Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Deep down, four miles beneath the surface of the North Atlantic, the wreck of Titanic is dying as Nature "takes it back to itself." So says Irish diver Rory Golden who is taking part in the current expedition to the…

Ten years ago the family of Charlie Haughey offloaded their yacht, Celtic Mist, to the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group. It took most of a year to refurbish it and the cost was put at around €80,000. The yacht was…

I won a unique prize at Dungarvan Sailing Club – for the most capsized sailor. It was many years ago when I was still able to sail a 12ft. dinghy. It was a Vagabond, a unique craft of its kind…

There is a notable increase in leisure craft on the water all around the coast. Several incidents have been reported of users not adhering to harbour safety regulations, and Cork County Council's Senior Harbour Master has issued a warning that…

Europe’s oldest and longest inland sailing race is part of the history of the West Coast of Ireland. The history of Galway itself claims that Ptolemy, the astronomer and mathematician born in 100 AD at Alexandria in Egypt and who…

A 12-mile "gentle reintroduction" started the racing season at Schull Harbour Sailing Club in West Cork. The 'Saturday Morning Taste of Sailing' sessions were restarted, with thirteen junior sailors in five boats bringing youngsters onto the water for club training.…

Cruiser racing has returned with a strong turn-out at the RCYC in Crosshaven for the start of evening racing..Eighteen boats came to the start line for the first Thursday evening cruiser league race. Despite rain, mist and fog, which had…

“There is a better way” than the present approach taken by government to the fishing industry, according to the Chairperson of Comhdháil Oileán na hEireann, the Islands’ Federation. “This is a matter of huge importance regarding island community livelihoods and…

This week the welcome sound will be coming to Scribbler. The 25-tonne travel hoist boat lift will be manoeuvred into position beneath her at Castlepoint Boatyard and Scribbler will be carried down Point Road, onto the Crosshaven slipway and lowered…

After carrying out a high level of data and positional data analysis, the Naval Service has detained the Spanish fishing trawler involved in an incident with a Castletownbere trawler in Bantry Bay last Friday. As Afloat reported earlier, the LÉ…

The Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) says that a Spanish-registered fishing vessel was "operating within the waters of Bantry Bay and therefore within Ireland's 12-nautical mile limit" during what Irish fishermen in the South West claim was an attempted ramming…

Fishermen from the South West Coast will head for Cork Port on Wednesday to "show and tell the crazy scenario" facing their industry. "We are not being treated fairly by either the EU or the government who are not protecting…

Schull Sailing Club was founded in the West Cork harbour in 1977. Once a thriving fishing community, like other coastal areas that aspect of the village has diminished, but sailing has continued to develop. However, when Cork County Council didn't…

Tonight is a big night for the Royal Cork at Crosshaven, where the Rear Admiral for Keelboats is looking forward to firing the starting gun again this evening. It's not for racing, but for keelboat training, as a prelude to…

I've never given much thought to why lifeboats are orange. It just seemed to me to be the right colour to be seen easily at sea. Now I know that it's also a colour that provides reassurance and relief -…

Basking sharks should be given legal protection under the Irish Wildlife Act, the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group's Chief Executive says. They are protected in the UK, including Northern Ireland and around the isle of Man. Protection within 12 nautical…

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…

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…

The fishing industry is "one hundred per cent united" in what it wants the Government's new Seafood Task Force to do for the industry, according to the Chief Executive of the Irish South and West Fish Producers' Organisation in Castletownbere.…

The start of the sailing season with two events in March in Cork Harbour has been set back. Two scheduled events have had to be cancelled due to the pandemic, both by the Royal Cork Yacht Club. The first of…