The Origin of Yachts

The term Yacht comes from the Dutch word jacht or jachtschips.  The Dutch Navy in the 14th century did not have fast enough ships to catch the rampaging pirates, a smaller and faster jacht was designed which was able to outrun and catch them.

Yachts – History

In the mid 1600’s Royalty, the elite and wealthy merchants started building and racing yachts, it became a popular sport and developed into what it is today. 

The America’s Cup

In 1851 the schooner ‘America’ competed in the 100 Guinea Cup presented by the Royal Yacht Squadron of Great Britain, for a race around the Isle of Wight. ‘America’ went on to win this race and the America’s Cup was borne..

Yachts

A yacht is generally used for leisure, racing, or cruising and can be a sailing or a powered vessel.

Royal Yacht Britannia

The Royal Yacht was designed and built as a Royal residence to entertain guests around the world. The late Queen Elizabeth II commissioned the Royal Yacht into service on 11th January 1954, she was decommissioned in 1997 and is now a 5 star visitor attraction with nearly 400,000 visitors per year from all over the world. Her permanent berth is the Ocean Terminal, Leigh, Edinburgh, EH6 6JJ, Scotland.

Yacht Propulsion

Yachts were originally powered by wind, then for a short period, by steam, followed by diesel engines, traditionally with shaft drive and more recently sail drive. The new propulsion system of electric and hybrid is slowly gaining ground for yachts of all sizes. Solar panels now add a boost to creating green energy afloat.

Yacht Maintenance

Maintenance of yachts is described fully in the main section. Click here to find out more.

Posted by : Team imardex marine 2022