Ray McGinty

Phil Walton Royal Northumberland Yacht Club Millennium Race from Blyth to Mandal It has been a lifetime ambition to cross the North Sea in a small boat ever since my first time to Norway by ferry forty years ago. My chance came with the Millennium race organised by the Royal […]

David Morgan Albany Express skippered by David Morgan won the Millennium Race to Norway. Albany Express has now raced to Norway 3 times , 1994, 1997 and now 2000. We had a terrific start, leading the fleet across the line. It took ten minutes for the big boats Bright Eyes […]

Fiona Mathieson In September 1998 my subscription copy of Sailing Today arrived in the post, what I didn’t know then was that it would change my life. The magazine contained an article about a company called Square Sails shipyard based in Charlestown, Cornwall who run a fleet of 3 wooden […]

Julie Elliott You can travel to the other end of the earth but it still looks like Scotland in the rain! This was the verdict on our first day sailing in the Whitsundays in Australia. We’d flown to Hamiliton Island from Sidney after 5 days of sightseeing, eating, drinking and […]

Omer Tuzel (a Turkish diplomat) After a long and tiring journey from Vienna I finally dumped my rucksack in the cockpit of Kiwi, a Moody 31, and joined my shipmates, Cath, Mick and Andrew. Last year I had taken the Competent Crew course with Largs Sailing School under the instruction of Quentin […]

Colin Davidson reports on his cruise in Border Reiver Wednesday 7th July 1999 – I am lying in bed, 6 a.m., in Hoorn in the Ijsselemeer. The sun is glinting on all shapes and sizes of houses around the harbour, heralding a beautiful day in prospect. I wonder why men bothered to […]

If ever you are sitting on a yacht, with your feet in the North Sea, a view of Ashington power station, and a dream of embarking on one of the several Caribbean Regattas then…go for the dream! Six of us from Northumberland (four are members of the RNYC and the remaining […]

Dave Ward Over twenty years ago I converted a Northumberland Barn into a house. With the vagaries of interest rates during the eighties, the task nearly broke us, but we stuck it out, and brought up our kids in it. Later, we were able to afford some sailing, which along […]

Don Gunton Our crew comprised one Coastal Skipper, three Day Skippers and one Competent Crew. Manoeuvers on Sunday morning in Rothesay Bay revealed that Aquarelle was fine going forward under engine but what as about as manoeuverable as a soap dish going astern. Under sail in light airs, however, the […]

Alex Tweddle Saturday Largs Marina was left behind as Kookaburra a Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 34 with 2 ladies and 4 gents aboard looked for adventure on the Clyde. When we got to Rothesay we found the pontoon berth a little on the tight side. Exit was decided on by our […]