with a bone in her teeth!

A wonderful expression from the sailing days of old where ships under a full press of canvas would push the seas aside with a great white bow wave on either side. If they were coming straight at you, they would look a bit like an exuberant, happy dog with a “bone in their teeth.”

The sheer sense of power in the wind; the rigging shaking and humming like a live thing; all those tons of ship being propelled through the waves, lifting and falling to create foaming white water down the full length of the ship is even more of a buzz if you are on board.

Oosterschelde – 220 ton schooner in action

 

Classic Sailing directors took the photo above and this photo aloft on Oosterschelde in the strong trade winds of Cape Verde this Christmas. It explains why we go on our own holidays perfectly. We naturally have an inside track on where to go for the best winds and fastest sailing for the time of year. Quite simply it was day after day of ‘bone in her teeth’ sailing in turquoise blue waters that made us grin at each other like naughty school kids.

Help us make ‘Eve of St Mawes’ go faster – New sails

Our new skipper George Fairhurst is no raw recruit. He was skippering 72’ yachts with young people across the Atlantic for Ocean Youth Club when Classic Sailing founder Debbie was still a lowly 2^nd mate. George ran his own charter boat in Cornwall for many years, and has no intention of sailing Eve sedately. He is a man with many hats including sculptor at the Eden Project.

We have treated Eve to some new sails for 2011 including a jackyard topsail. If you want to come and tweak them on the shakedown voyage 9-12th April and see if we can create a few rainbows in the bow wave spray.

Don’t be afraid if you are a beginner. Tweaking or more correctly ‘trimming sail’ will help you understand how to get the best out of any boat from dinghies to large schooners, and we train everybody that steps aboard.

Eve of St Mawes – Cornwall & Scillies Programme 2011

Learn to sail on a classic boat -  more on RYA Courses 2011

Annabel J - A pilot cutter with a slippery hull

Skipper & owner Phil always puts a lot of work into Annabel J’s hull paint finish over the winter refit which makes her pretty slippery. If you want to try traditional sailing on a classic pilot cutter that can really shift then come for an elegant blast in the sheltered, and relatively empty waters of the Solent before the Easter rush of yachts taking to the water. There is even an early gathering of pilot cutters at Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight if you fancy a spot of racing. This event was fully booked and great fun last year.

The beauty of the Western Isles for sailing is you can harness the wind blowing off the mountains or the sea, but the many islands shelter you from big ocean swell. It means that on Lizzie May you can walk about her wooden decks even in wild weather to admire the ‘bone in her teeth’ in the open stretches and still have the option not far away to dip behind a sea cliff for instant calm. All our pilot cutters have uncluttered wooden decks and sides called bulwarks so you do feel very secure, even when creaming along.

2-3 day tasters & longer adventures in the Hebrides on our Scottish based pilot cutter Lizzie May   April – Sept 2011

Soren Larsen- Deep blue Pacific for your bow wave

Photo says it all. Imagine you are a humpback whale looking up at a sailing ship’s bottom as it rises and plummets through the ocean swell with a big swoosh. They must see us as a major competitor in the ocean big splash stakes. No wonder whales come to visit square riggers like Soren Larsen.