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RYA Northern Ireland celebrates 50th Anniversary with commemorative dinner in Belfast

Sailors meet at the Harbour Commissioner’s Office in Belfast as RYA Northern Ireland celebrates its 50th Anniversary
21 Oct 24
RYA NI 50th Dinner

Guests from across the United Kingdom gathered at The Harbour Commissioner’s Office in Belfast as RYA Northern Ireland celebrated its 50th Anniversary at a commemorative dinner.

The evening celebrated all aspects of sailing in Northern Ireland and welcomed sailors from clubs across the country, involved in all aspects of the sport.

Since RYA Northern Ireland become the National Governing Body of sailing and boating in Northern Ireland in 1973, the sport has evolved massively. RYANI CEO Greg Yarnall commented, “It was a really great evening and fantastic to see so many amazing people that are involved in sailing in Northern Ireland. It just reminds you of how great the community is.

“It also reminds you how many people are so instrumental in making the sport happen- the volunteers, the clubs and the sailors giving their time to reach those high levels.”

On top of the dinner itself, the evening featured guest panellists which helped to reflect different aspects of the sport.

RYA Northern Ireland Chair, Susan Mcknight and Maeve Bell OBE, reflected on the past 50 years and the birth of RYANI. Bill O’Hara OBE, Chris Lindsay, Micky Beckett and Erin McIlwaine discussed Olympic sailing, while RYANI CEO, Greg Yarnall, RYANI Vice-Chair, Gavin Watson, Garry Crothers and Rachel Nixon, looked to the future of sailing in Northern Ireland and the impact of programmes such as Sailability and Women On Water.

Paris 2024 Olympian Micky Beckett commented: “I’ve met lots of lovely people- volunteers from a range of types of club sailing, Sailability and people that were involved with the RYA at its inception 50 years ago.

“I’ve always believed that sailing is a very ‘Broadchurch’. It’s fantastic what it can offer because it’s not a sport which requires you to be a certain height or a certain shape or a certain disposition in the way that other sports do. It has a home for anyone and I think that’s a message we need to push forward.”

On the night, there was a raffle which offered the chance to win some incredible prizes and all proceeds raised went towards funding RYA Northern Ireland’s recently launched ‘Individual Grant Scheme.’ This scheme allows those limited by financial barriers who wish to get involved with sailing or continue sailing at a higher level to do so. £1780 was raised, which will make a huge impact within the Northern Irish sailing community.

The evening was also generously supported by a number of sponsors. RYA NI CEO Greg Yarnall said: “We really want to increase the investment into the sport to enable more people to enjoy the sport where costs may be a barrier to them.

“I would like to thank everyone who has supported RYA Northern Ireland, as we work hard to develop the sport. Thank you also to the table sponsors for the evening, their support helped to make it a fantastic event”

For the 50th Anniversary Dinner, RYA Northern Ireland partnered with:

If you would like to partner with RYA Northern Ireland, please contact greg.yarnall@rya.org.uk . We offer a range of partnership opportunities designed to help raise the profile of your company or organisation.