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
There are only a few days to go until the discounted entry fee for the RC35 two-day event at Royal Ulster Yacht Club on Belfast Lough ends. Before 30th April, it is £100; after that and before 17th June, it’s…
Minnis’s Archambault 35 Final Call II is Royal Ulster Yacht Club Spring Series Winner
25th April 2023 Northern Ireland Waters
The Spring Series at Royal Ulster Yacht Club on Belfast Lough ran over three Sundays in April and attracted 12 cruiser racers. IRC winner after six races was the local boat, five points ahead of Stuart Cranston’s Ker 32 Hijacker…
Bangor Marina’s First-Ever Nautical Car Boot Sale Raises Money for RNLI
23rd April 2023 Northern Ireland Waters
Despite a dreary, dull wet, windy morning, Bangor Marina’s first-ever Nautical Car Boot Sale was a huge success, and it raised £150 for Bangor RNLI. A section of the Marina car park was filled with cars, tables, and even a…
Northern Ireland Dinghy Sailor Success at Howth's Youth Sailing Nationals
18th April 2023 Youth Sailing
Whether it be football or sailing, the people of Larne in County Antrim have plenty to celebrate, for the football club won the Irish League Cup on 15th April and East Antrim Boat Club’s ILCA 6 sailor, Tom Coulter began…
Emily McAfee Looks Invincible in the Topper 5.3 Fleet of Ballyholme Yacht Club's Junior Icebreaker
13th April 2023 Northern Ireland Waters
With two more day’s racing to go in the Junior Icebreaker Ballyholme Yacht Club in Belfast Lough, Emily McAfee looks invincible in the Topper 5.3 fleet, which inclement weather has considerably reduced from the original 22. In the Feva division,…
NI Sailors are Prominent as East Antrim's Tom Coulter Wins ILCA 6 Munster Title in Baltimore
12th April 2023 Laser
It’s over 300 miles from Belfast to Baltimore in County Cork, and for many Northern Ireland Laser enthusiasts, it was a worthwhile trip last weekend for the ILCA Munster Championships. Twelve sailors from East Antrim, Portrush and Coleraine in Co.Antrim,…
Strangford Lough in East County Down is the largest sea lough in the British Isles, and last week the lough's bottlenose dolphins were joined by a Scottish visitor called Squiggle, previously known as Tyler from Moray Firth. The dolphin with…
Northern Ireland Cruiser-Racers Join the West Highland Yachting Week Regatta Fleet
31st March 2023 Northern Ireland Waters
Two more Northern Ireland yachts have joined the 50-strong fleet for Scotland's West Highland Yachting Week, which celebrates 75 years in 2023 and runs from 29th July till 4th August. East Antrim Boat Club's Hydrology and Artemis from Larne Lough…
Time was, many years ago when the inlet known as the Long Hole beside Seacliff Road in Bangor on Belfast Lough was used as a harbour for small boats – those small enough, mostly fishing craft, to lie in the…
It’s one thing moving a start line because of say, a wind shift. But at the Cape Town start for Leg 3 of the The Ocean Race on 26 February, principal race officer Bill O’Hara was forced to work around…
Strangford Lough is Piloting Alternative Boat Mooring Systems to Stimulate Seagrass Growth
26th March 2023 Marine Wildlife
A pilot scheme on Strangford Lough, which is trying to stimulate seagrass growth on the seabed by testing alternative mooring systems, has been reported by BBC News NI. Last April, Afloat highlighted a project initiated by the Strangford and Lecale…
The sport of sailing in County Antrim is in fine form, with two sailors winning awards at the Sportsperson of the Year event run by the Mid and East Antrim Council. Calum Pollard from County Antrim Yacht Club in Whitehead…
Four Short Stories is Tom Jobling’s latest book. In it, he has moved a little way from his usual nautical fiction but still delivers a character-driven book of cringe-worthy humour balanced by tales perhaps too close to be comfortable. From…
Leonard and Flannigan Level in Ballyholme Yacht Club Icebreaker Series
14th March 2023 Belfast Lough
The Icebreaker Series has been running in the winter at Ballyholme Yacht Club on Belfast Lough since about the time the Laser dinghy was introduced to the Club by Ron Hutchieson and Trevor Millar in 1974. It was originally mainly…
The Antrim Boat Club Winter Series in north east Lough Neagh has been the premier event for the Club since 1969 and this year, with the blessing of the late Pat Kelly’s family, the club will award the Pat Kelly…
Insect Class Dinghy Mantis is Next of the Ballyholme Class for Restoration
8th March 2023 Historic Boats
The 14-foot clinker-built dinghy has XIV on the stern, and it was sold to Paddy Prunty, ex Manager of Kinnego Marina on Lough Neagh, as a Ballyholme Insect class dinghy. In 1953, Mantis was listed as number 14 in the…
The Turkey/Syria Earthquake Appeal prompted Bangor Marina on Belfast Lough in Northern Ireland to engage in a fund-raising effort by organising a raffle. The ticket holders proved very generous, and Harbour Master Kevin Baird was delighted with the response. "We're…
GP14s Gather at Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club for Belfast Lough Spring Series
1st March 2023 GP14
The 12-strong GP14 fleet managed four races last Sunday (26th) in the Royal North of Ireland Spring Series, sailed on Belfast Lough, after missing the previous weekend due to adverse weather. After a fourth in the first race, Ruan and…
Belfast Lough Yachting Conference Replaces NHC with YTC Rating System
27th February 2023 Northern Ireland Waters
Handicap systems are sometimes the stuff of controversy. So what will transpire when Belfast Lough Yachting Conference replaces the NHC system with the Royal Ocean Racing Club YTC (Yacht Time Correction) system remains to be seen. Cockle Island Boat Club…
1000 Years of the Strangford Ferry, Just One of Eleven Lectures at Bangor Maritime Heritage Conference
23rd February 2023 Historic Boats
A full turnout of Maritime Heritage enthusiasts from around Co. Down gathered last weekend in the Bangor City Hall Chamber for a Conference to hear eleven illustrated presentations on subjects ranging from 1000 years of the Strangford Ferry to new…
