Of Schooners

There's been a lot written about schooners recently or at least about one in particular the schooner Everhopeful caught my eye down at Dell Quay unaware that Chris Partridge was at the helm, followed closely by Graham aboard his immaculate Coot dinghy.

Now beautiful as they are, schooners don't have the best reputation for speed as Chris relates in his sailing experience "great off the wind.." No real surprises there with those two lovely gaff sails pulling hard, but upwind is a different matter.

For those who love schooners and speed check out Goelette Mercator a French designed and built high speed schooner. From the limited information available mostly in French, she is intended as a sail trainer and while obviously suited to epoxy ply construction it seems that a production version is available using the delightfully named sandwich polyester.

If the thought of screaming around Chichester harbour looking like Tony the Tiger is all too much then take comfort in this beauty, Graham's Coot is about the nicest 11 foot dinghy I can think of and still for sale