Sailing / Yachting in General

~ ~ The original Jeanie Johnston was a ?famine ship? built in Quebec in Canada in 1847, by a Scottish-born shipbuilder called John Munn. The new Jeanie Johnston is a totally authentic, full-size reproduction of the original sailing ship built right here in Ireland, at Blennerville, near Tralee, County Kerry. The new ship was built by the young people of Ireland, both North and South, and from both the Unionist and Nationalist traditions, to commemorate the countless thousands of Irish people who sailed (and the many who died!) on ships like the Jeanie Johnston to start ...  Read the complete review

Sailing – many people know not a lot about this sport/activity/pastime. I’m going to see if I can change that. I’ve sailed for most of my life so far, and you could say that sailing is in my blood, with my great great grandfather being Charles Nicholson, a very famous yacht builder and yachtsman. It’s an incredible sport and can be done at so many different levels – from ‘pissing about’ in a small dinghy off the beach, to racing 49ers at club level, to sailing round the world a la Ellen MacArthur. We boasted 3 Gold Medals at the Sydney Olympics thanks to sailing, as well as some bronze and silver. This ...  Read the complete review

Blakes offer both cruisers and yachts for hire on the Caledonian Canal which takes in Loch Lochy, Lock Oich, and Loch Ness with the canal bits in-between. We hired a six berth Moody 28feet yacht although there were only four of us, I'll tell you the story, We picked up the boat at Laggan just eastish of Fort William. The boat condition itself was tired to say the least,having learnt the yachts were ex sunsail charter boats, having spent the prime of their life sailing in the med.I did wonder at this juncture what we had let ourselves in for ? The spacious aft cabin as shown in the brochure turned out that one person had only three inches headroom ...  Read the complete review

UPDATE: I have kept to my word and have been sailing since then. I love it and am well hooked. There have been no further episodes of sickness and I am now brave enough to have a few beers (after the race) on board. My only problem now is getting some oilies, which aren't cheap. I have had a limited exposure to sailing as a child when my old man got a small sailing dingy – we bobbed about, 100m offshore in holidays etc… then he sold it. I then went on to SCUBA diving for a few years and enjoyed that. Why am I telling you this? Because yesterday I went sailing with my girlfriend and the rest of the crew in a sigma 33, which, funnily enough, is ...  Read the complete review

Most people think of sailing as an upper class sport! They think yuppies, yauchts and champagne. This is fine for you if you have the money and the patience but there is another side to sailing. This is dighy sailing. It consists of small boats that take from 1 person to 5 people. If you dont mind getting wet and you like the feeling of adrenaline being pumped through your body sailing is a must. When you first start sailing its a bit scary but then it is all fun. Imagine going across the water at several knots with the wind behind you and the waves underneath you. You think this isnt fun then think again. Another factor that deters people from ...  Read the complete review