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
It’s not often a Notice to Mariners is issued by Bangor Harbour on Belfast Lough for a paddleboarding event but this was the case when a fundraiser was held in the Harbour on a very cold Sunday morning (1st Dec)…
Strangford Lough Yacht Club Members Celebrate 85 Years of Sailing
3rd December 2019 Northern Ireland Waters
In celebration of 85 years of sailing, 190 Strangford Lough Yacht Club members enjoyed a memorable gala ball in the Clandeboye Lodge Hotel in Bangor. Commodore Rosie Baird said “It was great to see so many members and their guests…
Royal Ulster Yacht Club Goblet - Could Afloat Readers Solve This Australian Mystery?
30th November 2019 Northern Ireland Waters
Recently Royal Ulster Yacht Club was contacted by a Mr Andre Jaku of Melbourne, Australia about a goblet he had bought from Leonard Joel’s Auction house in the city. It was listed as silver and was engraved with the words: …
Enda O’Coineen has many friends who sail Northern Waters. Now there’s the chance to meet up with him next week at the launch of his latest book, Journey to the Edge in No Alibis bookstore on Botanic Avenue, Belfast writes…
Bangor Waterfront Project on Belfast Lough to Better Link Town to Sea
27th November 2019 Belfast Lough
Another project in addition to the Bangor Queen’s Parade development on the County Down coast mentioned recently in Afloat, should see the enhancement of a two-mile stretch of the coast from the west of the Bangor Harbour all the way through…
Three volunteers from Northern Ireland are celebrating as their efforts were recognised by Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal at RYA’s Volunteer Awards held in London on Friday 22 November, to reward hard-working volunteers from all over the UK for…
Portaferry RNLI Assist Workers Stranded on Island in Deteriorating Weather Conditions
26th November 2019 RNLI Lifeboats
Portaferry RNLI came to the aid of three people stranded on Trasnagh Island near Whiterock at Killinchy on the western shore of Strangford Lough this afternoon, as the weather deteriorated. Portaferry’s volunteer crew launched promptly at 1.26 pm and made…
Since Victorian times until about thirty years ago, Queens Parade in Bangor was a thriving seaside thoroughfare with shops, hotels, a cinema, and ice cream vendors all colourfully set in a row, attracting hundreds to that part of the town…
Northern Ireland Sailor Mikey Ferguson Completes Incident Filled Transat Jacques Vabre Race
24th November 2019 Offshore
Bangor, Northern Ireland sailor Mikey Ferguson and Finnish airline pilot Ari Hussela finished the famous 4350-mile coffee route ocean race, the Transat Jacques Vabre offshore race, from Le Havre to Salvador da Bahia in Brazil, on 15th November. But not…
The Ards and North Down Christmas lights switch-on this year on Saturday (23rd) at Bangor on Belfast Lough will be followed by a spectacular firework display from a floating barge moored outside the Harbour. A 200-metre safety zone will be…
A ‘Town’ Regatta in Bangor first saw the light of day a century ago and Belfast Lough will, from 25th till 28th June next year, see a repeat of the 2018 reincarnation as Bangor Town Regatta, a four-day multi-class event…
Council Pays Cost of Scrapping Abandoned Fishing Trawler at Ballyhalbert
15th November 2019 Northern Ireland Waters
Ards and North Down Borough Council paid £36,000 to scrap an abandoned fishing trawler in Ballyhalbert harbour on the Ards Peninsula writes Betty Armstrong. Ballyhalbert is a small seaside village on the Irish Sea coast of the Ards Peninsula at…
Belfast Harbour's 'RSPB Window on Wildlife' Gives a Bird's Eye View
14th November 2019 Belfast Lough
As you make your passage west through Belfast Harbour to the Marina you probably don’t realise that on your port side near the cruise liner terminal is gem of a wildlife sanctuary just a hundred metres away writes Betty Armstrong.…
Happy 85th Birthday as Strangford Lough Yacht Club is RYA Club of the Year Award Finalist
14th November 2019 Northern Ireland Waters
Strangford Lough Yacht Club that celebrates its 85th anniversary this weekend is celebrating its shortlisting as a finalist in the 2020 RYA Club of the year competition writes Betty Armstrong. As Afloat reported earlier, two northern clubs have been selected as…
300 Laser Radials Expected for 2020 Youth European Championships at Ballyholme Yacht Club
12th November 2019 Laser
Just as well Ballyholme Yacht Club is at present extending the south dinghy park and widening one of the launching slips because next July an entry of over 300 is expected for the Laser Youth Radial European Championships which will…
Now that the city of Derry’s legendary Halloween celebrations are over, all eyes are on July 2020 which will be a key date in the Derry/Londonderry calendar when, on Saturday 25th, the eleven 70-ft yachts in the Clipper Round the…
Belfast used to turn its back on the River Lagan. Not anymore writes Betty Armstrong. Within the city much development, both commercial and urban, has taken place around the river – a weir, Belfast Harbour Marina, riverside walks, a new…
Call For Compulsory Lifejacket Law After Drowning Deaths In Northern Ireland
30th October 2019 Water Safety
Patrick McGurgan, a Northern Ireland coroner, has recently called for the introduction of a law to make the wearing of lifejackets compulsory in Northern Ireland, writes Betty Armstrong. Mr McGurgan had heard two inquests following separate drowning deaths on inland…
Septuagenarian Scoops Top Award At East Antrim Boat Club Prize-Giving Gala
29th October 2019 Sailing Clubs
A septuagenarian yachtsman has scooped the top award at the recent East Antrim Boat Club prize-giving event, writes Tom Jobling. Maurice Adams, who has Parkinson’s, received the solid silver trophy — presented to EABC by the Gingles family in the…
Tributes have been paid to Northern Ireland sailing stalwart Doug Smyth OBE who passed away this summer writes Betty Armstrong. Doug, a member of Carrickfergus Sailing Club and former Chair of The Royal Yachting Association Northern Ireland (RYANI) died on 21…