Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

People may not be able to go to sea at present due to the Government restrictions but dolphins and porpoises clearly can’t read and so we are seeing reports of their activity in Belfast Lough. Recent sightings include about eight…

In the ongoing closures of marinas and harbours around the North Down Coast, Bangor Harbour’s Slipway on Belfast Lough has been closed to all activity except the launching of the lifeboat. The recent Notice to Mariners issued by the Harbour…

A new TV series beginning tomorrow night (Tuesday 14 April) on BBC One Northern Ireland puts Belfast Harbour in the starring role. Today’s Belfast Telegraph features the three-part documentary, Belfast Harbour: Cruises, Cranes and Cargo, which was filmed in the…

Ballyholme Yacht Club was to have been the venue in early July for the huge Laser Radial European Championships but the Iatest news from the EurILCA team is that due to the COVID-19 situation and expected restrictions on travel during…

The yacht Aries has been sheltering in Ballyholme Bay from the strong southerly and while Bangor Marina is closed due to COVID-19. Aries is a one-off 43 ft steel ketch owned by Simon Layton, a former UKSA instructor and friend…

Betty Amstrong explores past boatbuilding ventures in Ballyholme in the seaside town of Bangor on Belfast Lough. Did you know that before Enrico Caproni built his famous ‘Palais de Dance’ in 1928 on Seacliff Road that there was a shipyard…

The clapping for carers expression of support during the COVID-19 emergency was repeated at 8 pm last night across Northern Ireland and included applause for NHS workers, as well as the frontline staff who work in the docks – hauliers,…

The 320 berth Carrickfergus Marina on Belfast Lough and smaller harbours and launching facilities on the Antrim Coast and on the River Bann owned by Mid and East Antrim Council are the latest to hit the buffers due to Covid-19…

A former boss of a Belfast Harbour based shipping company has come out of retirement and gone back to work to help out during the coronavirus pandemic. Ex-William Reid director Alan Dunlop made the decision to return after four employees…

A cruise liner bound for Belfast in May has had its itinerary changed to avoid two upcoming port calls in Italy, following that country’s extraordinary national lockdown measures to control the coronavirus pandemic. According to the Belfast Telegraph, the MSC…

An Olympian with two gold medals is skippering a bid to make (Belfast Harbour) the UK a world leader in zero-emissions passenger ferries. Sailing champion Iain Percy is combining his own know-how from designing America’s Cup racing yachts with expertise…

The six RS Elites entered for Bangor Town Regatta on Belfast Lough now warrant their own class and with three days of the early bird entry left, there is still time for more to join them at the bargain rate.…

Preparations are well underway for the Laser Radial Youth European Championships to be held at Ballyholme Yacht Club this summer from 5th to 11th July 2020. Over 200 applications have been received from across the world already - although this…

Belfast Lough-based Artemis Technologies - a world-leading high-performance maritime design and applied technologies company - has announced a partnership with Creative Composites in Lisburn to make parts for a revolutionary new foiler system – the world’s first commercially viable electric…

Belfast Harbour has submitted a planning application for the development of six new purpose-built film and television studios at its existing Giant’s Park site. The harbour company says the plans represent an investment of £45m and will generate 250 construction…

Bangor Town Regatta entry is now open and it’s the Sigma 33s who lead the way with five entries already for the June event writes Betty Armstrong. With Charles Hurst Jaguar Land Rover as headline sponsors, the event incorporates the…