Royal Yachting Association Northern Ireland

East Down Yacht Club’s Margie Crawford Shares What’s Made Her a Successful Volunteer
19th June 2022 RYA Northern Ireland
Volunteers are the bedrock of sailing and the backbone of the Royal Yachting Association’s member clubs across the UK, dedicating their valuable time to make sure sailing and boating continues to develop and that all of our sailors have a…

East Antrim Boat Club at Larne Runs Successful Discover Sailing Session
7th June 2022 Northern Ireland Waters
East Antrim Boat Club at Larne recently ran a very successful Discover Sailing Open Day when 29 people turned up to sample the sport under the guidance of 41 club volunteers. The mastermind behind the effort for what was reportedly…

RYA and RORC Rating Office to Develop National Rating System for Cruiser Racers
16th May 2022 RYA Northern Ireland
Since the pandemic there has been a boost in numbers of people getting afloat - mostly sailors relatively new to the sport - and the RYA and the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) are keen to encourage as many keelboat…

Life-Changing Opportunity For Young NI Sailors to Have Their Own Boat
8th May 2022 RYA Northern Ireland
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…

Sixteen of the UK’s most promising young sailors have been selected to represent Great Britain at the Youth Sailing World Championships. The talented youngsters, all aged 18 or under, will represent the British Youth Sailing (BYS) Team in eight classes…

The Future Looks Bright for Donaghadee Sailing Club Thanks to RYA OnBoard Scheme
5th May 2022 RYA Northern Ireland
Donaghadee Sailing Club in Northern Ireland recently signed up to become an OnBoard club, as part of the RYA’s grassroots programme to get young people aged 8-18 into sailing and windsurfing. With the club in the focus of RYA’s Spotlight…

RYA Northern Ireland Youth Forum Members Celebrate Another Successful Year
30th April 2022 RYA Northern Ireland
A group of young sailors recently came together to mark another successful year of the RYA Northern Ireland Youth Forum. The celebration event took place at Carrickfergus Sailing Club with guests representing RYA clubs across Northern Ireland in attendance. The…

The RYA Youth Sailing National Championships returned to Pwllheli, North Wales, over the Easter break as the 2022 champions were crowned across seven youth fleets. Last hosting the premier youth sailing regatta in 2016, Plas Heli welcomed 280 youngsters from…

Northern girls shone at the RYA Youth Nationals last week with Ellen Barbour of County Antrim Yacht Club at Whitehead and East Antrim BC at Larne making her mark in the Women’s ILCA/Laser 6 fleet with a convincing third overall.…

Ken Curry, secretary of Foyle Sailability, has been appointed as RYA Northern Ireland’s sailability coordinator for the reguon. Curry took up the post this month and says he is looking forward to helping people with disabilities to get out on…

Ian Walker MBE will be stepping down from his position as RYA racing director this summer, the organisation has confirmed. Walker joined the RYA in the autumn of 2017 and, in his dual role as performance director, he oversaw the…

Good Showing by Northern Ireland Sailors at the RYA Nationals at Pwllheli
13th April 2022 Youth Sailing
The 190-strong fleet at the RYA Youth Nationals hosted by Pwllheli Sailing Club in North Wales this week should be a good run-up to the Irish Youth Sailing Nationals next week at Ballyholme Yacht Club on Belfast Lough where around…

RYANI Welcomes Announcement Ireland’s First International Watersport Expo
2nd April 2022 RYA Northern Ireland
RYA Northern Ireland has welcomed the announcement that Ireland’s first ever international watersport expo will be held at the EIKON exhibition centre in Lisburn next March. Ireland on the Water Expo will take place on 4-5 March 2023 and is…

The British Keelboat League (BKL) is urging teams to get their entries in for 2022 following the launch of a new format designed to make the series bigger and better than ever. In an exciting innovation for this year’s BKL,…

Northern Ireland Sailors: Could Your Club Host the Next Women on Water Festival?
9th March 2022 RYA Northern Ireland
RYA Northern Ireland is looking for the next location to host its popular Women on Water (WOW) Festival. As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the WOW initiative began in 2016, allowing over 500 women to get on the water with 12…

Canoeists Add Splash of Life to NI’s Quoile Yacht Club As It Works to Broaden Watersport Appeal
6th March 2022 Northern Ireland Waters
The latest in the RYA’s Spotlight series puts the focus on Quoile Yacht Club as the Northern Ireland club tries to broaden its appeal beyond traditional events like its Spring Series. “As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, events around…