondering about flares. I don't have any needing disposal at present, but I've been following the debate in the UK where the Royal Yachting Association has…

“Aquabikes” caught the attention of former Irish Times journalist Kevin Myers back in 1982. The Irishman’s Diary writer was seriously concerned about the pressure windsurfers were putting on the RNLI Dun Laoghaire lifeboat at the time. He had read about…

The Olympic Flame is now well into its progression through Japan, on a Marathon of Marathons which is seeing runners of every shape and size and type carry it into all of the 47 Prefectures which make up that most…

Turbot Island's main claim to fame has been its sighting by trans-Atlantic aviators John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown before they crash-landed at Derrygimlagh bog in north Connemara on June 15th, 1919. Turbot or “Inishturbot” is a few miles west…

Welcome to Nautical Limbo Land. This weekend may see the annual start-of-season lift-ins – with masked-up socially-distanced protocols - at the Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club, the National YC, and the Royal St George Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire. But…

This is a crucial time for all those involved in sailing, with frustration clear because of uncertainty about the future of competitive events, including world championships such as the Topper Worlds, Laser 4.7 Worlds on Dublin Bay and other big…

No fire brigade, no doctors, no ambulance service – when a problem arises at sea, seafarers have to tackle it themselves. That’s what makes the seafarer a “special breed” who is always “solution-focused”, according to Port of Galway harbourmaster Capt…

How quickly can we hope to return to the carefree style of sailing sociability which reflects the mood displayed above, as seen in the officially-accredited Sporting & Cultural Mission from Howth Yacht Club on its traditional biennial visit to the…

Communities who believe they are at risk from wind turbines and other proposed new infrastructure deserve more than just a tightly managed consultation exercise, however, well the consultation is conducted. That’s the view of chartered surveyor Michael Ocock, who has…

Sixty-one years after the first Rankin came off a mould in Cobh, a new one has been built from the same mould. "From the roots of this revered dinghy class in Cork Harbour, a new boat has been built," the…

The impression conveyed in the image above of good-humoured sport afloat at the first regatta from the new harbour of Kingstown on July 22nd 1828 is so lively that today we easily forgive the relatively unskilled work of the artist,…

Polar explorer, adventurer and boatbuilder extraordinaire Jarlath Cunnane is moving apace with his lockdown project to build a replica of the James Caird, the Shackleton Antarctic expedition lifeboat. Cunnane’s main aim is to remember the Scots carpenter Henry or Harry…

Rosslare just breathes the atmosphere of the sea. Next month Rosslare Europort will hit a new record – a total of 36 shipping services a week operating from the port, which, its General Manager tells me, will make it the…

On Sunday, August 29th 1971, a group of offshore devotees who had campaigned the previous day's annual cross-channel Abersoch-Howth Race for the James C Eadie Cup gathered in the bar of Howth Yacht Club and gave some purpose to their…

Brexit and the pandemic are not the only challenges facing Dublin Port, which handles almost 50 per cent of Ireland’s trade. Port chief executive Eamonn O’Reilly has predicted it will reach full capacity by 2040, and so it has initiated…

You know how it is. You're wondering if the slightly odd flavour of the evening cuppa is a hint of the imminence of the C-Monster's indicator of taste-loss. All this, too, just as it's increasingly clear that your already-proposed personal…