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I have been a keen sailor since the year 2000, and am one of the few
people who is able to enjoy sailing in Taiwan. I have sailed with most
of the crews on the island and this section of my site is dedicated to
promoting the sport. I hope that you'll find it interesting and want to
give it a try.
There are various organisations in Taiwan that are working to develop sailing, and an increasing number of opportunities to learn. If you're interested in classes or sailing trips then drop me a line and I'll introduce you to some people.
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Xiao Liuqiu Island Trip - July 2008
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My friend Huilin, who has a great blog in Chinese , invited me to
join her on a sailing trip with the famous Captain Kao recently. Kao is
an unnusual guy who gave up his job, flew to the United States, bought
a boat, and in 2007 sailed singlehanded across the Pacific Ocean.
Of course, I was mad keen to meet this person! And
the chance to explore one of Taiwan's less well-known corners was
doubly exciting. So I jumped on the High Speed Rail, which whisked me
to the other end of Taiwan at 300kmh, and went to take a look at his boat "Yu
Luh" for myself.
The name Yu Luh means "the path the fool walks," and that pretty much
sums up my relationship with sailing too. We had a great, if rather
slow, sail down the coast from Gaoxiong - dodging the freighters coming
in and out of the harbour - and arrived at Xiao Liuqiu in the late
afternoon.
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After Taipei and Gaoxiong, the two biggest cities, this little coral island was a bit of a culture shock. People swim in the harbour (Yes! It's clean enough!) Nobody wears crash helmets and half of the cars have no number plates. You can rent a scooter and drive round the island in less than an hour. Check out the few beaches, weird rock formations, and old ladies harvesting seaweed.
There is reputed to be one temple per person on the island, and I can believe it. It's a great place to take a break: Quiet, clean, relaxed, and very very beautiful. If you get a chance to go there then take it.
And if you don't get a chance to go, then create one. Kao now makes his living giving sailing lessons and the course includes a trip to Xiao liuqiu. He's open to all suggestions for trips, charters, classes, you name it. You couldn't ask for a more genial host, and Yu Luh is a great little boat. I can't think of a better way to spend a weekend, or even a week.
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A Sailing Story
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Shortly before coming to Taiwan, I spent a summer in New Zealand. I took part in many sailing races aboard 'Distraction', a great little boat out of Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club. I wrote this account of an offshore race shortly afterwards, and have put it here for anyone who is interested. (It was originally published by the BBC under the title "Sport of Kings ")
I hope you enjoy it.
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Another Sailing Story
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... about my first trip on a real sailing boat in San Diego in early 2000. If you're interested in learning to sail then this might give you some idea of how it felt to be complete newbie.
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