Sailing Experience Days
Classic yacht sailing experience days from Cowes on the Isle of Wight or Shamrock Quay in Southampton. Come for a sail on a traditional wooden sailing boat. Delicious lunch or supper included.
Have a fun filled day experiencing the delights of sailing a 100 year old classic yacht.
Have a fun filled day experiencing the delights of sailing a 100 year old classic boat.
Help us hoist the sails, take the tiller, feel the warmth of the wood, haul the ropes through varnished ash blocks as we catch the wind in the sails.Enjoy the gentle motion and the sounds of a traditional old boat. Whether you are helping to sail the boat or watching the world go by sailing can be hungry work and at some point there will be a delicious tasty lunch or supper on board for you plus a glass of locally sourced wine.
Each day there are 2 outings –
9am to 2.30pm – this includes lunch
3.30pm to 8.30pm – this includes supper
Or you can take the whole boat from 9am to 7pm - this includes lunch
Proposed Itinerary
After a short introduction to the boat and your fellow crew mates we will cast off into the Solent to explore.
We will hoist the sails and if starting from Cowes we may head either east to Osbourne Bay, overlooked by Queen Victoria’s holiday retreat - Osborne House; or we may go west past attractive farm land on the Isle of Wight and ancient woodland of the New Forest on the mainland, past the turquoise waters of Newtown Creek towards Yarmouth and back.
Sailing on board Golden Vanity is like stepping back in
time. She was built in 1908 for a private owner, a marine artist called
Arthur Briscoe. She was built along the lines of a Mumble Bee Brixham Sailing
Trawler although she never actually fished. This means she is a really
solid and stable platform from which to enjoy a lovely day’s sailing in the Solent.
On deck she is pretty much as she was when she was built
over a hundred years ago. There are no winches. Traditional methods are
used to raise and lower the sails, of which there are 5 that can be flown at
any one time. None of the ropes are colour co-ordinated, none of them are
labelled! Our experienced skipper and mate will quickly help you to get the
hang of things though.
There is plenty of opportunity for team work when sailing Golden Vanity so if you want to lend a hand you would be more than welcome. If you would prefer to just sit back, relax and watch the world go by then you would also be welcome to do just that!
Down below, however, the boat has been modernised and she has all the comforts you would expect on a modern sailing boat. A spacious heads, a well-equipped galley and a large saloon area. There are also 6 bunks up in the forepeak for when we go on longer trips.
Golden Vanity is an Historic Ship. She is also part of the ‘Historic Fleet’ alongside roughly 200 other vessels including HMS Victory!
Day Sail - Dates
