Northern Ireland Sailing & Boating News
![Gerry Bell's Committee boat Gerry Bell's Committee boat surrounded by Toppers at the NI Championships](https://m.psecn.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000qjbVNkiEiVo/s/635/I0000qjbVNkiEiVo.jpg)
Bobby Driscoll from Royal North Wins Topper 5.3 Northern Ireland Championships
9th August 2021 Topper
It was worth the wait for Ballyholme Yacht Club on Belfast Lough to stage a full-on Topper Northern Ireland Championships over the past weekend. Sixty-nine young sailors came from the length and breadth of Ireland; from Royal Cork and Waterford…
![Snoopy crew The Snoopy crew at Calves Week: Martin Mahon (right) and crew l to r Gavin Watson, Josh Milhench and Robbie Milhench.](https://m.psecn.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000NsB0xfmWGqk/s/500/I0000NsB0xfmWGqk.jpg)
Royal Ulster Foray to West Cork's Calves Week Proves Fruitful for Mahon's Belfast Lough Quarter Tonner
8th August 2021 Quarter Ton
Martin Mahon from Courtown Sailing Club in North Wexford is also a member of Royal Ulster Yacht Club in Bangor, having lived in Holywood on the south side of Belfast Lough for some years. He regularly sails his Joubert-Nievelt 1/4…
![Strangford Narrows The six mile Strangford Narrows](https://m.psecn.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000aid8s91vGqM/s/767/I0000aid8s91vGqM.jpg)
Strangford Narrows Tidal Turbine Mooring System Undergoes Decommission
4th August 2021 Power From the Sea
Glasgow based Flex Marine Power has issued a Notice to Mariners regarding its activity within the Strangford Narrows in County Down in Northern Ireland. The turbine mooring system is being decommissioned and there is a workboat, and buoys marking the…
![File image of Portaferry RNLI’s inshore lifeboat File image of Portaferry RNLI’s inshore lifeboat](https://m.psecn.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000P2K0129aCS8/s/500/I0000P2K0129aCS8.jpg)
Portaferry RNLI’s inshore lifeboat launched yesterday evening (Monday 2 August) to the aid of a woman who had fallen onboard a yacht. The volunteer lifeboat crew’s pagers sounded just after 7.30pm and they launched amid good conditions to assess the…
![Red swamp crayfish Red swamp crayfish](https://m.psecn.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000_CACR77hCgg/s/767/I0000_CACR77hCgg.jpg)
Invasive Species Cost UK Economy Over £5 billion Over Past 40-50 years
29th July 2021 Marine Wildlife
Research led by Queen’s University Belfast has shown that invasive species, such as the grey squirrel, European rabbit and Japanese knotweed, have cost the UK economy over £5 billion over the past 40-50 years, making the cost one of the…
![A pair of dolphins swimming off Northern Ireland A pair of dolphins swimming off Northern Ireland](https://m.psecn.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000QK_kxna39pg/s/500/I0000QK_kxna39pg.jpg)
Ballycastle Coastguard Launches to Reports of ‘Dolphin Harassment’ Off North Antrim Coast
28th July 2021 Marine Wildlife
Ballycastle Coastguard joined officials from Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) in responding to reports of dolphins being potentially harassed by personal water craft and other leisure vessels. The teams launched on Sunday afternoon (25 July)…
![MGRS 34 Twenty Twenty The vintage MGRS 34 Twenty Twenty is a new Dublin Bay restoration project](https://m.psecn.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000suXn2rQ1B7E/s/500/I0000suXn2rQ1B7E.jpg)
The MGRS 34 Twenty Twenty, originally owned by Bangor man, Jimmy Mackey, lay unused in the river Liffey at Poolbeg, Dublin for about seven years and now, like another Humphrey's design, Juno, will have a new lease of life. Rex…
![Flying Fifteen Northern Championship Flying Fifteen Northern Champions - From left to right, Stewart Harrison, winning helm, Flying Fifteen Northern Championship, Shane McCarthy, Commodore Portaferry Sailing Club, John McAlea, Race Officer and Conor, winning crew Flying Fifteen Northern Championship](https://m.psecn.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000.OQM1BpYo.M/s/767/I0000.OQM1BpYo.M.jpg)
Last Race Decider at Flying Fifteen Northern Championships at Portaferry Sailing Club
