Junior Ice Breaker – 19-OCT-2025 | Ballyholme Yacht Club

This weeks Junior Ice Breaker scheduled for Sunday 10th Oct morning at 10am has been cancelled due to the forecasted high winds.

Ballyholme Yacht Club

4 days ago

Topper Triumph as BYC Sailors selected for Irish Topper Squad!

We are incredibly proud to announce that three of our very own BYC sailors have been selected for the Irish Sailing Topper Squad.

A massive well done to Leo West-Hurst, Emma West-Hurst and Caroline Byrne. All three sailors have had an epic sailing year so far, from topper travellers, local championships and racing at national level and the worlds. A fantastic step forward, your skill and determination have clearly shone through and this recognition is just the beginning!

Wishing you all the best as you continue your sailing journey with the squad, we’ll be cheering you on every step of the way!

Photo credits from Wavelength Image of the trio in action!

#juniorsailing #toppersuccess #BYC #irishsailing ... See MoreSee Less

Call Now

View on Facebook

Likes: 45
Shares: 0
Comments: 1

Comment on Facebook

Very well done.

Ballyholme Yacht Club

1 week ago

🥇🥇Ballyholme Yacht Club is extraordinarily proud of the achievements of two of its youth members, Emily Ridout (pictured left) and Annabel Ridout (pictured right), who have been crowned RS Feva Female European Champions 2025 at the European Championships held last weekend in Riva, Italy.

Additionally, in a fleet of over 100 teams, the sister duo finished an impressive 4th overall. This result follows their outstanding performance at the RS Feva World Championships in July, where they placed 2nd in the female rankings and 10th overall in the world standings.

Emily and Annabel have been sailing since the age of six, starting out in Ballyholme Yacht Club’s Dolphins & Sharks programme — designed to help young children gain confidence on the water and take their first steps into sailing.

The Ridout family have been instrumental in driving the growth of RS Feva sailing at Ballyholme. With support from Ards & North Down Borough Council, who provided funding for the purchase of three Fevas, youth sailing at the club has continued to go from strength to strength — an investment that is clearly paying off.

Today, as well as winning championships, Emily and Annabel give back by helping out with the Dolphins & Sharks sessions, inspiring a new generation of young sailors to discover the fun of double-handed sailing.

RYA Northern Ireland
Ards and North Down Borough Council ... See MoreSee Less

View on Facebook

Likes: 286
Shares: 5
Comments: 38

Comment on Facebook

Amazing! Well done ladies!

Amazing!! Well done!

They are great role models, and also give back into sailing by helping with the BYC Dolphins and Sharks 👏🏅👏🏅

Well done to two fantastic girls. They work hard and compete but they never lose sight of the joy of sailing. ⛵️ onwards xx

Well done Emily and Annabel, a wonderful achievement. You’re both great role models for our younger sailors. ⛵️

Awesome result🙌!!! Congratulations Emily and Annabel, well done on this amazing achievement!

How lovely to be young, beautiful and talented. Me? I was just young, but that was a long time ago 🙂

Awesome achievement👏👏👏. Congratulations Emily and Annabel, very well done.

Always the most helpful, kind and hard working around the club, particularly with the younger sailors. 🐬🦈Well done Emily and Annabel- enjoy all your well deserved success!!🎉🎉🎉

Congratulations Emily and Annabel! Great result!

Congratulations Emily and Annabel! This is amazing news!

Congratulations! Brilliant result!

Congratulations you are amazing .

Fantastic. Congratulations girls 🏆

Absolutely amazing! Congratulations!

Well done girls! X

Fantastic result from two brilliant sailors. 🎉

Fantastic girls!!’💕

Brilliant ladies👏

Well done Annabel and Emily 🤩 Super well done 👏🏻

Fantastic 👏

Well done

Wonderful wonderful! So well deserved x 🎉🎉

Well done girls xx

Brilliant Emily & Annabel! 🙌🙌🙌

View more comments

Ballyholme Yacht Club

2 weeks ago

Exciting plans are taking shape for Ballyholme Yacht Club!

Tomorrow, Saturday 11th October (10am-12:30pm, 2pm-4pm) , the club will be open for the Public Drop-In Information Session hosted by Ards and North Down Borough Council, where the Council and Design Team will present the concept designs for the redevelopment of the club.

These plans aim to enhance access to watersports and make even more of Bangor’s beautiful waterfront location.

Everyone with an interest in the project is welcome to come along, view the designs, and share their feedback.

