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Near the Scottish capital is berthed a historic former lighthouse tender which has been named one of the best hotels in the world at the Tripadvisor Travellers' Choice Awards.

Fingal, which is the name of the luxury floating hotel, is located at the Port of Leith near Edinburgh and is beloved by visitors, being ranked as one of the highest-rated places to stay in the UK.

What was a Northern Lighthouse Board lighthouse buoy tender built in 1963 and serving a 30-year career out of Oban on the west coast was converted into a five-star luxury hotel and has been named in the Small and Boutique Hotels category, taking both the first and second spots in the UK and Europe lists.

Tripadvisor described the award as "The Travellers’ Choice Awards Best of the Best title celebrates the highest level of excellence in travel.

"It’s awarded to those who receive a high volume of above-and-beyond reviews and opinions from the Tripadvisor community over a 12-month period. Out of our 8 million listings, fewer than 1% achieve this milestone."

More on the historic vessel 1,342 gross tons, reports Dunfermline Press which served the Northern Lighthouse Board, the General Lighthouse Authority (GLA) responsible for aids to navigation in the waters of Scotland and the Isle of Man.

In addition, Fingal on occasions to sharing duties with Trinity House, the GLA for England, Wales, and the Channel Islands, and its GLA counterpart in Ireland, the Commissioners of Irish Lights, involved the vessel visit Dun Laoghaire Harbour in 1994.

Afloat will have more on this once-off historic call to the homeport and depot of Irish Lights, whose main function is to provide and maintain aids to navigation around the entire island.

Published in Historic Boats

Irish Sailing

The Irish Sailing Association, also known as Irish Sailing, is the national governing body for sailing, powerboating and windsurfing in Ireland.

Founded in 1945 as the Irish Dinghy Racing Association, it became the Irish Yachting Association in 1964 and the Irish Sailing Association in 1992.

Irish Sailing is a Member National Authority (MNA) of World Sailing and a member of the Olympic Federation of Ireland.

The Association is governed by a volunteer board, elected by the member clubs. Policy Groups provide the link with members and stakeholders while advising the Board on specialist areas. There is a professional administration and performance staff, based at the headquarters in Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin.

Core functions include the regulation of sailing education, administering racing and selection of Irish sailors for international competition. It is the body recognised by the Olympic Federation of Ireland for nominating Irish qualified sailors to be considered for selection to represent Ireland at the Olympic Games. Irish sailors have medalled twice at the Olympics – David Wilkins and Jamie Wikinson at the 1980 games, and Annalise Murphy at the 2016 games.

The Association, through its network of clubs and centres, offers curriculum-based training in the various sailing, windsurfing and powerboating disciplines. Irish Sailing qualifications are recognised by Irish and European Authorities. Most prominent of these are the Yachtmaster and the International Certificate of Competency.

It runs the annual All-Ireland Championships (formerly the Helmsman’s Championship) for senior and junior sailors.

The Association has been led by leading lights in the sailing and business communities. These include Douglas Heard, Clayton Love Junior, John Burke and Robert Dix.

Close to 100 sailors have represented Ireland at the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Membership of Irish Sailing is either by direct application or through membership of an affiliated organisation. The annual membership fee ranges from €75 for families, down to €20 for Seniors and Juniors.