Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

There has been a surprisingly mixed reaction to the news that next weekend, in celebration of the Royal Platinum Jubilee, the sailing-mad town of Bangor on Belfast Lough will be conferred with City Status. Joy has not been unalloyed. Apart…

Ross Kearney and Andrew Vaughan from Royal North YC on Belfast Lough topped the 26 strong GP14 fleet at the Ulster Championships over the third weekend this month. The event was hosted for the first time since 2018 by Lough…

The Loughs Agency has confirmed the detection of a “limited number” of escaped rainbow trout from an aquaculture facility in the Foyle area. Investigations are being conducted by inland fisheries officials from Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural…

The Copeland Islands lie on the North Down coast just a short distance off Donaghadee but separated from the town by a fast strong tidal sound which provides interesting but necessarily accurate navigation. So to have the Royal Ulster Yacht…

Crowds gathered recently at Bangor Marina on Belfast Lough for the second open evening to be held by the charity Safer Waters. Safer Waters is a unique service in Northern Ireland, established in 2020 to provide a Safety Boat service…

Killyleagh Yacht Club on the western shore of Strangford Lough recently hosted the Squib Northerns and a fleet of 18 enjoyed five races under Race Officer Scott Rogers and his team in challenging conditions over the two days. Overall winners…

Donaghadee RNLI Lifeboat was launched on Thursday 19 May, to assist a yacht taking water onboard approximately 12 miles North East of Bangor, County Down. The volunteer crew of Donaghadee Lifeboat were requested to launch by Belfast Coastguard on Thursday…

Nearly five years after work began, the first new boat lock on the Lagan Canal in more than 250 years is set to open tomorrow, Tuesday 17 May. The new £4+ million Lock Number 1 at Stranmillis is part of…

The first Northern Ireland athlete selected for Mary Peters Trust funding is Belfast-based sailor, Lauren McDowell, who has received a £500 bursary. Each of the ten athletes will be selected by Lady Mary and her Trust to receive a £500 bursary…

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…

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 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…

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…