Betty Armstrong
Betty Armstrong is Afloat and Yachting Life's Northern Ireland Correspondent. Betty grew up racing dinghies but now sails a more sedate Dehler 36 around County Down
Belfast Harbour's 'RSPB Window on Wildlife' Gives a Bird's Eye View
14th November 2019 Belfast Lough
As you make your passage west through Belfast Harbour to the Marina you probably don’t realise that on your port side near the cruise liner terminal is gem of a wildlife sanctuary just a hundred metres away writes Betty Armstrong.…
Happy 85th Birthday as Strangford Lough Yacht Club is RYA Club of the Year Award Finalist
14th November 2019 Northern Ireland Waters
Strangford Lough Yacht Club that celebrates its 85th anniversary this weekend is celebrating its shortlisting as a finalist in the 2020 RYA Club of the year competition writes Betty Armstrong. As Afloat reported earlier, two northern clubs have been selected as…
300 Laser Radials Expected for 2020 Youth European Championships at Ballyholme Yacht Club
12th November 2019 Laser
Just as well Ballyholme Yacht Club is at present extending the south dinghy park and widening one of the launching slips because next July an entry of over 300 is expected for the Laser Youth Radial European Championships which will…
Now that the city of Derry’s legendary Halloween celebrations are over, all eyes are on July 2020 which will be a key date in the Derry/Londonderry calendar when, on Saturday 25th, the eleven 70-ft yachts in the Clipper Round the…
Belfast used to turn its back on the River Lagan. Not anymore writes Betty Armstrong. Within the city much development, both commercial and urban, has taken place around the river – a weir, Belfast Harbour Marina, riverside walks, a new…
Call For Compulsory Lifejacket Law After Drowning Deaths In Northern Ireland
30th October 2019 Water Safety
Patrick McGurgan, a Northern Ireland coroner, has recently called for the introduction of a law to make the wearing of lifejackets compulsory in Northern Ireland, writes Betty Armstrong. Mr McGurgan had heard two inquests following separate drowning deaths on inland…
Septuagenarian Scoops Top Award At East Antrim Boat Club Prize-Giving Gala
29th October 2019 Sailing Clubs
A septuagenarian yachtsman has scooped the top award at the recent East Antrim Boat Club prize-giving event, writes Tom Jobling. Maurice Adams, who has Parkinson’s, received the solid silver trophy — presented to EABC by the Gingles family in the…
Tributes have been paid to Northern Ireland sailing stalwart Doug Smyth OBE who passed away this summer writes Betty Armstrong. Doug, a member of Carrickfergus Sailing Club and former Chair of The Royal Yachting Association Northern Ireland (RYANI) died on 21…
Belfast Lough sailor Mikey Ferguson from Bangor in County Down and his Finnish co-skipper Ari Huusela will this Sunday (27th) start the Transat Jacques Vabre, one of the most spectacular of the world’s ocean races writes Betty Armstrong. The route…