Afloat – Ireland's Sailing and Boating Magazine
#Decommissioning - Minister with Responsibility for Defence, Mr Paul Kehoe, yesterday attended the decommissioning ceremony of LÉ Aisling in Galway Docks. LÉ Aisling was the longest serving vessel in the Irish Naval Service fleet. The ‘Deirdre’ class vessel built by…
Two teams will represent Great Britain at the 2016 Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup in Cowes (23-30 July). The Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup is a biennial team event organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC), comprising inshore and offshore events…
Day 4 1800 An intriguing Round Ireland Race tussle has been taking place this afternoon and evening along Ireland’s most easterly coastline where County Down bulges out towards both Galloway in Scotland and the Isle of Man in the middle…
#RNLI - Union Hall RNLI was tasked by Valentia Coast Guard at 6.14pm on Monday (20 June 2016) to reports of a yacht in difficulty with a broken tiller three-and-a-half miles south of Glandore Harbour. The volunteer lifeboat crew launched…
#RNLI - Portrush RNLI's inshore lifeboat launched yesterday evening (Tuesday 21 June) to reports of a swimmer in difficulty at the Herring Pond in Portstewart. Three volunteer lifeboat crew launched the inshore lifeboat in cloudy conditions in a slight sea…
After another commanding performance in last year's Rolex Fastnet Race, France is lining up to claim further silverware from the Royal Ocean Racing Club's trophy cabinet - this time the Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup. A win for France would mark…
Calls to reopen the Limerick navigation between Parteen Weir and the city have been answered as Waterways Ireland confirmed that the infrastructural repair works needed would begin this week writes Andrew Carey. As Afloat.ie reported previously, damage to floating pontoons…
Day 5 1000: With Eric de Turckheim’s beautifully-sailed A13 Teasing Machine finally finished in Wicklow at 0859 this morning to retain her second overall in IRC in the Volvo Round Ireland Race 2016 writes W M Nixon, the current outstanding…
The Fast40+ class is creating plenty of interest from international teams. There was further good news when boat builder McConaghy boat bulder announced Hull#5 of the Ker40+ series has been sold and will begin build later this month. The yacht…
At last a breeze! Although not quite up to the forecasted gusts of 25 knots plus last night's DBSC racing was held in fantastic conditions with peaks of 20 knots in Scotsmans Bay while further out the Dublin Bay Buoy recorded…
As Afloat.ie reported in April, Sailing In Dublin Club yacht Silverwind set out on the first of its fourteen week long cruises around Ireland this summer. Club member Damien Byrne describes his week long cruise with stunning views of West Cork.…
Government Delays For Five Years Signing Up To United Nations Treaty For Marine Environment Protection – PODCAST
22nd June 2016 Island Nation
Five years ago the Department of Transport told the United Nations agency dealing with safety at sea and the marine environment that it was preparing to ratify a treaty drawn up by the UN intended to control the spread of…
St. Michael's Rowing Club in Dun Laoghaire, will host round five of the East Coast, Coastal Rowing Championships on Sunday 3rd July, 2016. The regatta will take place from the Dublin Bay side of the West Pier. There are more…
Day 4 2100: The lonely island of Inishtrahull beyond Malin Head marks the most northerly point of the Volvo Round Ireland Race writes W M Nixon. Or rather, some unmarked rocks strung out beyond Inishtrahull are the ultimate marks of…
RTE news reports that a kayak angler has captured on camera his "epic tussle" to catch a shark off Malin Head in Co Donegal. Sea angler Graham Smith battled for more than three hours on Saturday to land the 136kg…
Dublin Bay Sailing Club Results for Tuesday, 21st June 2016 CRUISERS 1 - 1. Powder Monkey (C Moore), 2. Something Else (J.Hall et al), 3. Jalapeno (P Barrington et al) CRUISERS 2 - 1. Bendemeer (L Casey & D Power) CRUISERS…
Day 4 2000: The latest retiral from the 64–boat Volvo Round Ireland Race fleet is the two handed Foynes Yacht Club entry Big Deal. The Father and son team of Derek and Conor Dillon retired in to port of Fenit in…
Irish sailing was well represented in the sprint of the MOD 70s to new records yesterday in the Volvo Round Ireland Race 2016, with Damian Foxall on board the first-to-finish Musandam-Oman, while Justin Slattery was only minutes away aboard Phaedo…
#Rio2016 - “I don’t think the Irish media know how bad it is over here in Rio…” So Ireland’s Paralympian John Twomey emailed early this morning, as Afloat.ie's Tom MacSweeney writes. He was reporting how “two good friends of mine who…
High Noon & High Water In The North Channel As Battle Of The Tides Takes Over Round Ireland Race 2016
21st June 2016 Round Ireland
Day four noon: They talk of tidal gates at various stages of the Volvo Round Ireland Race, but in those narrow seas between Ireland and Scotland which are the North Channel, for smaller craft the tides can be a complete…
