Tato bakalářská práce nabízí ucelený přehled o historických plachetnicích od jejich počátků až do současnosti. V první řadě jsou zde popsány počátky mořeplavby. Další kapitola se zabývá fenoménem plachetních lodí v Nizozemí. Najdeme zde také podrobný popis některých dodnes používaných plachetnic a jejich bližší specifikaci a využití v rámci takzvaných Tall Ship Race. Dále se práce zaměřuje na význam námořního tréninku a jeho pozitivní dopady na účastníky plavby v dnešní době.The subject of this thesis is 'a voyage through the history of the classic sailing ship, past to present'. The main goal is not only to give a broad overview of the history of the sail-ing ships, but also to describe the unique aspects of a sailing voyage. The first chapter describes the first sailing attempts of the Egyptians, the new shipbuilding techniques of the Greeks, up to the construction of the fully rigged sailing ships in the 15th century, which initiated the exploration of the new world. Chapter two is dedicated to the Dutch 'golden age' of sailing, in which the Dutch sailing ships ruled the world and became one of the world's leading colonisers. Also, I decribe the more recent sailing competitions and the growing interest in sailing tourism. Chapter three features the different types of sailing vessels and some famous ex-amples in Dutch sailing history, among which the sailing barge 'Gulden Leeuw'. It was my pleasure to spend a couple days of sailing on this majestic vessel last year. Finally, chapter four focuses on sail training which is becoming more and more popular among youths. Sail Training International is Europe's leading organisation for sail training courses and is the promotor of the yearly and hugely popular Tall Ships Race.