Causeway Coast's Maritime Festival is awash with treats

Pirate shipwrecks, sea shanties, sailing, seabirds and... sushi! These are just some of the sights and sounds in store at the Rathlin Sound Maritime Festival on the Causeway Coast at the end of May.
Pictured at the launch of the Rathlin Sound Maritime Festival are Caroline Carey, Tourism Development, Causeway Coast and Glens; John Morton, Harbour Master, Causeway Coast and Glens and Kerrie McGonigle, Destination Manager, Causeway Coast and Glens.  Picture: Steven McAuley/McAuley MultimediaPictured at the launch of the Rathlin Sound Maritime Festival are Caroline Carey, Tourism Development, Causeway Coast and Glens; John Morton, Harbour Master, Causeway Coast and Glens and Kerrie McGonigle, Destination Manager, Causeway Coast and Glens.  Picture: Steven McAuley/McAuley Multimedia
Pictured at the launch of the Rathlin Sound Maritime Festival are Caroline Carey, Tourism Development, Causeway Coast and Glens; John Morton, Harbour Master, Causeway Coast and Glens and Kerrie McGonigle, Destination Manager, Causeway Coast and Glens. Picture: Steven McAuley/McAuley Multimedia

Now in its fourth year, the Rathlin Sound Maritime Festival celebrates the unique stretch of water lying between Ballycastle and the magical island of Rathlin.

The week-long festival will run from May 27 to June 4 with a packed programme of events and activities lined up in Ballycastle and on Rathlin itself, with all kinds of water-based activity on Rathlin Sound in-between.

From Tall Ship rides, to racing yachts and fishing trips, and from powerboats to traditional hand-crafted rowing boats (curraghs), every pace will be catered for.

Mayor of Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council, Councillor Michelle Knight-McQuillan said: “We are delighted to invite visitors back to Rathlin Island and Ballycastle for the fourth year of this superb festival.

“We have a unique melting pot of natural riches, both on land and in the seas around this little part of the world. The Rathlin Sound Maritime Festival is a fantastic mix of culture, entertainment, nature, sport and, of course, food.

“Given that 2016 is Northern Ireland’s Year of Food and Drink, this is the perfect event to showcase the wealth of seafood on our shores. Local restaurants will have special seafood menus, there will be local artisan food markets we’ll have classes teaching the art of smoking your own salmon, as well as sushi-making lessons and our first ever ‘Ulster Chowder Cookoff’.”

For further information visit www.rathlinsoundmaritimefestival.com