Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Belfast Coastguard Rescue team was contacted this week by the Stena Superfast ferry inbound to Belfast in the shipping channel near Holywood. On Monday, January 25th the ferry had encountered a lone paddleboarder dangerously close to the vessel. Holywood is…

Paul Rowan was a renowned member of the GP14 class, a staunch supporter of East Antrim Boat Club at Larne and a talented helmsman sadly passed away on Saturday (23rd Jan). Paul was a highly successful sailor despite carrying a…

Bangor Marina on Belfast Lough is switching its electricity to a renewable source with immediate effect.  Marina Manager Kevin Baird said the marina takes its responsibility to the environment seriously and is constantly looking at ways in which it can reduce…

The Maritime Mile is an initiative developed by Maritime Belfast Trust and is a curated experience that connects and celebrates Belfast's vibrant heritage waterfront. It was set up originally to deliver the Titanic Belfast Visitor attraction and now includes many…

 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 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…

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…

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…

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 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…

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…

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…

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 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…