Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Northern Ireland sailor Mikey Ferguson from Bangor in County Down has joined Pip Hare's IMOCA campaign and they will start the Lonely Rock Race tomorrow (Sunday 16th August), from near Ryde in the Eastern Solent in Medallia. As well as being…

John Harrington will carry the flag again for Royal Ulster Yacht Club, as he is off again south in the IMX38 eXcession! In a racing schedule arranged with military precision, John and a football team sized crew will tackle the…

In a few days, a large fleet of 17 boats from the Cruising Association of Ireland will arrive in Belfast Lough. It's three years since they last cruised here in Northern Ireland. The contingent will include two boats from the…

An unusual visitor to Glenarm Marina in County Antrim recently was the rowing boat of the GB Row Challenge. After what must have been an uncomfortable time lying in the open in Glenarm Harbour in a north-westerly, the GB Row…

In the run-up to the return of Topper and Laser dinghy events, RYA Northern Ireland has arranged a series of Open Pathway training events during this month. The RYANI Open Pathway Training (OPT) is aimed primarily at those sailors who…

 Ballyholme Yacht Club‘s ‘Regatta’ last weekend went a long way in these ‘new normal’ times, to fulfil the usual criteria for a standard regatta, but minus the visitors and the usual socialising and tea and buns afterwards. It was a…

Recently the Brompton inflatable goose featured in a story about open sea swimmers near Bangor on Belfast Lough. Now round the corner from Brompton, the Helen’s Baywatch swimmers have a real ‘Goose’ to swim with! The reddish-brown female eider duck…

Royal Ulster Yacht Club members John and Sally McKee played a crucial part in their motor cruiser in a dramatic incident on the Shannon waterway last Saturday. A private cruiser from Limerick was making a passage northwards on Lough Ree…

Ballyholme Yacht Club on Belfast Lough has taken a big step and will hold a two-day club regatta this weekend, (1st and 2nd August), for members only, but it will be an adapted ‘regatta’, run to the new normal within…

Bangor Marina on Belfast Lough had high profile visitors last week. Three naval ships, HMS Biter, HMS Charger and HMS Express docked at the marina. All are Archer class patrol and training vessels and attached to Universities in the North…

It’s not often a record-breaker visits Bangor but Safehaven Marine’s Managing Director Frank Kowalski, who set the Round Ireland and Rockall Record in the original 17 metre XSV 17 demonstrator Thunder Child in 2017, brought his striking yellow hulled Thunder…

Belfast Lough Sailability was due to host the President’s Cup in August but sadly, due to COVID 19, this event has had to be postponed. This interprovincial regatta was Inaugurated by Paralympian John Twomey, promoted by Sailability Ireland and provides…

Carlingford Lough YC hasn’t been idle during the lockdown as members have enjoyed a Virtual Regatta, starting in early April, thanks to the RYA who arranged for sailing clubs to have a free subscription. To date, the club has had…

The Cadets at Ballyholme Yacht Club in Bangor Co Down on Belfast Lough are split into two sections; the beginners called Dolphins and those who have completed Stage 3 – Sharks. In order to reduce the numbers on the slipway…

Yesterday evening Coleraine Coastguard responded to a report of a person falling from a Jetski at Benone Beach. This popular Blue Flag beach stretches for over seven miles on the North Coast, from Downhill westwards to where it meets Magilligan…

Stand up Paddleboarding in the mountains? Lough Shannagh (or the Lough of the Fox), is a corrie lake on the southern side of the Mournes in County Down and lies at 390m at the foot of Carn Mountain. It is…

Bangor Marina on Belfast Lough in County Down welcomes visitors from far and wide, but this Mediterranean gull must be one of the most interesting, having travelled from Poland, Spain, and France before flying into Bangor. Berth holder, wildlife expert…

It is just over three years since the Cruising Association of Ireland fleet visited Belfast Lough. And now another trip north is planned for the middle week of August. The CAI has managed to keep active through the COVID 19…

Neighbouring clubs Royal Ulster and Ballyholme at Bangor in County Down on Belfast Lough are both due back on the water soon. The RUYC sailing committee has decided that in line with further guidance from the RYA that competitive sport…

Cadet Summer Sailing at the Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club on Belfast Lough is proving popular with much interest in the scheme which starts on Monday next (13th July). Rear Commodore Sailing Jonny Millar, Cadet Officers John Driscoll and…