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Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Royal Yachting Association Northern Ireland
Gavin Watson is Vice Chair of RYA Northern Ireland
Gavin Watson has recently been appointed Vice Chair of RYA Northern Ireland. He is the Honorary Sailing Secretary of Royal Ulster Yacht Club on Belfast Lough, and it is believed that he is the first RUYC member to take on…
Children sailing in a Laser Bahia dinghy as part of the RYA OnBoard programme
Three sailing and boating clubs in Northern Ireland have been benefitting from a whole range of new resources after their clubs were accepted on the Royal Yachting Association’s OnBoard programme. Strangford Lough Yacht Club, East Antrim Boat Club and Royal…
Greg Yarnall at the seashore
RYA Northern Ireland’s new chief operating officer Greg Yarnall took up the post earlier this month following his appointment in July. In a special Q&A with the regional governing body for boating, he tells a bit about himself, his professional…
RYA logo
As the national governing body for boating with over 107,000 members and nearly 1,500 affiliated organisations, such as clubs and recognised training centres, the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) plays a challenging yet hugely rewarding role by advocating and providing a…
Queen Elizabeth II in 2021
The Royal Yachting Association (RYA) has issued a statement mourning the loss of its patron, Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday (8 September), sharing that it is “deeply saddened” by her passing: Our thoughts and condolences are with The Princess Royal, RYA…
Bobby Driscoll is Topper World Championships Silver medal winner and runner-up at the UK Nationals in Weymouth
Ballyholme Yacht Club near Bangor on Belfast Lough is gearing up for an influx of 120 boats taking part in the RYANI annual Youth Sailing Championships this weekend – Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th September. And by the look of…
Young sailors getting to grips with the RS Feva at Ballyholme
Following last weekend’s RS Nationals, Ballyholme Yacht Club hosted the first ever open training session of its kind for RS Fevas with RYA Northern Ireland coaches earlier this week. Eight RS Fevas took to the water for their first training…
Youth sailors
School students in England starting Year 12 this September who are interested in racing keelboats and want to have a future career in sailing or sports science have the change to apply for the RYA’s Diploma in Sporting Excellence programme…
Youth sailors in Northern Ireland
With a surge of people taking to the water this summer, there has been an increase in demand for courses at sailing clubs right across Northern Ireland. Now seven of these clubs will receive development support and guidance through RYA…
Mark Robinson MBE
Heralding a new era for RYA Racing, today sees the announcement that Nick Scott will be taking up the Director of Racing position this autumn and Mark Robinson MBE is assuming a new role as Performance Director following the British…
Greg Yarnall
RYA Northern Ireland has announced the appointment of Greg Yarnall as its new chief operating officer. Currently development director with Table Tennis England, he will join the RYANI in September 2022. He succeeds Richard Honeyford, who took up a new…
Participants in a previous RYANI Women on Water Festival
RYA Northern Ireland has announced this year’s Women on Water Festival, which is set to be an action-packed day at Donaghadee Sailing Club. This event, which will take place on Saturday 23 July, will be the third festival to run…
Margie Crawford
Volunteers are the bedrock of sailing and the backbone of the Royal Yachting Association’s member clubs across the UK, dedicating their valuable time to make sure sailing and boating continues to develop and that all of our sailors have a…
GP14 sailor Curly Morris at the helm of an East Antrim Boat Club dinghy during the recent Discover Sailing session at Larne
East Antrim Boat Club at Larne recently ran a very successful Discover Sailing Open Day when 29 people turned up to sample the sport under the guidance of 41 club volunteers. The mastermind behind the effort for what was reportedly…
RYA joins forces with RORC Rating Office & SW Yacht Time Correction Factor to promote and develop a national rating system for cruiser racers
Since the pandemic there has been a boost in numbers of people getting afloat - mostly sailors relatively new to the sport - and the RYA and the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) are keen to encourage as many keelboat…
Connie Wilson from East Antrim Boat Club in her Topper provided by the John Merricks Sailing Trust
Enthusiastic young sailors from across Northern Ireland are being encouraged to apply to be in with a chance of being awarded their own boat. Through an ongoing partnership between the John Merricks Sailing Trust (JMST) and RYA OnBoard, 10 boats…

About the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) Northern Ireland 

  • The RYA is the national body for dinghy, yacht and motor cruising, all forms of sail racing, RIBs and sports boats, windsurfing and personal watercraft and a leading representative for inland waterways cruising.
  • The RYA is recognised by Government, the media and opinion formers as the representative body and voice for the activities that it represents. It continually fights for the rights and freedoms of its 112,000 personal members.
  • The RYA has more than 1,500 affiliated clubs and classes, which represent some 350,000 boaters throughout the UK. It is estimated that 4 million people in the UK take part in boating activity annually.
  • The RYA also sets and maintains recognised standards for training for both leisure and commercial boating through a network of more than 2,400 RYA Recognised Training Centres across 58 countries. More than 250,000 people per year complete RYA training courses.
  • The RYA is responsible for one of the UK’s most successful Olympic medal-winning sports. Our coaching and development schemes actively support 800 of our country’s top sailors, from talented juniors to Olympic and World champions.
  • The RYA is committed to promoting all forms of boating and making them accessible to everyone. For more information please visit www.rya.org.uk.
  • The Royal Yachting Association Northern Ireland (RYA NI) acts for the RYA in Northern Ireland (NI) and the Chairman of RYA NI is invited to join the Irish Sailing Association (ISA) Policy Review Committee.
  • You can find the RYA Northern Ireland at Sketrick House, GE8, Jubilee Road, Newtownards, BT23 4YH.
  • RYA NI is a company limited by guarantee – Registration number NI 51945
  • Contact RYA NI: Tel: 02891 827154 email: [email protected]