Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

The late Pat Kelly from Antrim Boat Club on Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland was known far and wide in Ireland. His passing last week at the age of 85, less than a year since he last sailed, was acknowledged…

Cockle Island is a small club in the village of Groomsport on Belfast Lough and members there will be rooting for one of their own who is racing the only Northern entry in this year’s Cork Week, Shaun Douglas in…

Last year there were over 140 boats in the long-established Bar Buoy Race and Narrows Series, a four-day bonanza of sail racing in the fast-flowing Strangford Narrows, the six-mile stretch of water that empties and fills the 58 sqm of…

In a warm-up for the 12-day long GP14 Worlds in Skerries in early August, a very competitive 40-strong fleet came to the line for the Ridgeway Irish GP14 Championships hosted by the Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club on the…

Peter Kennedy and Stephen Kane from Strangford Lough YC topped the fourteen-strong fleet of Flying Fifteens at the Northern Championships hosted by County Antrim YC on the north shore of Belfast Lough. Competitors travelled from as far away as Draycote…

Maybe future Bangor Town Regattas could present a prize for the boat with the most family members on board? For the three-generation crewed J109 Storm from Rush Sailing Club and Howth Yacht Club which won Class 2, the RC 35…

The southerly wind today (Sunday), Day 4 of Royal Ulster’s Bangor Town Regatta wasn’t quite as enthusiastic as it was yesterday when racing was cancelled, so Principal Race Officer Con Murphy got the fleet away in 25 knots gusting 30,…

Today – Day 3 of Bangor Town Regatta turned out to be one of those High Stool Days WM Nixon wrote about in Afloat’s Sailing on Saturdays. For the same unseasonably windy weather which has put paid to several sailing…

What a difference a day makes! There’s a eucalyptus tree near my house and if it’s all moving there’s a good chance the fleet is thrashing about Belfast Lough half a mile away. It was pretty active today. Flukey breezes…

A ‘Town’ Regatta at Bangor was first held on Belfast Lough over a century ago and saw reincarnation in 2018. Subsequent regattas fell foul of Covid 19 but on 23rd June it was all systems go for the 49 boats…

The late Raymond Beattie was a Strangford Lough man through and through, an enthusiastic sailor and member of Killyleagh Yacht Club. He passed away in the Isle of Man on 1st June following a tragic accident. In a fitting tribute…

The North Channel isn’t a very enticing place when you want to sail to Portpatrick on the Mull of Galloway in Scotland in windy conditions in a hydrofoiling Waszp dinghy and even less so when you’re attempting to set a…

The light winds forecast for the Ailsa Craig Race from Royal Ulster on Belfast Lough on Friday night turned out to be at times 17 knots, which for Stuart Cranston’s Ker 32 Hijacker appeared just at the wrong time when…

On Sunday 5th June lifeboats went to the aid of a jet ski with two people on board in difficulties on the River Blackwater which flows into the south western corner of Lough Neagh. It was towed to Maghery where…

Excitement is growing on Belfast Lough with the prospect of next week’s Bangor Town Regatta bringing over 600 sailors to that seaside town, now designated ‘City’, for the resurrected event which has been on hold during the pandemic. Chairman Gavin…

Royal Ulster’s Classic offshore overnight Ailsa Craig race will start from the club line at Bangor in Belfast Lough on Friday evening (17th) with the first warning signal at 19.00 hrs. On a good day, the Craig can be seen…

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…

Ross Kearney and Andrew Vaughan from Royal North YC on Belfast Lough topped the 26 strong GP14 fleet at the Ulster Championships over the third weekend this month. The event was hosted for the first time since 2018 by Lough…

Crowds gathered recently at Bangor Marina on Belfast Lough for the second open evening to be held by the charity Safer Waters. Safer Waters is a unique service in Northern Ireland, established in 2020 to provide a Safety Boat service…

Killyleagh Yacht Club on the western shore of Strangford Lough recently hosted the Squib Northerns and a fleet of 18 enjoyed five races under Race Officer Scott Rogers and his team in challenging conditions over the two days. Overall winners…