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This week Northern Ireland welcomes the launch of two new coastal canoe trails.
The new Foyle Canoe Trail stretches for 33 miles from Lifford in Co Donegal to Moville on the Inishowen peninsula at Lough Foyle, passing through Derry on the way, with plenty of wild and official campsites along the route.
Meanwhile, the South East Coast Canoe Trail is a sea kayaker's dream – 50 miles of rocky bays and sandy beaches past the Mourne and Cooley mountain ranges from Strangford village to Newry.
According to OutdoorNI.com, the trails were developed by the Countryside Access and Activities Network (CAAN), the Loughs Agency and Down and Derry District Councils, add to the five inland canoe trails already in place.
CAAN development officer Kathryn Callaghan commented: "Both these trails offer a golden opportunity for us all to explore two picturesque corners of Northern Ireland from a unique perspective.”
Waterproof guides for both trails are available free from from local tourist information centres or online from www.canoeni.com.
The coastal trails are the first of four to be launched in 2011. Later this year the North Coast Canoe Trail will take in the Giant’s Causeway and Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge, while the East Coast Canoe Trail will pass the renowned Glens of Antrim, Belfast Lough and the Ards peninsula.

This week Northern Ireland welcomes the launch of two new coastal canoe trails.

The new Foyle Canoe Trail stretches for 33 miles from Lifford in Co Donegal to Moville on the Inishowen peninsula at Lough Foyle, passing through Derry on the way, with plenty of wild and official campsites along the route.

Meanwhile, the South East Coast Canoe Trail is a sea kayaker's dream – 50 miles of rocky bays and sandy beaches past the Mourne and Cooley mountain ranges from Strangford village to Newry.

According to OutdoorNI.com, the trails were developed by the Countryside Access and Activities Network (CAAN), the Loughs Agency and Down and Derry District Councils, add to the five inland canoe trails already in place.

CAAN development officer Kathryn Callaghan commented: "Both these trails offer a golden opportunity for us all to explore two picturesque corners of Northern Ireland from a unique perspective.”

Waterproof guides for both trails are available free from from local tourist information centres or online from www.canoeni.com.

The coastal trails are the first of four to be launched in 2011. Later this year the North Coast Canoe Trail will take in the Giant’s Causeway and Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge, while the East Coast Canoe Trail will pass the renowned Glens of Antrim, Belfast Lough and the Ards peninsula.

Published in Canoeing

About the Melges 15 Dinghy

The Melges 15 was designed by Reichel/Pugh and built by Melges.

The design prioritises stability, comfort, ease of use, and performance. 

The Melges 15 is built to be sailed by everyone from friends and couples to families and kids. The design offers performance, comfort, and stability in one sleek package.

The Melges 15’s stable hull shape and ergonomic cockpit make it a suitable layout for adult racing and educational sailing. Easy conversion from a club configuration (non-spinnaker) to a one-design setup, provides more versatility to club programs and options for individual owners.

“The Melges 15 creates a clear pathway for junior sailors to get started and stay excited about sailing while also being comfortable and accessible enough for adults to learn, race, or cross-train,” according to Harry Melges III.

With the main design goals focused on stability and performance in various conditions, the boat features a narrow overall beam and a flat cross-section shape for stability, righting moment, and ease of planing. For a more forgiving feel upwind and to navigate larger sea states, the Melges 15 has just the right amount of fore and aft rocker.

Melges conducted extensive research and product testing to produce this layout factoring in cockpit depth, backbone height, and floor plan. The result, they say, is a comfortable environment for both the skipper and crew. The deeper cockpit takes the load off the sailor’s knees helping them feel locked into the boat while the high boom and gnav vang system work together to make the boat easier to manoeuvre.

The asymmetric spinnaker offers an additional performance element, while the single-pull launch and retrieval system makes handling the sail easy and fast.

 

At a Glance - Melges 15 Specifications

  • LENGTH 15 ft 
    BEAM 5 ft 6 in
    DRAFT 2 ft 7 in 
    HULL WEIGHT 230 lbs
  • SAIL AREA
    MAIN 93.6 sq ft 
    JIB 39.8 sq ft 
    ASYMMETRICAL SPINNAKER 156 sq ft 
  • CREW 2

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