Sailing Holiday Ideas

[Villaman]

Hi all,

I am new to the forum, so hello.

I thought this might be the place to come.

My teenage son has grown up with an obsession for the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, which matured in to a love for the Patrick O'Brian Aubery-Maturin books. His enthusiasm for the latter has been passed on to me and we are looking to head out on a sailing trip on an old wooden vessel.

I am 58, he is 19 and we are in Birmingham which couldn't be further away from the sea.

Can anyone recommend where we could find such a holiday? Ideally in the UK. We are planning a trip to the south west next month, we've seen a few things online done there but could do with some advice.

Thanks,

Paul

 

[chal]

afaik there are *loads* of boats offering sailing holiday opportunities in the south west (and indeed elsewhere around UK). You could start by having a look at Classic Sailing (http://www.classic-sailing.co.uk) - they are agents for quite a few boats ranging from something quite small to something like this http://www.classic-sailing.co.uk/vessels/bark-europa that should do you for a pirate vessel I think they offer everything from a couple of days to Atlantic crossings. (I have nothing to do with them btw but I know someone who owns a boat and uses CS as agent.) I think owners need customers and are pretty honest about what sort of level of skill they might expect you to have - why take someone who will not enjoy it and create bad publicity?

There are independents too, I've seen several around Plymouth Sound, so a google search would turn up quite a few I imagine.

I think it could be a really good way of trying it all out - I hope you find something and enjoy it.

 

[Sixpence]

Birmingham may seem to be the furthest you can get but there are worse places. Just a thought but a quick trip down the M6 A14 and A12 would get you to Maldon, home of the historic Thames barges, and you can book holidays through various groups. Here's one option http://www.top-sail.co.uk/

 

[Villaman]

Thank you for the recommendations. I have just had a quick look at Classic Sailing and that was definitely a good shout as there seems to be a lot of choice.

That's the kind of thing I was after, almost too much choice if I'm honest. We don't want to do anything too ambitious, just a trip across the Channel would be nice. We might have to build our way up to an Atlantic crossing

Thanks also for the Maldon trips, that also looks good, but we have always had a bit of a family obsession with the South West.

 

[TQA]

How about hiring a traditional wooden engineless boat from Hunters on the broads. http://www.huntersyard.co.uk/our-boats/cabin-yachts/

Great fun and you are never far from a good pub.

Maybe a bit more swallows and amazons the pirates of the Caribbean though.

 

[Woodlouse]

Check out square sail in Charlestown. It's as close to the pirates of the Caribbean and master and commander as you're going to get in Cornwall.

 

[Easticks28]

How about hiring a traditional wooden engineless boat from Hunters on the broads. http://www.huntersyard.co.uk/our-boats/cabin-yachts/

Great fun and you are never far from a good pub.

Maybe a bit more swallows and amazons the pirates of the Caribbean though.

+1 for that suggestion. Genuinely challenging sailing giving a real sense of achievement, with lots to see and do as well.

 

[jon711]

+1 for that suggestion. Genuinely challenging sailing giving a real sense of achievement, with lots to see and do as well.

+2 Really great boats and shooting the bridges can be a bit of a giggle!!

 

[Gerry]

Thank you for the recommendations. I have just had a quick look at Classic Sailing and that was definitely a good shout as there seems to be a lot of choice.

That's the kind of thing I was after, almost too much choice if I'm honest. We don't want to do anything too ambitious, just a trip across the Channel would be nice. We might have to build our way up to an Atlantic crossing

Thanks also for the Maldon trips, that also looks good, but we have always had a bit of a family obsession with the South West.

Grayhound has to be the boat for you-even comes complete with cannons! Classic sailing handle their bookings and they will be in the South West for a while now I believe. Take a look at their website http://grayhoundluggersailing.com/ .

 

[Villaman]

Hello all, I just wanted to say a big thank you for everyone on the forum who helped with my sailing holiday query.

I had such an amazing trip that I felt not only obliged to thank you all, but spread the word as a thanks to the crew for a great holiday.

It wasn't quite Pirates of the Caribbean or Master and Commander, but the dates worked for me and my lad and Provident is a beauty!

We went to Brittany on a Brixham Trawler, built in 1924, and headed to Brittany and back, It's safe to say we've been bitten by the bug!

We booked with Trinity Sailing and I can't recommend them enough, the company, the boat, the food, the crew, all fantastic.

Here's a link to a piece on their blog quoting some of us on the cruise... http://www.trinitysailing.org/glowing-praise-for-provident/

Looking at Classic Sailing's website, which someone mentioned above, there seems to be an awful lot of these types of trips, so I think we'll be back for more, they also mention Greyhound on their site which I see someone else here also recommended. Thanks all!