First Class Sailing

First Class Sailing was set up by the late Saul Masson in 2000. Sadly Saul died on the 21st June 2004 after a 9 month battle against cancer. Saul encouraged and inspired hundreds of people of all ages and abilities to sail. He was a self taught lifelong sailor and spent 11 years as a professional skipper, logging over 65,000nm. He was Chief Instructor for an East Coast yachting school before working extensively as a delivery skipper, sailing boats of all sizes around the world. Saul also skippered large sail training vessels, and won the Cutty Sark Tall Ships race in 1999 aboard "Duet". His most recent command was "Queen Galadriel" a 109ft Baltic Trader that carries 21 crew. Saul was keen that First Class Sailing should live on. His sense of humour, knowledge and ability to impart that knowledge will be sadly missed on the water, in the clssroom, and in everyday life. Principal - Charlie Tulloch Charlie is an RYA/DoT Yachtmaster (Ocean) Instructor. He learnt to sail as a boy on the River Dart and has since logged over 55,000 miles. In the last ten years he has taught people to sail at several Solent based schools and worked as a delivery skipper moving boats of all sizes around the world. He also skippered a privately owned boat to Panama and around central America for a year, and has been involved with sail training for disadvantaged young adults on large sailing trawlers including Keewaydin, a 100ft Lowestoft Trawler and Provident, an 80ft Brixham Trawler. Charlie has also spent a year in the merchant navy on large container vessels, getting an insight into how the other half do things. He has his Second Mate's ticket and a degree in Merchant Ship Operations.