Canoe sailing

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Canoe Sailing on Lake Sebago in Harriman State Park, New York, USA

Canoe sailing refers to the practice of fitting a canoe with sails. Canoes have been used for sailing since at least the 1860s. There are several racing classes of sailing canoes: Cruising Class or 4 Meter, C Class or 5 Meter, International Decked Sailing Canoe, and the American Canoe Association Class.

John MacGregor of Scotland is generally believed to have developed the first sailing canoes. During the 1860s, he had at least seven boats built that he called Rob Roys and sailed and paddled them in Europe, the Baltic and the Middle East. He also wrote a book which popularized the design and the concept: "in walking you are bounded by every sea and river, and in a common sailing-boat you are bounded by every shallow and shore; whereas, ...a canoe [can] be paddled or sailed, or hauled, or carried over land or water" (1000 Miles in the Rob Roy Canoe).

MacGregor founded the British Royal Canoe Club (RCC) in 1866.

The New York Canoe Club followed about six years later.

The American Canoe Association (ACA) was founded in 1880. In 1883, ACA Secretary Charles Neide and retired sea captain “Barnacle” Kendall paddled and sailed over three thousand miles from Lake George, New York to Pensacola, Florida.

In 1886 the ACA and the RCC held the first international canoe sailing regatta.