News stories tagged with "sailing"

(02/23/12) Imagine racing over a frozen lake on a wind-powered sled, hitting speeds that top forty miles an hour. Ice sailing is a big sport in winter and the north end of Lake Champlain has a growing reputation as one of the best venues in the northeast. Our Champlain Valley correspondent Sarah Harris headed out on the ice to give it a try and has our story. more

(08/18/10) Kingston, Ontario has a number of claims to fame: a brief stint as a colonial capital, the home of prestigious universities, and a massive, limestone penitentiary that opened back in 1835.

Wind is another resource - one that brought windmills to near-by Wolfe Island in the last few years.

Each August, sailing enthusiasts from around the world come to Kingston for something called CORK: Canadian Olympic-training Regatta, Kingston. Top-level races that create lovely views of sails gliding back and forth across Lake Ontario.

Last year, Lucy Martin spent an overcast day at CORK and got a taste of what that's like, with or without wind. more

(06/18/10) The sailing ship used in three Hollywood films has dropped anchor in the North Country. The HMS Bounty is docked in Ogdensburg on the St. Lawrence River this weekend while on its way to the Great Lakes United Tall Ships Challenge. It was built in 1960 for the remake of the movie "Mutiny on the Bounty", starring Marlon Brando and was used more recently in one of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" films with Johnny Depp. Tours of the ship are available throughout the weekend. Todd Moe spoke with Captain Robin Walbridge on the main deck of the Bounty on a blustery afternoon. Walbridge says his 180-foot ship is a "good replica" of an 18th century British sailing ship, but larger than the original. more

(09/05/06) The Picton Castle sets sail today down the St. Lawrence River, on its way to the Carribean Islands. It's a 100-foot tall ship retrofitted like a commercial sailing ship of the 19th century. And for a fee, you can ride aboard, as a member of the crew. The Picton Castle is a training ship, owned by a company in Nova Scotia. About 40 "trainees" will set sail this year. They'll help stand watch, and take workshops in seamanship, navigation, and the other arts of square-rig sailing. Gregory Warner stopped by the ship when it was docked in Kingston, Ontario. He met a former crew member, revisiting the ship after a long absence.