Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Members of Cockle Island Boat Club in Groomsport near Bangor on Belfast Lough have had to cancel indefinitely the lift-in planned for 27th April and organised by Terry Graham, due to restrictions on the size of gatherings in the current…

Northern Ireland's biggest sailing event, Bangor Town Regatta on Belfast Lough has been cancelled over Covid 19 concerns. A statement from the organising club, Royal Ulster, says: - “It is with deep regret that the Organising Committee of Bangor Town…

In a communication this morning, Richard Honeyford, Chief Operating Officer in RYA Northern Ireland, said that in line with the RYA, the local governing body will be suspending organised activity until 30th April writes Betty Armstrong. This includes all Youth…

Sea Cadets in Northern Ireland excel at football as well as rowing and sailing, demonstrated by the junior girls' five-a-Side team winning Gold at the National Finals in England recently. The junior team, aged 12 to 15, was made up…

A charity yachting organisation that was originally planning to sail from Scotland to Northern Ireland to save competition costs at Bangor Town Regatta this June has had its transport costs covered. Murray McDonald, skipper of the Hunter 707 Autism on the…

RYA Northern Ireland is celebrating clinching a prestigious award at the Active Fit and Sporty Awards at the ceremony held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Belfast, just a few days before International Women’s Day. The Active, Fit and Sporty…

The countdown is on for three Northern Ireland sailors campaigning for their place at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in late July this year, writes Betty Armstrong. The athletes, who have been training for over four years, as part of their…

Royal Ulster Yacht Club has extended its Early Bird entry discount for June's Bangor Town Regatta. The move comes after consultation with some of the competing classes who haven’t quite finalised their racing calendar for this year. As a result, the…

The great sailor Ed Baird, Laser World champion in 1980 and World J24 Champion in 1983 is reputed to have said that the most important skills come from 'Time on the Water'. Now in preparation for doing just that this…

Bangor Town Regatta’s Class 3 sports a first-time entrant in Murray McDonald from Port Edgar, who confesses he has never been to the town before. Murray’s debut is in a Hunter 707 which has been raced competitively in the growing…

The Five Anchor Quay Marina in Bangor has announced that from Spring this year it will become part of a single marina group, boatfolk. This development follows last year’s announcement from Quay Marinas that they would form, with Dean &…

The six RS Elites entered for Bangor Town Regatta on Belfast Lough now warrant their own class and with three days of the early bird entry left, there is still time for more to join them at the bargain rate.…

Bangor has more of a link to the prestigious SSE Renewables Round Ireland Yacht Race than is at first obvious writes Betty Armstrong. This year Royal Ulster Yacht Club looks forward to tracking the progress of father and son duo,…

East of the City of Derry on the River Foyle are the Foyle Bridge and Culmore Point and it is here on the northern banks of the river that the Eden Project Foyle will be located. The project, developed by…

Bangor Town Regatta entry is now open and it’s the Sigma 33s who lead the way with five entries already for the June event writes Betty Armstrong. With Charles Hurst Jaguar Land Rover as headline sponsors, the event incorporates the…

Ballyholme Yacht Club will be the venue for the Irish Multihull Association’s Weekend of Speed in mid-May. The club has extensive experience of hosting national and international sailing events on the virtually tide and hazard free waters of Belfast Lough…

Among the craft in Bangor Marina on Belfast Lough who have made it their home since it opened thirty years ago, are the rowing boats belonging to the Bangor Sea Cadet Unit, T S Decoy. Their shore base is an…

Although the mystery of how a Goblet inscribed Royal Ulster Yacht Club, dated 1869 and awarded to a Mr Foster Connor, ended up in Melbourne (Read Afloat's earlier report here) has not been resolved, the trophy has been bought by…

For the second year running the Port of Belfast trade tonnages handled during 2019 have remained strong at more than 24M tonnes. Positive growth was recorded in several sectors including Roll-on / Roll-Off (Ro-Ro) freight vehicles and exports of aggregates,…

Irish Olympic 49er campaigners Ryan Seaton and Séafra Guilfoyle put in a spirited performance in the 74-strong fleet at the 2020 Oceania Championships at Geelong near Melbourne, which ended today. They posted a set of results which included a second,…