Yachts & Yachting – August 2019

Above

Mylor has a

sailing school

and Sailability

base, with holiday

cottages inland

of the old quay

Below left

Rockley

Watersports has

a base in the

sheltered waters

of Poole Harbour

vast range of courses on oer plus for

those who simply want to get out on

the water and have a go at a new and

exciting sport, Rockley has introduced

Adult and Ladies Only Sailing Days.

Youngsters too can enjoy either

a week long residential holiday,

or take part in holiday camps or

taster sessions at Rockley’s Poole

Park and Birmingham locations.

Other centres that run a variety

of courses (not specically holidays)

to suit all abilities include Andrew

Simpson Sailing, e Watersports

Academy, Action Watersports, Bray

Lake Watersports, Docklands Sailing

and Watersports Centre, Liverpool

Watersports Centre, Lagoon Watersports,

and Rye Watersports, which runs courses

as well as a specic two-day kids’ camp.

Dover Sea Sports Centre is also keen to

promote its School holiday activities.

ONBOARD

One of the most popular water-based

holiday areas in the UK is the Norfolk

Broads. It can become extremely busy at

the height of the summer holiday season.

O-season though, it is possible to pick

up a good deal and enjoy the delights

of this beautiful part of the country.

Check out Oliver’s Sailing Holidays, a

small sailing holiday business, situated

at Martham Ferry in the heart of the

Broads National Park, which oers 120

miles of rivers and lakes to explore.

Hunter’s Yard specialises in

traditional Broads-style sailing boats

and oers bareboat or skippered

charter for one or two weeks aboard

two, three or four berth cabin yachts,

or traditional open dayboats.

Other classic yacht holiday companies

include Cornish-based Classic Sailing,

VentureSail Holidays and Trinity Sailing.

Classic Sailing has a good choice of

vessels available for holidays including

pilot cutters, ga ketches, classic

yawls, three-masted sailing luggers,

Brixham Sailing Trawlers, barques,

brigs, brigantines and ga-rigged

schooners. As well as voyages in the

UK, this company organises holidays

further aeld to places like Antarctica,

the Arctic Greenland, Iceland, South

Georgia, Faroes, Scotland and Norway.

As a prime holiday location it is not

surprising the West Country has a good

range of sailing holiday options. Mylor

Yacht Harbour in south Cornwall has

teamed up with Mylor Sailing School

to oer discounted RYA-accredited

sailing courses. Combined with the

yard’s self-catering holiday cottages on

FEATURE UK SAILING HOLIDAYS

T

he UK may not be

blessed with a guaranteed

Mediterranean-style climate

but what it does have is one

of the most beautiful, varied

coastlines in the world. Whether you

are keen to opt for a charter holiday or

beach club-style dinghy/watersports

holiday, there are oodles of opportunities

waiting to be discovered. For those

with a bit of time on their hands, now

or in the future, a round Britain sailing

voyage is denitely one for the bucket

list. With more and more focus on

adventure sailing, there are now several

companies oering this sort of holiday.

Given its generally unpredictable

climate, the UK is not bursting with

purpose-designed, package-style,

beach-based, or otilla holiday options

but because there are hundreds of

top-rated sailing schools and training

centres around the coast and inland,

the opportunity to ‘build your own’

holiday is an option. e way to do it

is to select your UK location and seek

out the nearest sailing centre or charter

base where you can sign up for a week

of sailing or tuition. en if you need

accommodation, book a cottage, hotel

or B&B/Airb&b close by and enjoy the

local surroundings as well as the sailing.

is option is particularly ideal for

those new to sailing and/or for those

who want to combine a family holiday

with a bit of sailing on maybe a one or

two-day course. e UKSA at Cowes

on the Isle of Wight, for example, is

not a sailing holiday centre, but runs a

full programme of RYA sailing courses

throughout the year including fun

days and seasonal camps for children

during the summer holidays.

Rockley Watersports, on the

picturesque Dorset coastline, has a

60 Yachts & Yachting August 2019 yachtsandyachting.co.uk