Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

It is a long way to Tipperary and Lough Derg Yacht Club at Dromineer from the Squib strongholds on Belfast and Strangford Loughs in the North. Dromineer lies on the shores of Lough Derg, on the River Shannon and 10km…

It all came good at the end of the 22 season for John Minnis and his team on Final Call II from Royal Ulster Yacht Club on Belfast Lough. Eight weeks after a serious hiccup in June during Bangor Town…

The Vaughan family in the Jeanneau 349 Toucan win the second Glenarm Race in Northern Ireland. The chance to end the season on a high rewarded those who took part in the Royal North of Ireland annual Glenarm event in…

The last big event of the cruiser racing calendar at Carlingford Lough Yacht Club took place on the last weekend in September and drew an entry of nine boats from all around the Lough. Carlingford Lough lies between the south…

So far in this late season, Carlingford has enjoyed mostly kind sunny weather for its open meetings on the Lough and Warrenpoint Regatta was no exception. Warrenpoint is a small County Down port town at the head of Carlingford Lough…

On the last Saturday in August, it was the turn of the Juniors of Carlingford Lough Yacht Club to race in their own regatta, along with visitors from across the Lough at Carlingford Sailing Club. Carlingford Lough YC is situated…

Ballyholme Yacht Club near Bangor on Belfast Lough is gearing up for an influx of 120 boats taking part in the RYANI annual Youth Sailing Championships this weekend – Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th September. And by the look of…

The wind forecast didn't show much promise at one-knot max, but given the Lough’s reputation on a good sunny day, which it was last Saturday, a favourable sea breeze could be expected. So race officer, Sam Lynas put up a…

It’s a double bill this weekend at Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club on Belfast Lough where the RS Elite Irish Nationals and the McMillan Shield for Squibs will be held. It has been a busy year for the local…

Thirty-one Junior Topper sailors descended on East Antrim Boat Club on Larne Lough last weekend for the Northern Championships. Callum Pollard from the nearby County Antrim BC at Whitehead was in top form again after his Gold at the Worlds…

Quoile Yacht Club in the southwestern corner of Strangford Lough held its annual two-day cruiser-racer event over the weekend of 20th and 21st August with 20 entries in three classes. Sponsored by Ross Boyd Chartered Accountants and Mackey Opticians, the…

The RS event comprising the National Championship for RS200s and RS400s and the Northerns for RS Fevas, 2000s and Aeros at Ballyholme YC last weekend was judged an outstanding success, particularly in that it attracted many younger sailors and some…

It looked as if the RS fleets were in for a drenching on the second day (20th) of the Championship event at Ballyholme with torrential rain for the early part of the morning, then the clouds broke, and the sun…

The westerly at Ballyholme Yacht Club on Friday which reached 20 knots at times, delivered exciting racing in a bouncy sea for the RS200 and RS400 fleets on day one of the three-day National Championship in Belfast Lough. It was…

A lively south-westerly forecast for the start today (19th) of the RS event at Ballyholme should give exciting racing in Belfast Lough for the 48-strong fleet. Racing for the National Championship will be the RS 200s and RS 400s and…

With some of the World Championship Toppers appeared to be stuck in a container somewhere, there is some doubt if they'll make it to East Antrim Boat Club in Larne for this weekend's Northern championship. But maybe if they happen…

The inaugural Moneley Oyster Pearl regatta was held in 1979 and has been an enduring feature of sail racing in Carlingford Lough ever since, bar the Covid lockdown years. The people of Carlingford have been harvesting oysters since medieval times.…

The four Northern Ireland competitors at the Irish National Optimist championships at Royal St George YC certainly had four days of valuable race experience last week which will stand them well for the future. The four, three siblings from the…

It’s 38 miles from Campbeltown on the southeastern corner of the Mull of Kintyre in Scotland to Cushendall on the Antrim Coast across the North Channel. Four men from Northern Ireland achieved this stamina-sapping feat in a fundraising prone paddle…

The Oysters growing under the pontoons in Bangor Marina are well hidden, but they still need ongoing attention. To this end, Ulster Wildlife is looking for volunteers to help monitor the native oyster nurseries and record their development. The native…