@followers Bangor by the Sea RYA Northern Ireland Ards and North Down Borough CouncilProgress continues on the Bangor Waterfront Redevelopment as we unveil concept designs for the new Ballyholme Yacht Club Watersports Centre.

📍 Drop in at Ballyholme Yacht Club
📅 Saturday 11 October 🕙 10AM–12:30PM & 2PM–4PM

Whether you're a sailing pro or just curious about the future of our waterfront, come see what's on the horizon!
#Yourvoicematters #Bangorwaterdfrontredevelopment #BallyholmeYachtClub ... See MoreSee Less

View on Facebook

Likes: 11
Shares: 1
Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

Ballyholme Yacht Club

3 weeks ago

Last Sunday’s Topper Traveller event at Skerries Sailing Club saw fantastic sailing conditions and even more impressive performances from our BYC sailors, who took home prizes in both the 5.3 and 4.2 fleets!

In addition to the Traveller event, the overall Topper Championship Series prizes were also awarded and BYC made a big splash there too!

A huge congratulations to Emma West-Hurst, who was crowned 1st Junior Girl Overall in the 5.3 fleet! In a strong performance, Caroline Byrne finished as 2nd Junior Girl Overall. In the boys' category, Leo West-Hurst secured an excellent 2nd Male Overall, rounding out BYC’s impressive results. In the 4.2 fleet, Rory McGovern sailed a fantastic series to finish 1st male overall!

A big well done to all our sailors who competed!

#BYCSailing #TopperTraveller #JuniorSailing #TopperSailing ... See MoreSee Less

View on Facebook

Likes: 22
Shares: 0
Comments: 2

Comment on Facebook

Fabulous results! Well done everyone. A great end to the season 🙌👏

🙌🏻🙌🏻

Ballyholme Yacht Club

4 weeks ago

RS Fevas from all over Ireland travelled to Cushendall Sailing & Boating Club this weekend for the RS Feva Northerns 2025. What a weekend for our BYC Sailors! Over half the fleet travelled from BYC – tents and campervans providing overnight accommodation for the 2 day event.

Forecasts for the event were for very strong wind and a weather warning for rain. However the Race Committee managed 4 races on Saturday and a further 2 on Sunday. As per Sis. Of particular mention was the Race Officer’s ability to pack in the racing, with only minutes between races. This was appreciated by the young sailors, who then kept warm and had the strength and stamina to compete in the demanding conditions. and there was a lot of sunshine to go with it.

Conditions for the sailors were demanding with strong shifting winds rolling off the headland, some tide, with a good bit of chop and swell. Including metre high waves on Sunday. However, the young sailors were more than up to the conditions, and the strong northerly winds provided a good bit of high-speed planing that is so much fun in the RS Feva with asymmetric spinnaker.

The Fleet also welcomed some Topper stars – Leo & Ben who took 3rd place, proving how transferable Topper skills are to the Feva. Leo arrived on Saturday morning the proud winner of the BYC Corinthian Cup along with his sister Emma.

Cushendall S&B Club was a perfect host – catering for everyone with delicious hot food each day. During racing the spectators had the perfect view from the stunning Clubhouse – warmed by the roaring open fire! Event Sponsors, Glens of Antrim Crisps provided snacks for the sailors throughout the weekend. A huge thanks to them! A weekend to remember for both sailors and parents, on and off the water!

The RS Feva fleet is growing steadily throughout NI – lead by BYC and this was the perfect end to a great season. Hopefully next year will see more travellers to the RS Feva events.

Keep an eye on Facebook for further RS Feva training opportunities for our Cadets.

Prizes:-
1st Emily & Annabel Ridout (BYC)
2nd Jessica Dadley-Young & Sally Nixon (BYC)
3rd Leo West-Hurst (BYC) & Ben McAldin (Lough Erne YC).
Family – 1st Matt & Peter Ridout

Cushendall Sailing and Boating Club
RYA Northern Ireland

Link to full results:-
www.sailwave.com/results/RSFevaNorthernsCushendall2025.htm ... See MoreSee Less

View on Facebook

Likes: 32
Shares: 1
Comments: 4

Comment on Facebook

I only raced in Cushendall once and what a great venue. Always a fantastic welcome, and who else gets a “Glens of Antrim crisps company” to sponsor a youth event!🤩 Well done to the Club, the Feva class and the BYC sailors 👏🏅

Fab weekend, well done Cushendall S&C Club for getting the races in and an amazing introductory event for Leo & Ben. They will definitely be looking out for next years Feva calendar 👏

A brilliant weekend and some amazing sailing! Well done everyone 👏👏🎉🎉

Are you having a haLLoween party this year