Conall Morrison, 35 from Derry-Londonderry, has finished in the top half of the fleet after the opening leg of the Clipper 2017-18 Race from Liverpool, UK, to Punta del Este, Uruguay.

After 33 days at sea and more than 6,000 nautical miles racing across the Atlantic Ocean, Conall and his HotelPlanner.com team crossed the finish line at 07:52:57 UTC 22/9/17.

Conor Quinn, an Irish sailor from Rostrevor and a member of Carlingford Lough Yacht Club (CLYC) and Rush Sailing Club (RSC), has recently been crowned the all-Ireland Youth Laser Radial Sailing Champion for 2017.

The biggest ever edition of the 40,000-nautical mile Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, one of the world’s toughest endurance challenges, involving everyday people, got underway on the River Mersey, Liverpool, today, in front of thousands of spectators.

Ewan McMahon won the ISA Youth Pathways despite another difficult day in a light shifting south westerly on Belfast Lough. His earlier form in the championships allowed him to discard the higher of his two results today and comfortably win overall. The two Rush sailors Conor Quinn and Aaron Rodgers had better results with a win in the last race for Conor to lift him to second overall from Aaron by one point. Royal North of Ireland's Sally Bell won 1st lady.

Day 2 of the ISA Youth Pathway National Championships and Optimist Trials saw all of the fleets afloat for the first time with over 200 sailors visiting Ballyholme Yacht Club. The 2017 ISA Youth Pathway National Championships are supported by Ards & North Down Borough Council and Quay Marinas.

Over 130 boats took to the water today at Ballyholme Yacht Club on Belfast Lough on Day 1 of the ISA Youth Pathway National Championships and Optimist Trials. The event is supported by Ards & North Down Borough Council. Only 2 courses were sailed today with the Topper and Laser 4.7 fleets starting tomorrow instead.

Great video from Digby Fox of the Topper Worlds held at Balyholme Yacht Club 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eu9vEYSPtPk

The crew of Derry~Londonderry~Doire are hoping for a rare home port win as they depart New York for Derry-Londonderry in the Atlantic Homecoming Leg of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.

Led by Scottish Skipper Daniel Smith, the Northern Irish entry is currently second in the Overall Race Standings and so far has recorded three victories in this 14-race global series. Today the twelve-strong fleet of Clipper 70 racing yachts has departed New York for Race 12, the LegenDerry Finale which will see the teams arrive into Lough Foyle between 7 – 11 July. On board are three local crew members from Derry-Londonderry along with many more from across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

With a day to spare, Providence Team IRL’s Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern have secured Gold at the Princess Sofia regatta for Olympic classes in Palma, Mallorca this afternoon.

The 49er skiff class crew won the 15th and final race of the week to top the leaderboard in the 70-plus fleet. Normally the top ten boats go forward to a medal race final to decide the podium but Seaton and McGovern have a 27-point lead and cannot be beaten.

The pair from Ballyholme are still obliged to take part in the medal final but can finish in any place and still win Gold.

The result is still subject to any rules protest or claim for redress by another competitor that may affect the result.

Matt McGovern and Ryan Seaton from Ballyholme Yacht Club lead after the first day of the Princess Sofia World Cup event in Palma, Majorca in the 49er fleet.

This is the first World Cup event of the year on the journey towards the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016. The pair recently scored their best result at a World Championship in Argentina where they came 10th.

Saturday 9th May 2015 saw the start of the 2 day Irish Laser Masters event at Ballyholme Yacht Club with a number of competitors travelling from the Republic of Ireland to compete.

Sailing Secretary Andy Browne changed the date of the regatta this year obviously following consultation with a meteorologist as it was as near perfect as possible. Brisk south easterly winds made course setting a breeze for Michael O’Farrell on Scarlet.

This weekend Ballyholme Yacht Club will have 5 sailors at the Laser Radial Youth World Championships in Dziwnów, Poland - Tim Brow, Sarah Eames, Suzanne Flannigan, Sorcha Donnelly, and current Topper World Champion Liam Glynn. Laura Gilmore from SLYC and Gary Fekkes from EABC are also competing as part of a 15 boat Irish team.

Ballyholme Yacht Club woke up to champagne conditions on the first day of the F18 World Championship.

As the fleet took to the water however the wind began to drop and swing around, providing a challenge for the race committee. After a delay of 3 hours and a general recall, the race finally got underway with a black flag to keep the eager competitors away from the line.

Derry~Londonderry~Doire has won Race 14 from New York to Derry-Londonderry, Northern Ireland in the Clipper 2013-14 Round the World Yacht Race.

The course was shortened with a time limit placed on the race of 1200 UTC Sunday 22 June after unusual weather patterns caused by a persistent high pressure system centred just west of Ireland threatened to hamper the progress of the fleet.