Irish Cruising News. Sailing, Offshore, Ocean and Bluewater

There is no such thing as a ‘typical’ ARC, and 2021 proved again why sailing the same route at the same time of year can produce so many different experiences. The ingredients of the ARC, the boats and nationalities, ambitions…

UK Set to Waive Three-Year Condition on Returned Goods Relief for Recreational Boat Owners
13th December 2021 Cruising
In a reprieve for many UK-based private boat owners, the British Government intends to waive the three-year condition on Returned Goods Relief, as Yachting Monthly reports. Pending changes to legislation will mean that vessels that have been based in the…

For the sailors of ARC+ 2021, last Friday's prizegiving ceremony in St. George's, Grenada marked the end of their Atlantic cruising adventure that began in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria on the eastern side of the Atlantic six weeks ago. The…

Conor Haughey’s Hibernian Reaches Caribbean, Leading ARC 2021 + For Ireland
3rd December 2021 Cruising
Conor Haughey of Malahide’s handsome Moody 54DS Hibernian swept into the finish of the ARC 2021 in Grenada this morning to chalk up a notable international success for Ireland. Hibernian - which sailed the longer ARC + course to take…

ARC+ 2021 Arrives in Grenada, Haughey's 'Hibernian' To Finish Early on Friday
2nd December 2021 Cruising
Grenada has welcomed the first arrival of ARC+ 2021 as Pierre De Saint-Vincent’s Outremer 51 Piment Rouge (FRA) claimed line honours in the second leg of the cruising rally from Mindelo, Cape Verde. As Afloat reported yesterday, Malahide's Conor Haughey's…

Conor Haughey of Malahide’s handsome silver-liveried Moody 54DS Hibernian is having a very good Transatlantic race with the ARC+ division of 70 boats, which has taken in the transoceanic hop in two stages with a stop in the Cape Verdes.…

Crewman Dies on ARC Yacht in North Atlantic; Circumstances Not Yet Known
30th November 2021 Cruising
The circumstances surrounding the death of a crew member on ARC yacht Agecanonix at the weekend are not yet known, according to rally organisers the World Cruising Club. Late on Friday 26 November, a Mayday call was made from Agecanonix…

Two Irish yachts were among a big fleet departing Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to start the 36th Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) yesterday. Cruisers, racers, and multihulls; sleek ocean racing machines alongside comfortable family cruisers; superyachts with professional crews,…

Irish Boats Set Sail With ARC+ 2021 Fleet from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
7th November 2021 Cruising
ARC+ 2021, World Cruising Club’s two-stage transatlantic rally to Grenada, set sail today from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria with 70 boats spirited away by the tradewinds bound for Mindelo Marina in Cape Verde for the first leg. Years of…

Norway's Pioneering Ship Tunnel – Can It Be On Time And In Budget?
4th November 2021 Ports & Shipping
Alex Blackwell of Clew Bay is always buzzing with ideas, and his latest notion is that the destination for a future Cruise-in-Company by some seagoing club or other (he's involved in several) should be the pioneering Ship Tunnel that the…

Kerry Solo Sailor Peter Lawless Will Try Again to Sail Around the World Non-Stop
27th October 2021 Tom MacSweeney
Disappointment is always hard to take, but Peter Lawless is determined, even though he has, this time, failed in his ambition to become the first Irishman to sail around the world non-stop. The Kerry solo sailor left Kilrush Marina in…

What Northern Ireland Boaters Need to Know About Red Diesel Ban
15th October 2021 Northern Ireland Waters
As reported earlier this year on Afloat.ie, the ban on the use of red diesel to propel private pleasure craft in Northern Ireland has come into effect. As of 1 October 2021, following an extension from this past summer, private pleasure…

So much happened so quickly in Galway Bay SC’s 46-boat Lambs Week cruise to the Aran islands and Connemara (as reported in Afloat.ie) that it took a day or two for a more formal presentation to take place with the…

With an impressive and eclectic fleet of 46 boats from West Coast ports which ranged from Clew Bay to the north to Kilrush in the Shannon Estuary to the south - in addition to the many harbours and anchorages within…

Orca Avoidance by Cruising Boats - is Backing Off the Safest Method?
15th August 2021 Marine Wildlife
Portuguese-based cruising enthusiast John Duggan of Cascais and originally Malahide has been monitoring the continuing situation with orca attacks on the rudders of cruising boats off the Iberian coast, and has posted this update today: "Anyone with a boat in…

Galway Bay Sailing Club is expecting 50 boats or more to participate in the club's August's Lambs Week event that features sailing around the Aran Islands with stopovers in Rossaveal, Kilronan and Roundstone. The event runs from August 19th to…