Northern Ireland Sailing & Boating News

Lough Neagh Lifeboat Rescues Two on Yacht with Mechanical Difficulties
6th October 2020 Northern Ireland Waters
Last Sunday (4th October) Lough Neagh Rescue Lifeboat was tasked to two people stranded on Coney Island as their vessel had mechanical issues. Coney Island is owned by the National Trust and lies in the south-west corner of Lough Neagh…

An important GP14 event, the Hot Toddy, first saw the light of day in the early eighties when the then GP14 Association of Ireland charged their East Antrim Boat Club based fleet with the creation of a new and suitable…

Strangford Lough 'Share the Shore' Panels Erected to Protect Brent Geese
4th October 2020 Northern Ireland Waters
Strangford Lough is world-famous as the main arrival site for most of the migrating Canadian population (up to 80%) of pale-bellied Brent geese. Every autumn thousands of these birds leave their breeding grounds in eastern Canada and travel to Ireland…

Portrush Lifeboat Launches To Yacht In Difficulty Off Rathlin Island
3rd October 2020 Northern Ireland Waters
Portrush RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat launched to reports of a yacht in difficulty off Rathlin Island in Northern Ireland last night (Friday 2 October). The volunteer crew were in the water just before 9pm, half an hour after paging, and headed…

Thank you, September. You did your best to provide us with good sailing as ingenious moves were implemented to run modified pandemic-compliant events which gave proper meaning to the season, and to our sailing traditions. It was neither your fault…

Environmental campaigners have hit out at a Stormont decision to approve sand dredging in Lough Neagh, as the Belfast Telegraph reports. Sand dredging has been practiced in Lough Neagh since the 1930s, with no permission needed until after the lough…

Timothy Long Becomes Youngest Person to Sail Solo Around Britain
1st October 2020 Northern Ireland Waters
Fifteen-year-old sailor Timothy Long spent his summer on a 1,600 nautical mile anti-clockwise voyage around the British coast. Now he has broken the record of Tom Webb, who sailed around Britain aged 17 in 2011. Timothy, from Aylesbury, has become…

Five Elites again made it to the Battery start on Trasnagh Island on Strangford Lough last Saturday. Janice McCrudden's Bamboozled after some setup difficulties last week were keen to get some good quality racing. Unfortunately due to other commitments, Richard…

Brian Osborne last sailed a dinghy in 1989 on the River Thames near Hampton Court so returning to a small boat this season on Lough Erne was something of a revisit for him. Brian bought a classic 1973 Mirror dinghy…

Ben Graf & Alexander Farrell from Lough Ree Crowned 420 Champions at RYA NI Youth Event
23rd September 2020 Belfast Lough
Much to the satisfaction of RYA Northern Ireland and Ballyholme Yacht Club, splitting the 89 strong Youth Sailing Championship fleet over two days to mitigate risk in accordance with COVID – 19 guidelines, allowed the event to run smoothly with…

90 Compete For Northern Ireland Youth Sailing Honours at Ballyholme Yacht Club
22nd September 2020 Northern Ireland Waters
More than 90 of Northern Ireland’s Youth and Junior sailors have taken part in the RYA Northern Ireland Youth Championships, which were hosted by Ballyholme Yacht Club. Racing took part of over two days on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20…

RS Elites Take to the Water for The First Time for Frosties at Strangford Lough
22nd September 2020 Northern Ireland Waters
Last Sunday was the first day's racing for most of the RS Elites this year as a result of a Covid-19 hit 2020 season. Five boats made it onto Strangford Lough with the hope of another couple joining next weekend. …

Swimmers & Surfers On NI’s North Coast Urged ‘To Be Extra Vigilant’ As Summer Lifeguard Service Ends
20th September 2020 Northern Ireland Waters
With the RNLI’s summer lifeguard service now ended for 2020, swimmers and surfers on Northern Ireland’s North Coast have been urged “to be extra vigilant”. The warning from Coleraine Coastguard comes after three swimmers got into difficulty at Castlerock Beach…

The History of Belfast Lough's Lufra Cup for the Menagerie Sailing Race
20th September 2020 Northern Ireland Waters
It's 76 years since the Lufra Cup was first presented to the winner of Ballyholme's Menagerie Race, a pursuit event run traditionally to mark Closing Day when there was no such thing as Winter, let alone Autumn racing in Belfast…

All Change in £40m Plan for Bangor Waterfront on Belfast Lough
18th September 2020 Northern Ireland Waters
Bangor on Belfast Lough is hoping to secure through Ards and North Down Borough Council, around £40m from the Belfast City Regional Deal to fund the Bangor Waterfront Development and will submit the Outline Business Case to the Belfast Region…

A surfer from Northern Ireland got more than he bargained for when he was chased by a pod of killer whales off Donegal last week. As the News Letter reports, Derry man Ryan Vail was catching waves off Culdaff on…