
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.

The Portaferry Coastguard Rescue team was alerted by Belfast Coastguard yesterday to attend the scene of a serious incident when a car had left the Portaferry Road near Newtownards and ended up on the shore. The road which runs from…

Howth Lifeboat Station’s John McKenna Awarded RNLI Long Service Medal
12th January 2021 RNLI Lifeboats
Howth Lifeboat Station Community Safety Officer John McKenna has been awarded a long service medal by the RNLI. In 2020, McKenna (73) reached a milestone: 21 years of volunteering for the RNLI and saving lives at sea. He has been…

Peter Bullick is well known in sailing circles in Northern Ireland and has long been a familiar face associated with volunteering for the RNLI. He enjoys cruising to the west coast of Scotland and has ventured as far as St…

Lough Neagh Rescue Warns Over Dangers of Jumping Through Frozen Ice
10th January 2021 Northern Ireland Waters
Extremely low temperatures in Northern Ireland (it was -10.5 degrees in Katesbridge in County Down) caused many waterways and lakes and even Bangor Harbour on Belfast Lough to ice over. Lough Neagh Rescue has reported that it received many calls…

Restrictions on where Northern Ireland Fishing Boats Can Land Catch Has Created a 'Hard Border'
8th January 2021 Fishing
The BBC has reported that fishermen in the north-west are saying that Post-Brexit restrictions on where Northern Ireland boats can land their catch in the Republic of Ireland have "created a hard border on the island", A new Irish government…

Coastguard Discovers Dolphin Washed Up on Crawfordsburn Beach, Belfast Lough
7th January 2021 Marine Wildlife
Last Wednesday (January 6th) Bangor Coastguard Team answered a report of a cetacean washed up on Crawfordsburn Beach on Belfast Lough. It was identified on social media as a Common Dolphin and it was suggested that the find should be…

Five young sailors have been given a unique chance to boost their training and skills after they were awarded funding from the Mary Peters Trust. The Trust aims to help aspiring young athletes, whatever their sport or social background, to…

Lough Erne Sea Plane Tenders To Feature on BBC NI Newsline Tonight
2nd January 2021 Inland Waterways
Lough Erne Yacht Club on the Lower Lough is situated about six miles north of Enniskillen on Goblusk Bay and occupies a former WW2 RAF site built in 1941 for Catalina Flying Boats. It has the enviable facility of being…

Think of the GP14 class in Ireland and among those uppermost in your mind, (depending on your age!) would be the late Ernie Mawhinney's Ventura, one of the earliest in the class at number 796. Ventura means 'fortune, chance or…

Irish Olympic Finn Sailor & Race Officer Bill O'Hara Awarded OBE in New Year's Honours List
31st December 2020 Northern Ireland Waters
Among those in the New Years Honours List for 2021 is Bangor, County Down man Bill O'Hara who has been awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire) for services to Sailing. A long-time member of Ballyholme and Royal Ulster…

John McVea, class captain of the now 100-year-old River Class which sails regularly at Strangford Lough Yacht Club, had been looking forward to a 2020 season of centenary celebrations. Covid 19 put paid to that, but one achievement which has…

The Name of the Late Don Clarke of Strangford Lough Yacht Club Will be on the New Clifden Lifeboat
27th December 2020 RNLI Lifeboats
It's a long way from Whiterock on Strangford Lough to Clifden in County Galway where the new Shannon class all-weather lifeboat will be stationed in 2022. It will be the second such vessel to be part of the charity's 'Launch…

Nigel McNeely was a motorboat man who had also enjoyed sailing a Leisure 17. But with two young boys reaching the age at which they could learn to sail, Nigel bought a second-hand GP14 called Alchemellia (no 12819) originally owned…

Single-Handers Race for Christmas Regatta Honours at East Antrim Boat Club
24th December 2020 Northern Ireland Waters
Seventeen single-handers took advantage of a favourable day on Sunday last (20th) to hold a Christmas Regatta at East Antrim Boat Club on Larne Lough before the shut down in Northern Ireland on Boxing Day. The fleet consisted of two…

Ballyholme Yacht Club on Belfast Lough will host the British Topper Nationals, scheduled for early August next year, a few days after the World Championships in Cork Harbour. With the Irish Nationals in Northern Ireland at Strangford Lough Yacht Club in…

Larne Harbour is Base for 'MPI Resolution', World's First Purpose-Built Vessel for Offshore Wind Turbine Installation
21st December 2020 Northern Ireland Waters
Larne Harbour on the east coast of Antrim in Northern Ireland is currently the base for the MPI Resolution, the world's first purpose-built vessel for installing offshore wind turbines, foundations, and transition pieces. The ship is working out of Larne…

East Antrim Boat Club Appoints Lucy Whitford as Commodore
21st December 2020 Northern Ireland Waters
East Antrim Boat Club in Larne has appointed Lucy Whitford as Commodore, only the third lady in the Club's 70-year history to enjoy that position. The others were Lilian Stewart and Anne Morris. Although Lucy is a regular sailor, and…

A car was moments away from plunging into the sea after it edged over the side of the pier at Portrush on the North Coast on Tuesday morning at about 9.30 am. The car moved forward from the council car…

Honour for Belfast Lough Sailor Chris Lindsay with SportMaker Technical Official of the Year Award
16th December 2020 Northern Ireland Waters
Chris Lindsay from Carrickfergus on Belfast Lough has been awarded the Sportmaker Technical Official of the Year title through Sport Northern Ireland. Since July 2019, Chris has officiated at World Championships across various classes and countries, with the highlight of…

HM Coastguard N Ireland and South West Scotland have opened its recruitment window for volunteer 2021 Coastguard Rescue Officer Recruitment. The team of volunteers is made up of people from all backgrounds including other emergency services, government agencies, business owners,…