- Lorcha (boat)
Lorcha is the name of a boat that was originally owned by Paul Howard and Fiona McCall, who sailed around the world on the boat with their children.
The ship was built in Howard and McCall's backyard in 1980 and was launched a year later. Its hull is based on a Dutch design, known as a Karmac 30. It is a
Junk rig ship, which means its sail and running lines are based on Chinese ship designs. The boat's name is a Portuguese word reflecting the design of the lorcha: a Chinese-rigged boat with a European hull.First Circumnavigation
After the Howard-McCall family launched the boat in 1981, they sailed it in their home waters on Lake Ontario until July 1, 1983 when they set off from Toronto with their two children, Penny, 6, and Peter, 4, in what turned into a 5 year circumnavigation of the world, sailing back into Toronto Harbour August 28, 1988. In their meandering sailing track they covered more than convert|40000|nmi|km|-4, crossing the Equator four times, for a complete circumnavigation of the world. They crossed the
Atlantic Ocean three times, thePacific Ocean once, and the Indian Ocean once and completed a full circumnavigation of the globe.Throughout this trip the couple wrote a series in the Toronto Star 'Family Adventures on the High Seas' and two consecutive books based on their travels. The first, "
All in the Same Boat ", was based on the first leg of their journey. The second of their books was "Still in the Same Boat ".Second Circumnavigation
In the early 1990s, the boat was sold to an unknown buyer. After trading hands twice by would-be long distance voyagers who did not make their dream trips, the sailboat was bought by Josh Sutherland in the late 1990s. He subsequently sailed the boat from
Toronto and circumnavigated the world, as the original owners had done, but taking about eight years to do so as he stopped in various places to work along the way.Present
Lorcha is currently being sailed by Captain Steven also from Toronto. She is currently in warmer waters of FL and the Bahamas.
Photo by Gigi Lirot
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
