Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Royal Yachting Association Northern Ireland
A newspaper photograph of Waverley Number 7 Lilias competing in Whitehead on Belfast Lough in August 1929
Northern Ireland's Ballyholme Yacht Club and County Antrim Yacht Club have both been announced as finalists in the RYA Club of the Year 2023. Although six miles apart on opposite sides of Belfast Lough, the clubs were formed within about…
RYA Northern Ireland logo
RYA Northern Ireland is calling for anyone who has an interest in boating to take part in an interactive session to help develop the strategy for sailing, boating and windsurfing in Northern Ireland. A high-level summary of the strategy, which…
Debbie Kirkpatrick of East Antrim Boat Club with HRH the Princess Royal
Three Northern Ireland sailors have been awarded RYA Volunteer Awards and recognised by Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal, president of the RYA. The awards, which were held in London, recognise boating's outstanding volunteers and unsung heroes. The Northern Ireland…
Ballyholme Yacht Club
Two Northern Ireland sailing clubs have been chosen as finalists for the Royal Yachting Association’s Club of the Year 2023 award. Ballyholme Yacht Club and County Antrim Yacht Club have both been announced as finalists as well as 10 other…
2022 British Yachting Awards Sailor of the Year, Ellie Driver is just 20 years old. Jim & Ellie Driver raced Sun Fast 3300 Chilli Pepper in IRC Two-Handed throughout the 2022 RORC Season’s Points Championship. Notably, Chilli Pepper won the Morgan Cup overall under IRC and in August Ellie became the youngest-ever skipper to finish the gruelling Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland Race. Ellie is studying Maritime Engineering at Southampton University and sits on the RORC’s Griffin Committee, which was created in 1945 to encourage sailors into the sport of Offshore Racing
The great and good of UK yachting descended on the Royal Thames Yacht Club on 28 November to celebrate the 2022 British Yachting Awards. The guest speaker was Sara Sutcliffe, Chief Executive of the RYA, who spoke about a more…
RYANI Affiliated Clubs Conference 2022 logo banner
RYA Northern Ireland is giving sailing and boating clubs across the region an opportunity to come together and share knowledge on how best to grow activity, membership and supporting volunteering. The Affiliated Clubs Conference, which will take place on Saturday…
Dun Laoghaire's Saskia Tidey from the Royal Irish Yacht Club sailed for Team GB in Tokyo in 2021 and is campaigning again for Paris 2024
The RYA has released its selection policy for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. As Britain’s national governing body (NGB) for sailing, the RYA works with the British Olympic Association (BOA) to determine the athletes who will represent Team GB at…
Junior sailors standing around a dinghy on a slipway
While the boats start coming out of the water, RYANI says its office is getting into a higher gear with autumn and winter programmes, designed to help planning and preparation for the next season. Following the recent keelboat and sailability…
Gavin Watson is Vice Chair of RYA Northern Ireland
Gavin Watson has recently been appointed Vice Chair of RYA Northern Ireland. He is the Honorary Sailing Secretary of Royal Ulster Yacht Club on Belfast Lough, and it is believed that he is the first RUYC member to take on…
Children sailing in a Laser Bahia dinghy as part of the RYA OnBoard programme
Three sailing and boating clubs in Northern Ireland have been benefitting from a whole range of new resources after their clubs were accepted on the Royal Yachting Association’s OnBoard programme. Strangford Lough Yacht Club, East Antrim Boat Club and Royal…
Greg Yarnall at the seashore
RYA Northern Ireland’s new chief operating officer Greg Yarnall took up the post earlier this month following his appointment in July. In a special Q&A with the regional governing body for boating, he tells a bit about himself, his professional…
RYA logo
As the national governing body for boating with over 107,000 members and nearly 1,500 affiliated organisations, such as clubs and recognised training centres, the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) plays a challenging yet hugely rewarding role by advocating and providing a…
Queen Elizabeth II in 2021
The Royal Yachting Association (RYA) has issued a statement mourning the loss of its patron, Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday (8 September), sharing that it is “deeply saddened” by her passing: Our thoughts and condolences are with The Princess Royal, RYA…
Bobby Driscoll is Topper World Championships Silver medal winner and runner-up at the UK Nationals in Weymouth
Ballyholme Yacht Club near Bangor on Belfast Lough is gearing up for an influx of 120 boats taking part in the RYANI annual Youth Sailing Championships this weekend – Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th September. And by the look of…
Young sailors getting to grips with the RS Feva at Ballyholme
Following last weekend’s RS Nationals, Ballyholme Yacht Club hosted the first ever open training session of its kind for RS Fevas with RYA Northern Ireland coaches earlier this week. Eight RS Fevas took to the water for their first training…
Youth sailors
School students in England starting Year 12 this September who are interested in racing keelboats and want to have a future career in sailing or sports science have the change to apply for the RYA’s Diploma in Sporting Excellence programme…

About the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) Northern Ireland 

  • The RYA is the national body for dinghy, yacht and motor cruising, all forms of sail racing, RIBs and sports boats, windsurfing and personal watercraft and a leading representative for inland waterways cruising.
  • The RYA is recognised by Government, the media and opinion formers as the representative body and voice for the activities that it represents. It continually fights for the rights and freedoms of its 112,000 personal members.
  • The RYA has more than 1,500 affiliated clubs and classes, which represent some 350,000 boaters throughout the UK. It is estimated that 4 million people in the UK take part in boating activity annually.
  • The RYA also sets and maintains recognised standards for training for both leisure and commercial boating through a network of more than 2,400 RYA Recognised Training Centres across 58 countries. More than 250,000 people per year complete RYA training courses.
  • The RYA is responsible for one of the UK’s most successful Olympic medal-winning sports. Our coaching and development schemes actively support 800 of our country’s top sailors, from talented juniors to Olympic and World champions.
  • The RYA is committed to promoting all forms of boating and making them accessible to everyone. For more information please visit www.rya.org.uk.
  • The Royal Yachting Association Northern Ireland (RYA NI) acts for the RYA in Northern Ireland (NI) and the Chairman of RYA NI is invited to join the Irish Sailing Association (ISA) Policy Review Committee.
  • You can find the RYA Northern Ireland at Sketrick House, GE8, Jubilee Road, Newtownards, BT23 4YH.
  • RYA NI is a company limited by guarantee – Registration number NI 51945
  • Contact RYA NI: Tel: 02891 827154 email: [email protected]