Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

It was a challenging, very windy two days at Ballyholme on Belfast Lough for the ILCA Ulster Championships last weekend. The big fleet in three divisions, ILCA 4, 6 and 7, attracted 47 competitors from as far away as Glandore…

Bangor RNLI volunteer Kyle Marshall is celebrating 40 years of service with the charity. Growing up in Bangor and spending his teenage years working around the harbour, Kyle always had a connection with the RNLI and the local volunteers. On…

Northern Ireland’s sailing community are being invited to apply to join new roles among the various sub-committees of the board of RYA Northern Ireland. The initiative follows the recent launch of RYANI’s strategic plan, Navigating the Future, which aims to…

A leading environmental charity has condemned a proposed policy that could see untreated wastewater discharged into Northern Ireland’s rivers. The Rivers Trust is raising concerns following a policy proposal in the Department for Infrastructure’s (DfI) equality impact assessment report published…

If you could bottle the energy, enthusiasm and excitement of the 24 ladies who took advantage of East Down Yacht Club’s day set aside for women to learn how to handle a big boat, then a fortune is to be…

The RC35/IRC event at Royal Ulster on Belfast Lough last weekend came about because of a chance suggestion by a club member. Although it attracted a small fleet of eight, it did include the very welcome visitors, Ben Shelley in…

Having spent the weekend racing in the Irish RS Elite Championships at Royal Ulster on Belfast Lough, most of the 14-strong fleet are making their way the 18 miles to the UK Nationals hosted by Strangford Lough Yacht Club at…

Once the International Wayfarer rally ended at East Down Yacht Club on Strangford Lough last weekend, five boats with 13 crew headed west to another, albeit smaller but memorable gathering at Lough Erne Yacht Club in County Fermanagh. They were…

The Northern Ireland RS Elite keelboat class is preparing for two big events this weekend and next week on home waters. The first event is the Irish RS Elite Championships, hosted by Royal Ulster in Bangor Bay; this is a…

The final four races in the Antrim Boat Club Summer series saw Jeff Harrison and Charlie McAllister’s Limbo 6.6 FA2 dominating the score sheet as they had done in the previous four races, to take the overall prize by nine…

No sooner than the 40 Wayfarer dinghies left East Down Yacht Club last weekend after their successful International rally, it’s the turn of bigger boats to step up for a Ladies’ Cruise in Company. On Sunday 25th June, the club,…

Portrush RNLI was requested to launch by Belfast Coastguard at 7.15pm on Tuesday evening to reports of a person who had fallen onto rocks between Portrush and Portstewart on Northern Ireland’s Causeway Coast. The all-weather lifeboat was already out on…

At what proved to be the end of a three-week spell of light weather, Royal Ulster Yacht Club’s Rollins Insurance supported traditional offshore Ailsa Craig race started at 8 pm on Friday, 16th June. The fleet of seven wound its…

East Antrim Boat Club in Larne were the host of the Optimist Ulster Championships last weekend. 75 sailors and their families were warmly welcomed by Jill Doig and Gordon Kane, event manager and their team of volunteers. The event was…

Last week, the International Wayfarer gathering in Strangford Lough attracted over 40 visitors from as far away as the USA and from mainland Europe. The event was hosted by East Down Yacht Club on the west side of the Lough.…

Friday’s post-sailing festivities at the Ruffian 23 Golden Jubilee on Strangford Lough kicked off with an evening with the Brown family, Michael Cutliffe, and Weatherly Yachts craftsmen. Michael Cutliffe gave a short presentation on the history of the Ruffian 23s…