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
Two Belfast Lough sailors are racing in the 50th Anniversary Rolex Fastnet Race, which starts on Saturday from Cowes on the Isle of Wight and finishes in Cherbourg. Ewan Finlay is racing as foredeck crew on Mark Emerson’s A13 Phosphorus II,…
On Monday last (17th), several search and rescue teams held a very active training session out of the village of Groomsport on the North Down coast. Taking part alongside Lagan Search and Rescue’s Ribcraft Class 1 Lifeboat were Bangor Atlantic…
Belfast Lough Rescue Crews Welcomed on Board Visiting TS State of Maine
18th July 2023 Belfast Lough
On July 7th, the TS State of Maine, the current training ship of the Maine Maritime Academy, docked at the Gotto Wharf in the Herdman Channel in the Port of Belfast. She was formerly in the United States Navy service…
Final Call II's Win in IRC One is Top Northern Ireland Result at Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta 2023
15th July 2023 Volvo Regatta
Seven boats from Northern Ireland made the trip to Dun Laoghaire for the Volvo Regatta, one of which, FA 2, trailed from Antrim and craned in off the town's Carlisle Pier. John Minnis’s first place in the 22-strong Cruisers One…
Insect Class Dinghy 'Tarantula' Turns Up in Larne, Co. Antrim and Seeks New Owner
14th July 2023 Historic Boats
The Ballyholme Yacht Club Insect class dinghy number 12 Tarantula has turned up in Larne in Co. Antrim. One of 17 built by French and McDermott in the early 1950s, this 14-foot clinker dinghy was owned by the late Mr…
Leisure 17s 50th Anniversary Celebrations Continue on Strangford Lough
12th July 2023 Northern Ireland Waters
Celebrations of 50 years of Leisure 17s at East Down Yacht Club near Killyleagh on Strangford Lough continued on the first Saturday in July with the second of the series of day sails. This outing proved to be rather more…
Home Pride as Tom Driscoll Wins Topper 5.3 Nationals for Ballyholme Yacht Club
11th July 2023 Topper
It was worth waiting for. Belfast Lough having suffered the same fate as the first day of the Dun Laoghaire Regatta, the Irish Topper Nationals got underway a day late at Ballyholme on the north Down coast last Saturday afternoon…
Ballyholme Yacht Club’s online Baycam had a very prominent red line on Friday (7 July) with the southerly offshore wind forecast to reach 37 knots in the gusts, putting paid to the first day of the 2023 Topper Nationals. In…
Howth Yacht Club's McMahon Siblings are Ulster ILCA Championship Winners at Ballyholme
5th July 2023 Laser
It was a challenging, very windy two days at Ballyholme on Belfast Lough for the ILCA Ulster Championships last weekend. The big fleet in three divisions, ILCA 4, 6 and 7, attracted 47 competitors from as far away as Glandore…
If you could bottle the energy, enthusiasm and excitement of the 24 ladies who took advantage of East Down Yacht Club’s day set aside for women to learn how to handle a big boat, then a fortune is to be…
A35 Final Call II and J109 Storm Share the Spoils at Royal Ulster's RC35/IRC Weekend
27th June 2023 RC35
The RC35/IRC event at Royal Ulster on Belfast Lough last weekend came about because of a chance suggestion by a club member. Although it attracted a small fleet of eight, it did include the very welcome visitors, Ben Shelley in…
Having spent the weekend racing in the Irish RS Elite Championships at Royal Ulster on Belfast Lough, most of the 14-strong fleet are making their way the 18 miles to the UK Nationals hosted by Strangford Lough Yacht Club at…
Once the International Wayfarer rally ended at East Down Yacht Club on Strangford Lough last weekend, five boats with 13 crew headed west to another, albeit smaller but memorable gathering at Lough Erne Yacht Club in County Fermanagh. They were…
The final four races in the Antrim Boat Club Summer series saw Jeff Harrison and Charlie McAllister’s Limbo 6.6 FA2 dominating the score sheet as they had done in the previous four races, to take the overall prize by nine…
At what proved to be the end of a three-week spell of light weather, Royal Ulster Yacht Club’s Rollins Insurance supported traditional offshore Ailsa Craig race started at 8 pm on Friday, 16th June. The fleet of seven wound its…
Last week, the International Wayfarer gathering in Strangford Lough attracted over 40 visitors from as far away as the USA and from mainland Europe. The event was hosted by East Down Yacht Club on the west side of the Lough.…
The number of cruise ships expected to dock in Belfast Harbour this season represents a 20% increase on the previous record set in 2019. In 2019, Cruise Belfast opened the first dedicated cruise terminal on the island of Ireland, and…
The Wayfarer dinghy was designed by Ian Proctor in 1957 and since then has proved to be a tough and seaworthy cruising dinghy, yet at the same time being responsive and rewarding to race. At nearly 16 feet long and…
Mixed Fortunes for Northern Ireland Boats in the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race
12th June 2023 Dun Laoghaire Dingle
Fortunes were mixed for the two boats from the North of Ireland taking part in the Volvo Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race. Michael Eames Sunfast 3200 from Royal Ulster YC and Strangford Lough YC finished sixth overall and top of…
It is 36 years since the father of Ben Greenhalgh, winner of the RS Feva UK Nationals at Pwllheli, raced in the same waters in the Cadet Worlds in a team from Ireland. Simon Greenhalgh from Ballyholme YC was part…