#Sailability - Belfast Lough Sailability has added three new boats to its fleet, as the Carrick Times reports.

The 2.4 Olympic class boats Peg and Skye and the Hawk 20’ day sailor keel boat Arica were officially named in a ceremony at Carrickfergus Marina recently.

And all three were made available for sailing to those with disabilities in the Mid and East Antrim Borough and the wider Northern Irish community.

Events that the initiative supports include this summer's Sailability Round Ireland cruise, which saw the donation of a Squip dinghy to the recently established Foyle Sailability for the north-west border region.

The Carrick Times has more on the story HERE.

#sailability – The yachts going round Ireland flying the flag for Sailability are berthed in Kinsale, the half way mark, where a crew change will take place before heading west continuing to Galway, Killybegs and return to Greencastle on Friday, July 10.

Their journey to date has been a mixed bag of fair winds, gales, thunder and lightning! However, the sun came out in each of the stopovers where they were able to enjoy the hospitality and welcome at the Sailability centre in Carrickfergus, Carlingford and Dun Laoghaire.

A New Boat for Foyle Sailability
In Carrickfergus, Belfast Lough Sailability donated a Squip dinghy to Foyle Sailability. Bob Harwood of BLS, said, 'This was our first dinghy when we started 15 years ago. It helped us to get started and today we now have a fleet of boats which serve our purpose. We are thrilled that Foyle Sailability members took on this Round Ireland challenge to raise awareness of Sailability, and hope that this dinghy will serve them as well as it served us­.

'We are overwhelmed at this very generous gesture and appreciate the welcome we have received here today', said Garry Crothers, skipper of Kind of Blue, and Foyle Sailability member.

Garry, added, 'Our journey so far has been hard going but very enjoyable and meeting Sailability members in each of the centres has been the highlight. The welcome and hospitality we have received has been first class and each of us have made new friends and strong links have been established with other Sailability centres.'

The yachts will depart Kinsale today and continue to Galway.

#sailability – On the 26th June four sailing cruisers from Lough Foyle will set off from Greencastle in Donegal on a round trip passage of Ireland stopping at each Sailability Club around the coastline of Ireland. This is to promote Sailability - sailing for disabled people in Ireland. Sailability Ireland is the new name for the Irish Disabled Sailing Association (IDSA) which was established in 1980 to introduce and encourage people of all ages with disabilities to take up sailing. Thirty years later, Sailability Ireland members are involved in all levels of the sport, from regular club racing, through international championship, to Paralympic Campaigns.

The cruisers will arrive in Dun Laoghaire for the day on Monday 29th June where they will be hosted by the Royal St George Yacht Club and Dun Laoghaire Sailability. D/L Sailability run a very successful programme of courses for disabled children throughout the Summer. 35-40 children are involved in the sailing thanks to the support of the four waterfront clubs, the Royal St. George, the National, the Royal Irish and the DMYC, as well as their instructors and volunteers.

To mark the occasion Sailability sailors from Dun Laoghaire will meet the Lough Foyle Crews for a BBQ at the Royal St. George and then head off in local cruisers at 6pm and accompany the Lough Foyle as far as Dalkey Island or perhaps Killiney Bay as they head towards the next port of call Kinsale.

Sailing for disabled people in Ireland has blossomed over the last few years and there are now centres in all provinces in Ireland. In Dun Laoghaire the programme started 6 years ago and has grown every year to the extent that all of the events this season are full, from the regular Sunday morning sailing to the week courses in June and August .

This year the Royal Irish are hosting the Presidents Cup an all-Ireland competition for disabled sailors with a team from each Province competing in 4 different types of boats. the event will be held in Dun Laoghaire harbour on 22nd and 23rd August

#sailability – Weather presenter Cecilia Daly performed a weather-themed boat naming ceremony at Carrickfergus at the weekend for a new member of the Belfast Lough Sailability flotilla which was funded by The Lloyds Bank Foundation for Northern Ireland, and Sainsburys. The yellow-decked, orange-sailed Hansa 303 was appropriately named Sunny.

Belfast Lough Sailability is the Carrickfergus-based charity that trains, educates and encourages people with disabilities, on the water, in sailing boats, motor boats and kayaks

Next summer, with assistance from Carrickfergus Marina and Carrickfergus Sailing Club, "BLS" will host the Hansa 303 Irish Championship for sailors with disabilities – August 1 & 2.

