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
Another first for the fiftieth Scottish Series this year will include RS21 keelboats racing on Loch Fyne. The RS21 Association has included the event as one of its 'Official Series', and that will give the class a chance to start…
Irish Race Officer Con Murphy will be Scottish Series Regatta Principal Race Officer
20th January 2024 Scottish Series
Con Murphy from the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire Harbour will be the Principal Race Officer for May's Scottish Series Regatta on the Clyde in Scotland. The regatta now has its team in place, and they are three highly accomplished…
Bangor in County Down had a coating of snow and ice on Wednesday morning this week, and the Marina didn’t escape either. Temperatures are forecast to plummet as low as -8C over the coming days as Northern Ireland continues to…
East Antrim Boat Club (EABC) on Larne Lough in Northern Ireland has a new commodore - Chris Dorman, who has been a member of EABC since boyhood. He is also a long-serving RNLI coxswain with the nearby lifeboat station and…
Fiftieth Anniversary Scottish Series Attracts Northern Ireland Sigma 33s
10th January 2024 Scottish Series
One hundred and ten and counting. The popular Scottish Series Regatta run by the Clyde Cruising Club out of Tarbert on Loch Fyne on the west coast of Scotland has, at the last count, 110 expressions of interest. The event…
Lurgan’s Linda Blakely aims to cross the treacherous 3,000-mile Atlantic Ocean in a 12-foot boat aptly named Ulster Warrior, reports the Sunday Life. She will start 2024 attempting to break a world record for a female solo rower, which is…
East Down Yacht Club To Stage 2024 Impala European Championship on Strangford Lough
30th December 2023 Northern Ireland Waters
East Down Yacht Club in Northern Ireland will host the Impala European Championship on 25th/26th May next year. The event will incorporate the UK and Irish National Championships of the 28-foot one-design keelboat class. The club has a nine-acre site on…
It’s 6,000 miles from Strangford Lough Yacht Club in the small hamlet of Whiterock on the western shore of the Lough in County Down, to Da Chan Bay in Shenzhen, China. And it is very different racing for Jon Gundersen…
East Down Yacht Club to Start 2024 with Icicle Series on Strangford Lough
20th December 2023 Northern Ireland Waters
East Down Yacht Club will start the New Year with its annual Icicle Series on Sunday, 7th January. It will run for six Sundays, ending on 11th February. The Club is situated on a nine-acre site on the western shore…
County Down Sailor Steps in to Skipper Qingdao in Clipper Round the World Race
20th December 2023 Clipper Race
Philip Quinn has been chosen as the new Skipper of Qingdao in the Clipper Round the World Race. He will join from Airlie Beach in Queensland, Australia, at the start of a long stint of about 26000 miles to the…
Tender Process For Belfast Lough's Bangor Marina Operator Contract Opens
8th December 2023 Irish Marinas
It will be all change in the operation of Bangor Marina on Belfast Lough from September 2024. This has been outsourced to a private operator since 1 April 2008, with the latest agreement expiring on 30 September 2024. An opportunity…
2024 European ILCA 6 Youth Championships For Ballyholme Yacht Club on Belfast Lough
8th December 2023 Laser
The European ILCA 6 Youth Championships 2024 will be sailed at Ballyholme Yacht Club on Belfast Lough next season. “This is a very significant championship for Europe’s youth sailors and hosting the event is a feather in the cap for…
Royal Ulster Yacht Club Announces 'Rebranded' Bangor Regatta for June 2024
2nd December 2023 Bangor Town Regatta
A ‘Town’ Regatta at Bangor on Belfast Lough was first held over a century ago and saw a reincarnation in 2018. The 2020 event fell foul of Covid 19, but Bangor Town Regatta did run in 2022 and the Royal…
East Antrim Boat Club Prizegiving Celebrates Successful Keelboat and Dinghy Season
25th November 2023 Northern Ireland Waters
East Antrim Boat Club at Larne in County Antrim, Northern Ireland recently celebrated a successful Keelboat and Dinghy series at its annual prizegiving. The keelboat series was raced across four months, from May to August, with an overall winner each…
Snipe Dinghy 'Valkyria' Restoration Project is Offered on Lough Erne
23rd November 2023 Historic Boats
Sailing enthusiasts around Lough Erne in County Fermanagh have a proud record of restoring old boats as well as building new craft in traditional designs. Some years ago, the late Fred Ternan set up a small organisation called Lough Erne…
Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club Crew Enjoyed JOG Success Until Penelope was Dismasted
12th November 2023 Northern Ireland Waters
Until his Dehler 34 Penelope was dismasted competing in The Junior Offshore Group (JOG) racing in the Round the Isle of Wight race earlier this year, Peter McConnell, an outport member of Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club on Belfast Lough…
Bangor Marina on Belfast Lough Achieves First Responder Status for Oil Pollution
4th November 2023 Belfast Lough
Northern Ireland's Bangor Marina on Belfast Lough has qualified as first responders for oil spills, earning the MCA P2 designation. The Bangor Marina crew worked hard, combining classroom learning and practical exercises led by the experts at Ambipar Response UK,…
Ten RS Fevas from clubs around Belfast Lough rounded off their season with a Final Fling at Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club recently. After the initial strong wind died down to just in time to allow the event to…
Six Wins for Kearney and Nelson at GP14 'Hot Toddy' at Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club
7th October 2023 GP14
Last weekend, 27 GP14s gathered at the Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club on the south shore of Belfast Lough for the first of the Hot Toddy meetings of the 23/24 season. Dominating the competition were the home crew of…
XOcean Uncrewed Surface Vessel (USV) Visits Bangor Marina on Belfast Lough
5th October 2023 Belfast Lough
Many assorted vessels visit Bangor Marina, but the XOcean Uncrewed Surface Vessel (USV) may be the most unusual. Last week, Harbour Master Kevin Baird and his team, MCA staff and Belfast Coastguard welcomed the UK Maritime Minister Baroness Vere of…
