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Betty Armstrong

Betty Armstrong

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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

EABC's new commodore, Chris Dorman
East Antrim Boat Club (EABC) on Larne Lough in Northern Ireland has a new commodore - Chris Dorman, who has been a member of EABC since boyhood. He is also a long-serving RNLI coxswain with the nearby lifeboat station and…
Paul and Emma Prentice's Sigma 33 Squawk from Belfast Lough plans to compete in the 50th-anniversary edition of the Scottish Series on Loch Fyne in May
One hundred and ten and counting. The popular Scottish Series Regatta run by the Clyde Cruising Club out of Tarbert on Loch Fyne on the west coast of Scotland has, at the last count, 110 expressions of interest. The event…
Lurgan’s Linda Blakely plans to set off from Gran Canaria to St Lucia in the Caribbean on January 7
Lurgan’s Linda Blakely aims to cross the treacherous 3,000-mile Atlantic Ocean in a 12-foot boat aptly named Ulster Warrior, reports the Sunday Life. She will start 2024 attempting to break a world record for a female solo rower, which is…
Impalas competing in Strangford Lough. In 2024, East Down Yacht Club will stage the class European Championships
East Down Yacht Club in Northern Ireland will host the Impala European Championship on 25th/26th May next year. The event will incorporate the UK and Irish National Championships of the 28-foot one-design keelboat class. The club has a nine-acre site on…
The Ian Williams GBR Chinaone.Ningbo crew (left to right) Richard Sydenham, Jon Gundersen from Strangford Lough, Gerry Mitchell and Ian Williams
It’s 6,000 miles from Strangford Lough Yacht Club in the small hamlet of Whiterock on the western shore of the Lough in County Down, to Da Chan Bay in Shenzhen, China. And it is very different racing for Jon Gundersen…
East Down Yacht Club's 2024 Icicle Series on Strangford Lough is open to all dinghies next January
East Down Yacht Club will start the New Year with its annual Icicle Series on Sunday, 7th January. It will run for six Sundays, ending on 11th February. The Club is situated on a nine-acre site on the western shore…
Phil Quinn is a former Sailing Captain of Strangford Lough Yacht Club in County Down and has over 40 years of sailing experience
Philip Quinn has been chosen as the new Skipper of Qingdao in the Clipper Round the World Race. He will join from Airlie Beach in Queensland, Australia, at the start of a long stint of about 26000 miles to the…
The new contract period for the operation of Bangor Marina on Belfast Lough will run for 50.5 years from September 2024
It will be all change in the operation of Bangor Marina on Belfast Lough from September 2024. This has been outsourced to a private operator since 1 April 2008, with the latest agreement expiring on 30 September 2024. An opportunity…
Ballyholme Yacht Club on the east side of Bangor in North Down has been chosen to host the European ILCA 6 Youth Championships in 2024
The European ILCA 6 Youth Championships 2024 will be sailed at Ballyholme Yacht Club on Belfast Lough next season. “This is a very significant championship for Europe’s youth sailors and hosting the event is a feather in the cap for…
John Minnis, skipper of the stylish A35 Final Call II, who was the sole Belfast Lough competitor in IRC 1 at Dun Laoghaire Regatta 2023 and took first prize, is looking forward to competing in this year’s Bangor Regatta
A ‘Town’ Regatta at Bangor on Belfast Lough was first held over a century ago and saw a reincarnation in 2018. The 2020 event fell foul of Covid 19, but Bangor Town Regatta did run in 2022 and the Royal…
East Antrim Boat Club Prizegiving Celebrations 2023 (from left to right) Zoe Whitford, Tom Coulter, Mayor Mid and East Antrim Borough Council, Alderman Gerardine Mulvenna, Jenna Reid and Lucy Whitford
East Antrim Boat Club at Larne in County Antrim, Northern Ireland recently celebrated a successful Keelboat and Dinghy series at its annual prizegiving. The keelboat series was raced across four months, from May to August, with an overall winner each…
Times past - the Snipe dinghy Valkyria sailing on Lough Erne. The boat has been stored indoors for years and is now offered 'at no cost' as a restoration project
Sailing enthusiasts around Lough Erne in County Fermanagh have a proud record of restoring old boats as well as building new craft in traditional designs. Some years ago, the late Fred Ternan set up a small organisation called Lough Erne…
The Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club crew competing in JOG from left to right, Peter McConnell, Phil Clandillon and Gavin Doig
Until his Dehler 34 Penelope was dismasted competing in The Junior Offshore Group (JOG) racing in the Round the Isle of Wight race earlier this year, Peter McConnell, an outport member of Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club on Belfast Lough…
Bangor Marina is now a FIrst Responder for oil pollution spills on Belfast Lough
Northern Ireland's Bangor Marina on Belfast Lough has qualified as first responders for oil spills, earning the MCA P2 designation. The Bangor Marina crew worked hard, combining classroom learning and practical exercises led by the experts at Ambipar Response UK,…
Racing in the RS Feva 'Fling' Dinghy regatta at Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club on Belfast Lough
Ten RS Fevas from clubs around Belfast Lough rounded off their season with a Final Fling at Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club recently. After the initial strong wind died down to just in time to allow the event to…
Tight racing among the 27 GP14s during the Hot Toddy at Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club on Belfast Lough
Last weekend, 27 GP14s gathered at the Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club on the south shore of Belfast Lough for the first of the Hot Toddy meetings of the 23/24 season. Dominating the competition were the home crew of…
UK Maritime Minister Baroness Vere of Norbiton, Charlotte Vere, and the dynamic XOcean team with the Uncrewed Surface Vessel (USV) at Bangor Marina on Belfast Lough
Many assorted vessels visit Bangor Marina, but the XOcean Uncrewed Surface Vessel (USV) may be the most unusual. Last week, Harbour Master Kevin Baird and his team, MCA staff and Belfast Coastguard welcomed the UK Maritime Minister Baroness Vere of…
Record attempt - John Gimson and Anna Burnett (centre) with the Mayor of Ards and North Down Council, Councillor Jennifer Gilmore with some of the Ballyholme Yacht Club team behind the record-breaking bid
Taking off from Ballyholme Yacht Club in Northern Ireland a day ahead of Storm Agnes' arrival, Mixed Catamaran Olympic Medalists, John Gimson and Anna Burnett sailing a foiling Nacra 17 have beaten the previous record (subject to ratification) for a…
30 GP14s are expected for this weekend's Autumn 'Hot Toddy' Event on Belfast Lough
The first of the annual GP14 Hot Toddy events listed in the class calendar will be held this weekend (30th September -1st October) at the Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club on Belfast Lough. The event originates at East Antrim…
An illustration of the proposed new Antrim Boat Club premises on Lough Neagh
Antrim Boat Club (ABC) in Northern Ireland has taken a step towards bringing back dinghy sailing after a long absence with the purchase of five RS Zest dinghies to develop a new training centre. Training has already started. The Club…
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