Northern Ireland Sailing & Boating News

Scotland's top regatta has been cancelled just 20 days before the first race. The scrubbing of the 'premier regatta' is not due to a lack of entries but a lack of volunteers to run the event on Loch Fyne, according…

James Curran’s Impala 'Beeste' on Top in Quoile Yacht Club IRC Spring Series
11th May 2022 Northern Ireland Waters
The Quoile Yacht Club Spring Series on Northern Ireland waters kicked off the sailing programme on Strangford Lough at the end of April, racing in two fleets, IRC and NHC The club is tucked away in the sheltered southwestern corner…

Bangor RNLI’s volunteers came to the rescue of six women on a yacht after its engine failed during a passage to Glenarm in Co Antrim. The inshore lifeboat Jessie Hillyard was launched on Monday morning (9 May) from Belfast Lough…

Larne Lifeboat Launches to Aid of Paddle Boarders Caught in Breeze Off East Antrim Coast
10th May 2022 RNLI Lifeboats
Larne RNLI in Northern Ireland launched to the aid of a group of paddle boarders who were caught in an offshore breeze at the weekend. The volunteer crew were requested to launch their inshore lifeboat by Belfast Coastguard at 2.09pm…

Local authorities are investigating after two dogs died following contact with the water at Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland, as BelfastLive reports. In the separate incidents on Thursday (5 May), a five-month old golden retriever and a 15-month-old cocker spaniel…

Life-Changing Opportunity For Young NI Sailors to Have Their Own Boat
8th May 2022 RYA Northern Ireland
Enthusiastic young sailors from across Northern Ireland are being encouraged to apply to be in with a chance of being awarded their own boat. Through an ongoing partnership between the John Merricks Sailing Trust (JMST) and RYA OnBoard, 10 boats…

The eel fishing season on Lough Neagh began last week. And in a conservation measure, the Lough Neagh Fishermen’s Co-Operative Society was involved in helping restock the Lough with "glass eels" (one and a half million of them), the juveniles…

Sixteen of the UK’s most promising young sailors have been selected to represent Great Britain at the Youth Sailing World Championships. The talented youngsters, all aged 18 or under, will represent the British Youth Sailing (BYS) Team in eight classes…

On Monday, May 2 Lough Neagh Rescue was alerted by Belfast Coastguard to reports of an overturned Jetski in Antrim Bay on the Northeast corner of what is the largest freshwater lake in the British Isles and Ireland. Two casualties…

The fundraising Portrush Raft Race is something of an institution in the north coast town of the same name, which is blessed with two stunning beaches and tidily in between, a picturesque harbour where the RNLI Severn Class lifeboat the…

RYA Northern Ireland Youth Forum Members Celebrate Another Successful Year
30th April 2022 RYA Northern Ireland
A group of young sailors recently came together to mark another successful year of the RYA Northern Ireland Youth Forum. The celebration event took place at Carrickfergus Sailing Club with guests representing RYA clubs across Northern Ireland in attendance. The…

Big Interest in East Down Yacht Club's 11-boat Impala 28 Fleet
30th April 2022 Northern Ireland Waters
From two Impalas in the early days at East Down Yacht Club to 11 now is very satisfying progress at the club situated on the western shore of Strangford Lough. This would be the envy of many of the local…

Larne based East Antrim Boat Club members learned recently of the sudden passing of their friend Norman Surplus who was associated with the club for many years. Norman’s love of outdoor pursuits began at college where he discovered windsurfing and…

Ballyholme Bay in Bangor on Belfast Lough is a Jekyll-&-Hyde sort of place. For much of the time, it’s serene, with excellent sailing waters off a neat urban waterfront above a tidy esplanade on its western shoreline, while the eastern…

Ballyholme Topper Sailor Bobby Driscoll is Youth Sailing Champion on Belfast Lough
24th April 2022 Topper
Five winds from eight races gave local sailor Bobby Driscoll from the hosting Ballyholme Yacht Club a clear overall win ahead of clubmate Emily McAfee in the 51-boat Topper 5.3 event, one of the biggest fleets of the Youth Sailing…

Ken Curry, secretary of Foyle Sailability, has been appointed as RYA Northern Ireland’s sailability coordinator for the reguon. Curry took up the post this month and says he is looking forward to helping people with disabilities to get out on…