Northern Ireland Sailing & Boating News
MJM Marine Says Mass Layoffs ‘Unavoidable’ In Newry As Orders Postponed Over Covid-19
18th March 2020 Coronavirus and Boating
Newry ship refurbisher MJM Marine has told its staff that redundancies “in large numbers” are unavoidable after all future orders were postponed indefinitely amid the Covid-19 pandemic crisis. The Belfast Telegraph reports on an internal communication to staff yesterday (Tuesday…
Sea Cadets in Northern Ireland excel at football as well as rowing and sailing, demonstrated by the junior girls' five-a-Side team winning Gold at the National Finals in England recently. The junior team, aged 12 to 15, was made up…
It was just a little more than a week ago that Irish Sailing issued its first statement over the coronavirus outbreak to the effect that ‘all events were going ahead as scheduled’. Then last Thursday (12 March) it cancelled its…
Cruise Liner Bound For Belfast Rerouted From Italian Ports Over Nationwide Covid-19 Lockdown
13th March 2020 Coronavirus and Boating
A cruise liner bound for Belfast in May has had its itinerary changed to avoid two upcoming port calls in Italy, following that country’s extraordinary national lockdown measures to control the coronavirus pandemic. According to the Belfast Telegraph, the MSC…
Red Diesel Subsidy Removal “Disappointing” says British Marine
12th March 2020 Northern Ireland Waters
Yesterday the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP, delivered his first Budget setting out the UK Government’s fiscal priorities. Speaking to MPs in the House of Commons, he pledged greater funding and resources for the NHS…
Scottish Hunter 707 'Autism on the Water' Gets Free Ferry to Bangor Town Regatta
12th March 2020 Northern Ireland Waters
A charity yachting organisation that was originally planning to sail from Scotland to Northern Ireland to save competition costs at Bangor Town Regatta this June has had its transport costs covered. Murray McDonald, skipper of the Hunter 707 Autism on the…
The Dubarry sponsored UK Women’s Open Keelboat Championship (WOKC) will be hosted on the 13th/14th June from the beautiful location of the Royal Southern Yacht Club. Ireland has previously been successful at the event with Howth Yacht Club helmswoman Laura…
Portaferry’s coastguard rescue team was paged yesterday morning (Saturday 7 March) to a report of multiple kayakers capsized in the water off Killyleagh on Strangford Lough. Portaferry RNLI were also tasked to the incident, recovering four individuals from the water…
Northern Ireland Women on Water Festival Launched for Second Year
6th March 2020 Northern Ireland Waters
The second Women on Water Festival will take place at Carrickfergus Sailing Club with Belfast Lough Sailability on 6 June 2020, bringing together women from right across NI as they take to the water. The first festival was held in…
At 4.17pm on Wednesday 4 March, Carrybridge RNLI’s inshore lifeboat, Douglas Euan & Kay Richards, and Rescue Water Craft (RWC) was launched to a vessel with one person on board which had run aground approx. 2 miles North of Carrybridge.…
The countdown is on for three Northern Ireland sailors campaigning for their place at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in late July this year, writes Betty Armstrong. The athletes, who have been training for over four years, as part of their…
Royal Ulster Yacht Club has extended its Early Bird entry discount for June's Bangor Town Regatta. The move comes after consultation with some of the competing classes who haven’t quite finalised their racing calendar for this year. As a result, the…
Northern Ireland’s Rural Affairs Minister Edwin Poots has officially launched the 2020 angling season for more than 20,000 anglers in the region. Under the guidance of professional angler Joe Stitt at Shaws Bridge in Belfast, Minister Poots tried his hand…
Portrush Lifeboat Teams Bid Farewell To ‘True Legend’ As Coxswain Anthony Chambers Retires
2nd March 2020 RNLI Lifeboats
Lifeboat teams from Portrush and farther afield gathered in the North Coast town on Friday (28 February) to bid farewell to one of their own, as mechanic/coxswain and crew member Anthony Chambers retires after more than 40 years. The Chambers…
Scotland's 'Autism on the Water' Charity Aims for Bangor Town Regatta Entry
1st March 2020 Scottish Waters
Bangor Town Regatta’s Class 3 sports a first-time entrant in Murray McDonald from Port Edgar, who confesses he has never been to the town before. Murray’s debut is in a Hunter 707 which has been raced competitively in the growing…
Instructors Meet To Discuss Biggest Issues In Northern Ireland Sailing
28th February 2020 Northern Ireland Waters
Instructors from clubs across Northern Ireland have met to discuss some of the biggest issues in sailing. The event, which was held at RYANI’s HQ at Sketrick House in Newtownards, attracted over 50 attendees. On the day there were workshops…