Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Owners of Kilroot power station near Carrickfergus on Belfast Lough are planning a £600m investment to increase lower carbon generation at the site. As BBC News reports, it includes an existing plan to convert Kilroot from coal-fired to gas-fired. (See…

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…

Last Friday was the first of July’s FunDay Fridays on Belfast Lough, a three-way collaboration between Bangor Marina, SUP HubNI and Citizen Sea who are together providing a fabulously educational and active two-hour session where all the children will have…

The Ards and North Down coastal area has done well by winning awards for excellence in facilities, environmental management, environmental education, accessibility and safety. Bangor Marina has been awarded the internationally renowned Blue Flag for the 2020 season. The Blue…

In the current wave of revulsion against slavery and its appalling history, no European nation has totally clean hands. For although we might like to think that the huge Caribbean sugar plantations worked by African slaves in the 1800s brought…

Last Thursday and Friday were busy days for Bangor Coastguard on Belfast Lough with an incident on both days. On Thursday evening the Coastguard and the Police Service investigated reports of concern for a kayaker seen the Ballywalter area in…

Northern Ireland’s coastline is dotted with cold water swimmers who go out no matter what the weather or temperature. The group who swim near Jenny Watts Cave just past Wilson’s Point at Bangor on Belfast Lough are known as the…

Cruise fall-out as Belfast Harbour is anticipating that Covid-19 could hit revenues by as much as 20% this year, largely due to the collapse of its cruise, tourist and leisure business. Port bosses said they do not expect any of…

The opening up of Royal Ulster Yacht Club on Belfast Lough has been long-awaited and tomorrow (Friday 3rd July) is the big day. During the past week bar and waiting staff have undergone training on the new way of working.…

The rescue services were so busy over the weekend that they have related several incidents together. A jetskier needed medical assistance after coming off his jetski. Donaghadee Lifeboat brought the casualty from Millisle into Donaghadee harbour and was met by…

Bangor Town Regatta on Belfast Lough was a casualty of COVID-19 this year, (in fact the regatta would have been on the water last week), but a 2021 date has now been set for Thursday 24th till Sunday 27th June.…

Kevin Baird, Harbour Master and Marina Manager in Bangor, has posted a substantial update to the state of harbour and marina opening dates in the North of Ireland and beyond. The situation continues to be fluid. Among the notable changes…

Ballyholme Yacht Club is planning to form a Sub Committee to ensure members who are interested in Standup Paddleboarding, Sea Swimming, Kayaking and Windsurfing have a voice. Before the Lockdown the club had plans in place for a new Social…

A Belfast Lough Maritime Consortium led by Artemis Technologies has won a £33 million UK Government innovation grant to develop zero emissions ferries in the city, that will revolutionise the future of maritime transport. With further investment from consortium partners,…

Answering what was the Bangor Coastguard Rescue Team’s third shout of the day yesterday (Sat 20th), after a telephone call from former Lifeboat Operations Manager Kevin Byers, a volunteer RNLI crew was tasked with rescuing three kayakers in Ballyholme Bay…

A new £6.6M ship-to-shore container handling crane is Belfast Harbour’s largest-ever investment in a single piece of port equipment. The installation is part of a £40M upgrade of its Victoria Terminal 3 (VT3) container terminal. The new fully electric crane…