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Displaying items by tag: Carrickfergus Castle

#BelfastLough - Eight hundred years of history on the shores of Belfast Lough have come to light thanks to a new archaeological dig at Carrickfergus Castle.

As the Belfast Telegraph reports, the fortification dates from Anglo-Norman times and is the best preserved site of that era on the island of Ireland, allowing experts to fill in a detailed picture of life in the Middle Ages.

The latest excavations are in the oldest part of the castle, the great hall where Anglo-Norman knight John De Courcy would have feasted.

But additional discoveries in the earth mean we're also learning more about a later resident, Arthur Chichester - the man credited with the founding of Belfast in the Elizabethan Era.

The Belfast Telegraph has much more on the story HERE.

Published in Belfast Lough

About J/80 Sailing

Easy to handle the J/80 is said to be less intimidating, safer and better suited for sailing offshore than other modern sport boats. 

It even has a full-length V-berth and 12-foot-long cockpit.

Thanks to its combination of stability, speed, durability, low maintenance and age-friendly deck layout, the J/80 has proved to be a great club boat around Irish yacht clubs with fleets popular in Dublin on both sides of the Bay at Howth and Dun Laoghaire. 

The key to a racing keelboat is that it holds the attention and interest of many types of sailors, young and old.  The J80 does it all, with thrilling 15-knot rides under spinnaker or relaxed sunset cruises with mainsail only. 

The Irish J/80 Class Association was formed in 2017 to represent owners, sailors, associated clubs and to help develop J/80 racing in Ireland.