#kinsale – Last weekend saw a good event combining the Naval Yacht Squadron Haulbowline Base, Monkstown Bay Sailing Club, Kinsale Yacht Club and Neil Prendeville's Mary P Trophy annual race and cruise from Kinsale to the Naval Base at Haulbowline writes Claire Bateman. There was a fine fleet of twenty two yachts. The Mary P Trophy race has been sailed for many years and this year was to be a special with the proceeds going to the Kinsale Sailability Class. On Friday, August 22nd the yachts set off from the Naval Yacht Squadron and Monkstown Bay Sailing Club to berth overnight at KYC where they enjoyed their first night of entertainment of the weekend. On Saturday morning they departed KYC for a 12.55hr first gun leaving the Bulman to port and then on to Cork harbour where they left No. 18 to port, 20 to port and then finished between the naval tower and No. 15.

The highlight of the cruise was the evening reception held at the Naval base, by kind permission, and the yachts berthed overnight at the base before departing on Sunday for their home clubs.

Last night (Wed) at Kinsale Yacht Club the culmination of this event took place when the proceeds of the entry fees were presented to the Sailability Class Captain, Kevin Downing. This class was formerly known as The Access Class.

Next month, September (2014) Kinsale will host another event to be called the President's Cup. This will be awarded for interprovincial racing to be held between the various sailability classes. It has been named the President's Cup to honour John Twomey's tenure as President of the IFDS (International Federation of disabled sailors).

Twenty-year old sailor Tiffany Brien from Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club presented an £18,000 Paralympic sailing boat to local disabled charity Belfast Lough Sailability in Belfast Harbour today – the culmination of two years of fundraising by the 2012 Olympic hopeful.

The boat was officially launched today at Abercorn Basin, Titanic Quarter Belfast and was formally named 'Will Power' by Tiffany and Len O'Hagan, Chairman of Belfast Harbour. The significance of the name relates to a very close friend of Tiffany's, Will Doggart, who was paralysed last year following an accident. Will attended the launch today and has sailed in the new boat alongside Tiffany.

The 'Skud 18' sailing boat took two years to build in Australia and is the most high tech paralympic boat available. 'Will Power' is the first of its kind to arrive in Ireland and has already been committed to the goal of qualifying for the Irish Paralympic sailing team for the 2012 Paralympic Games - with local athlete Steve Frecknell hoping to compete for a medal. The boat will be the responsibility of Carrick based sailing charity Belfast Lough Sailability who will also use the boat to help disabled sailors to sail competitively in Northern Ireland.

Tiffany Brien began her fundraising campaign two years ago when she sailed 30 miles single-handedly across the Irish Sea from Portpatrick in Scotland to Belfast Lough raising a total of £18,400. Before launching the boat today she commented: "I am so excited to be sailing the new boat in Belfast Harbour today. It feels like I have been waiting for a long time for it to arrive. It is even more exciting that the Irish Paralympic sailing team has committed to using the new boat in their campaign for the 2012 Paralympic Games - fingers crossed it helps to bring a medal back."

Tiffany will also be hoping to bring an Olympic medal back to Northern Ireland as she is currently competing to represent Ireland in the Laser Radial Class at the 2012 Olympic Games.

Nigel Thompson, Chairman of Belfast Lough Sailability comments: "Everyone at Sailability is totally overcome with the sheer determination and generosity Tiffany has shown in her fundraising campaign. The arrival of the boat today is the culmination of the dedication and resolve demonstrated by this young lady when she sailed singled handedly across the Irish Sea. Not only will our Paralympic hopefuls benefit from this but many other disabled sailors in Northern Ireland will get to enjoy this exceptional boat - including Tiffany's friend Will, who hopes to become an active member of Sailability and a keen sailor. We would like to thank Tiffany sincerely and wish her the best of luck in her own Olympic campaign."

Belfast Lough Sailability is a "not for profit", volunteer-based charity which, through the activity of sailing, enriches the lives of people with any type of disability, the elderly, the financially and socially disadvantaged.

Belfast Harbour has been the principal sponsor of Tiffany's Sailability campaign. BTWCairns, Airtricity, Stena Line, Belfast Telegraph and Ulster Bank and Brook House Art & Design are associate sponsors.