26th July 2021 Flying Fifteen
For those who were unable to make the first Flying Fifteen "away" regatta since the summer season of 2019, you missed glorious sunshine, great hospitality, fickle winds, and challenging tides! The venue was Portaferry on the northern shores of the…
![Flying Fifteens 14 Flying Fifteens are contesting the Northern Championships at Strangford Lough](https://m.psecn.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000QGHd15xTXvY/s/500/I0000QGHd15xTXvY.jpg)
14 Flying Fifteens enjoyed glorious sunshine and light winds just inside the narrows of Strangford Lough for their Northern Championships on Day 1. Race Officer John McAlea had his hands full with fickle winds and a strong tide but still…
![20ft sailing boat a 20ft sailing boat was spotted capsized with two people on board](https://m.psecn.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000SVbBDwX0cBY/s/500/I0000SVbBDwX0cBY.jpg)
Yesterday (23rd July) Lough Neagh lifeboats were paged in the mid-afternoon by Belfast Coastguard to reports of a Personal Locator Beacon being activated. Lifeboats launched quickly and a search area within the Antrim Bay at the north end of the…
![File image of Portaferry RNLI’s inshore lifeboat File image of Portaferry RNLI’s inshore lifeboat](https://m.psecn.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000NRAzL.gpDXs/s/500/I0000NRAzL.gpDXs.jpg)
Portaferry Lifeboat Rescues Two After Boat Breaks Down on Strangford Lough
22nd July 2021 RNLI Lifeboats
Portaferry RNLI launched to the aid of two people early yesterday afternoon (Wednesday 21 July) after their leisure boat broke down and was left adrift at the Narrows on Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland. The volunteer lifeboat crew’s pagers sounded…
![Ballyholme Yacht Club Regatta A race start at Ballyholme Yacht Club Regatta](https://m.psecn.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000hX.P82T3hJQ/s/500/I0000hX.P82T3hJQ.jpg)
Ballyholme Yacht Club Regatta Had Something for Everyone on Belfast Lough
19th July 2021 Belfast Lough
There was non-stop activity at Ballyholme Yacht Club on Belfast Lough at the weekend (July 17th/18th) for the Regatta which enjoyed day-long hot sunny weather. Though lacking any decent breeze on a Saturday morning for the Cadet racing, just enough…
![Squib Southern Championships Toy for the Boys (818) leads at a leeward mark followed by Outlaw (785) and (523) Sensation in one of the first of three races at the Squib Southern Championships off Kinsale](https://m.psecn.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000jOpPCvRvxvQ/s/767/I0000jOpPCvRvxvQ.jpg)
Wins in the second and third races in the Squib Southern Championships at Kinsale Yacht Club this afternoon has handed the overnight lead to Northern Ireland's Peter Wallace and Fiona Ward. The Wallace and Ward partnership from Royal North of Ireland…
![Ballycastle Beach The scene at Ballycastle Beach after the incident](https://m.psecn.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000sbYaN3nKZgM/s/500/I0000sbYaN3nKZgM.jpg)
The 1.2 km Ballycastle Beach is a popular tourist destination on the Causeway Coast Route on the Antrim Coast of Northern Ireland. It was the scene shortly before midday yesterday (15th July) of a serious incident, when as reported by…
![Glen keelboats Glen keelboats racing at the long-established Narrows Regatta on Strangford lough](https://m.psecn.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000iVlvrUjkpHo/s/635/I0000iVlvrUjkpHo.jpg)
The long-established Narrows Regatta held in that fast-flowing stretch of water between the towns of Portaferry on the east side and Strangford on the west side of Strangford Lough in County Down brought together last weekend over 140 boats for…
![File image of the Stena Superfast VIII in Cairnryan File image of the Stena Superfast VIII in Cairnryan](https://m.psecn.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000iXBx.UBZk5Q/s/500/I0000iXBx.UBZk5Q.jpg)
A multi-agency response was launched last night (Monday 12 July) to battle a fire on board a Stena Line ferry in Belfast Lough. As BBC News reports, the fire broke out in the engine room of the Superfast VIII around…