Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Once the new £70m ferry terminal in Liverpool Docks is in operation, it is hoped the Isle of Man Steam Packet can put on a year-round operated service between Douglas and Merseyside. The Steam packet’s fast-ferry Manannan currently does not…

The Spring 2024 yacht sales period has been strong for Leinster Boats, with yacht sales completed despite the weather. Recent Spring sales sales include: J109,  Hanse 341,  Starlight 35  Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 36i   Happy buyers now have their plans set for the…

The fifth and final of the 5,150dwt class, Arklow Guard, was launched at Ferus Smit’s Dutch inland shipyard in Westerbroek, writes Jehan Ashmore. Its launch on Friday saw the single-hold cargo ship take to the waters transversely into the adjacent…

To fly over water, almost silently is an amazing feeling. That’s according to Brendan Foley, Wing Foiling Class Captain at the Royal St George Yacht Club. Just this weekend six brand new wing foilers from the Royal St George got…

Following Saturday's dead heat for first place in ISORA's season coastal race opener, 14 boats have entered next Saturday's four-hour race.  Among the contestants are last week's Dun Laoghaire winners, the J122 Aurelia (Chris Power Smith) from the Royal St.…

Ireland is on course to become the first country in the world to complete seabed mapping. The mapping of the seabed off the Burren and the Cliffs of Moher on the Clare coast will be one of the keynote topics…

Glenans arrived in West Cork in 1969 with a vision to offer sailing and water activities to all in an egalitarian way. For 25 years, they trained thousands of Irish people in sailing instruction, boat building, and the marine environment.…

Residents and sailors in and around Dublin Bay have been asked to give their views on a “noise action plan”. The draft Dublin Agglomeration Noise Action Plan 2024-2028 has been put together by the capital’s local authorities – as in…

More than 50 entries have been confirmed so far for the fifth edition of the Drheam Cup, which will take place from 11-21 July 2024 between Cherbourg-en Cotentin and La Trinité-sur-Mer in north-western France. As previously reported on Afloat.ie, 11…

The 1980s tend to get a bad press as a time when young people left the country in droves, searching for jobs that matched their potential and training. Those of us who stayed at home to battle on, but now…

Dunaverty Ltd, the operators of the ferry service to Rathlin Island off the coast of County Antrim, have successfully completed their first year in business. The company has announced that it has increased its team to 18 and transported thousands…

The Irish Laser Class Association (ILCA) has announced that its annual general meeting (AGM) will be held virtually on April 17th at 6:30 pm. The meeting will be followed by a live Q&A session with the ILCA representatives who will…

An exchange programme to improve co-operation in the “fight” against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing has been initiated by the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA). The EU-funded e-FishMed project involves fisheries inspectors and operators of Fisheries Monitoring Centres (FMC)…

Fuinneamh Sceirde Teoranta (FST) will be undertaking both a geotechnical survey and geophysical survey for the Sceirde Rocks Windfarm Project in the Western Coastal Area (Connemara/Outer Galway Bay) and Atlantic Ocean, between Monday 15 April and Monday 10 June, subject…

The Ocean Race brought the spirit of ocean racing to the Our Ocean Conference 2024 starting on Tuesday (16 April) at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center in Athens, Greece. On Monday (15 April), Ericsson 1 — one of the…

Enniskillen RNLI in Northern Ireland launched their inshore lifeboat, the John and Jean Lewis, at 10.30am on Saturday morning (13 April) following a request from Belfast Coastguard that a fishing boat was adrift close to the Horse Island near Kesh.…

If you were wondering why an AC40 was sailing in Belfast Lough in the last few days, here is the answer. About a week ago, the AC40 arrived in Belfast for the Swedish Women's and Youth America's Cup teams for…

A tourism project in Co. Mayo is waiting to hear if a decision will lead it to receiving a licence to tow a small ship into Killala Bay as part of a plan to create an artificial reef, reports the…

Last week, the Isle of Man Steam Packet announced a change of ferry for day-time crossings on its Douglas-Heysham route. As Manx Radio wrote, those travelling on the IOM-England route on Monday (15 April) will be on board the ropax Ben-my-Chree,…

When the stories attached to the former Cassidy four-storey pub on Howth waterfront appeared on Afloat.ie last week, telling of how it might become a boutique hotel owned by a syndicate including MMI Word Champion Conor McGregor, eagle-eyed peninsula dwellers…