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Displaying items by tag: Bristol Channel Pilot Cutters

#PilotCutter - The Royal St George Yacht Club gives word that a crew is needed to sail the Bristol Channel pilot cutter Dolphin on a return trip to Greenland via Iceland this summer.

It promises to be a challenging adventure only for the experienced sailor, with cramped conditions on board and bad weather expected.

But there will also be plenty of opportunity for climbing and walking, as well as creature watching from polar bears to muskoxen and arctic foxes.

The classic boat in question – a 1909 Bristol Channel pilot cutter with 39ft on deck - aims to leave Swansea in late June for return in mid September, with planned stops for crew changes in Reykjavik and Issaford in Northern Iceland (mid July and end of August).

While in Greenland, Dolphin will return to Kangerlussuaq, if possible, and propose to spend two to three weeks in or toward the mountains beyond Kraemer Island at the edge of the icecap, subject to the ice.

The Royal St George has more on the voyage HERE.

Published in Tall Ships

#LECTURES – The Dublin Bay Old Gaffers Association (DBOGA) last talk of the winter series is 'Madcap, Me and Other Mad Wans' which takes place next Thursday 22nd March (8pm) in Poolbeg YBC, Ringsend.

Adrian Spence, owner skipper of 'Madcap' will present an entertaining talk about his voyage to Greenland. Madcap, built in 1875, is the oldest of the Bristol Channel Pilot Cutters still sailing and is to be found nowadays in the Northern Ireland Old Gaffers fleet.

All are welcome to the evening with proceeds going to the RNLI. For further information about the DBOGA click HERE and the PYBC visit www.poolbegmarina.ie

Published in Boating Fixtures

Esailing & Virtual Sailing information

The concept of e-sailing, or virtual sailing, is based on a computer game sailing challenge that has been around for more than a decade.

The research and development of software over this time means its popularity has taken off to the extent that it has now become a part of the sailing seascape and now allows people to take an 'active part' in some of the most famous regattas across the world such as the Vendée Globe, Route du Rhum, Sydney Hobart, Volvo Ocean Race, America’s Cup and some Olympic venues too, all from the comfort of their armchair.

The most popular model is the 'eSailing World Championship'. It is an annual esports competition, first held in 2018 and officially recognised by World Sailing, the sports governing body.

The eSailing World Championship is a yearly competition for virtual sailors competing on the Virtual Regatta Inshore game.

The contract to run the event was given to a private company, Virtual Regatta that had amassed tens of thousands of sailors playing offshore sailing routing game following major offshore races in real-time.

In April 2020, the company says on its website that it has 35,000 active players and 500,000 regattas sailed.

Virtual Regatta started in 2010 as a small team of passionate designers, engineers, and entrepreneurs gathered around the idea that virtual sailing sports games can mix with real races and real skippers.