The annual RNLI Christmas shop is once again located in Nautical World, High Street, Bangor. Do support your local service through buying Christmas cards, calendars and all those great stocking fillers.

BBC TV show ‘Eggheads’ are looking for lots of fun, interesting and unusual teams from Northern Ireland and would like to have a team of sailing enthusiasts on the show. Each team consists of six members, one of which is a stand-by. They will be coming to Belfast on the 17th and 18th November to meet potential teams, so if anyone is interested please e-mail news@nisailing.net and we will e-mail you back with the application forms

Racing resumed at 1000hrs this morning for the penultimate day of the ISAF Nations Cup Regional Final in Kinsale, Co.Cork. The teams took to the water in glorious sunshine with a cold westerly breeze.

The second day of the ISAF Nations Cup Regional Final (Open) II was dominated by the weather. A low presseure sweeping in from the Altanitc kept the sailors on shore today.

Kinsale Yacht Club is playing host to the ISAF Nations Cup 2009 Regional Final Europe (Open), from the October 22-25th 2008.

Elaine Taylor has sent us this link to UK-Halsey Sailmakers where you can have a go at their rules quiz. Great for both beginners learning the rules and those of us who think we know the rules! Log onto - http://www.ukhalsey.com/RulesQuiz

The ISA Champion of Champions last weekend in Howth was dominated by the O’Leary family – young Nicholas was first, second was Dad Anthony with brother Peter third.

Last weekend three Hurricane 5.9s travelled from Ballyholme to the east coast of England to compete in the Reg White Retirement Regatta at Brightlingsea.

Reg designed the Hurricane, the Spitfire and the Shadow. He sailed in the regatta himself along with his French co-designer Yves Loday.

Over 80 boats took part in the 3-day regatta in light and variable conditions with tide flowing through the Colne Estuary.

Last weekend at Carlingford Lough Sailing Club the McCready Sailboats RYA NI Youth Championships were held. Saturday’s gales had racing cancelled and put enormous pressure on everyone to get racing underway early on Sunday.  PRO Chris O’Hare had the difficult task of getting enough races in for all the fleets to make a fair championship.

On Saturday 30th August, Ballyholme Yacht Club held their second annual Cadet Regatta!  The Regatta started off with a competitive start line ‘show down’ between members of the Topper class! As well as that, our ‘advanced’ Stratos helms did not realise that their starting gun had gone, so they sat for a good 30 minutes doing nothing!  This year our Regatta had twice as many competitors as last year which made the Bay look like a blur of sails!      

The UK nationals were held in Abersoch in August over 6 days with many BYC Lasers making the journey to Wales.  In the Radial rig, Oliver Loughead was 3rd overall in fleet of 156, 1st U17 and 1st Irish boat. 

Last weekend the Irish Laser Championships were held at Howth Yacht Club and once again James Espey was able to retain his title in the standard rig with an impressive string of results in the 11 race series. 

It was a great turnout with over 20 boats taking part. Stephen Polly and Elaine Taylor briefed the young sailors on how to get around the course as fast as possible.

The 2008 Olympics make an apt time to remember two historic members of Lough Erne YC who were Olympic Gold Medallists, John Gretton 1900 and Charles Crichton 1908.

CARLINGFORD LOUGH, IRELAND
You’ll wish you were here…

Carlingford Lough and the surrounding Cooley Peninsula has recently been recognised for its tourism potential by Failte Ireland who voted the area ‘European Destination of Excellence 2008”. The Irish tourist body commended its natural resources, natural and cultural heritage and full calendar of events.