Skippered charter
Excelsior
Crew provided: skipper, mate and up to three deckhands
Length: 77ft
Max numbers: 12
Berths: 12 singles
Home port: Lowestoft
Price: from £55pp per day
Tel/fax: 01502 585302
E-mail: excelsior@excelsior trust.freeserve.co.uk
If you ever wanted to find out what it was like to sail on a real working sailing vessel, Excelsior provides the ideal opportunity. She was extensively restored in the 1980s to her original appearance. The regular crew show you the ropes so no previous sailing experience is necessary, but this is a holiday for those who want to get involved.
Tangaroa
Crew provided: skipper, mate, cook
Length: 60ft
Max numbers: 12
Berths: 4 double and 4 single
Home port: Southampton
Price: whole boat for 6 days £2,808 - £3,707; weekends £1,123 - £1,483. Individuals can sail for a weekend for £120 - £185pp or 6 days for £350 - £462pp. Extra days £55 - £61
Tel: 07092 006 006
E-mail: Info@tangaroa-sailing .com
The interior of this former Danish fishing boat resembles a country cottage with its massive oak beams and solid fuel stove. Suitable for all levels of experience, and guests can do as much or as little work as they want.
Elise
Crew provided: skipper
Length: 63ft
Max numbers: 12 guests day sailing or 6 for overnight and longer charters
Berths: 3 doubles (twin bunk)
Home port: Salcombe (June - September), St Lucia (mid December onwards)
Price: from £2,500 per week for six people; £55pp per day charter; £600 per day for the whole yacht; corporate charter £2,500 - £4,000 per day
Tel: 07767 350007
E-mail: TPudner@aol.com
A classic Edwardian cruising yacht. Among the options still available from this year's UK programme are a week in the Bristol Channel during the first and third weeks of June and part or all of a four-week expedition leaving Salcombe at the end of June bound for Brittany. Her owners are offering six places for her voyage across to the Caribbean at £30pp per day. The voyage will be completed in two stages each lasting approximately three weeks, subject to the weather, with a stopover in Grand Canary.
White Moth
Crew provided: skipper
Length: 59ft
Max numbers: 10 guests
Berths: 3 double cabins and 2 double settee berths
Home port: Horning
Price: Friday - Sunday £690, 7 nights £1,519
Tel: 01692 631330
E-mail: info@nbyco.com
The last wherry yacht to be built, the final development of the hard-working Norfolk craft which moved cargoes from one end of the Norfolk Broads to the other. White Moth was completed in 1915 and spent most of her life in hire. She was completely rebuilt in the mid 1980s a nd is once more available for hire cruising exclusively on the Norfolk Broads. Guests can help with running the boat or just take it easy.
Bounty
Crew provided: skipper, mate and stewardess
Length: 70ft
Max numbers: 34 guests (6 overnight)
Berths: 2 double, a twin and a single
Home port: Southampton
Price: £225pp per day, minimum size of party 15. A week's cruise starts from £15,000 for the whole boat although only 6 can be accommodated onboard overnight.
Tel: 02380 847603
E-mail: dj.marine@virgin.net
Cruise onboard a genuine pre-war gentleman's motor yacht. And if you can raise a big enough party, you can combine sailing and motor cruising by chartering both Bounty and the Marigold (see below) at a cost of £225pp with a minimum party size of 25 and a maximum of 46. And you can all have a full seated lunch on Bounty.
Marigold
Crew provided: skipper, mate and deckhand
Length: 59ft
Max numbers: 12
Berths: N/A
Home port: Cowes
Price: £1,200 a day
Tel: 01752 268100
Marigold was built by the renowned Gosport yard of Camper & Nicholson in 1892. She was completely restored 10 years ago to the original specification and now offers the opportunity to sample the exclusive style of Victorian yachting. She even has hemp ropes and cotton sails. This is a yacht that will be enjoyed by the connoisseur but is also suitable for the novice.
Huff of Arklow
Crew provided: skipper
Length: 45ft
Max numbers: 5
Berths: 1 double ,4 singles
Home port: Oban (May - July) Solent (July & August) Plymouth (September onwards)
Price: £60pp per day, minimum length of charter 3 days, minimum size of party 3
Tel: 01752 268100
Ideal for those who have already tried and enjoyed sailing. The skipper provides as much instruction as necessary but the guests are expected to join in - not least with the daily chores. Among the options still available in this year's programme are places on Huff's voyage south from Oban to the Solent. The complete voyage is expected to last three to four weeks and you can join for part or the whole of the voyage.
Bareboat charter
For those who feel confident to head off on their own for a week's boating, Britain's inland waterways offer some interesting opportunities. It is hard to beat the pleasures of sailing on the Norfolk Broads with its mix of quiet backwaters and challenging tidal rivers.
Hustler
Length: 24ft
Max numbers: 2
Berths: 2 singles
Home port: Ludham
Price: to charter the whole boat costs £330-£355 a week. A 2-day break costs £145 and a 4-day break costs £255
Tel 01692 678263
E-mail: huntersyard@bt internet.com
Hunter's is the last of the pre-war Broads hire-sailing fleets to have remained unaltered and still operated from the yard where they were originally built. These boats do not have engines, and light inside the cabin is provided by oil lamp. You need to be able to sail, but the yachts are easy to handle with a good turn of speed.
Palace
Length: 35ft
Max numbers: 5
Berths: 2 doubles and 3 singles
Home port: Horning
Price: £581 - £830 a week
Tel: 01692 631330
E-mail info@nbyco.com
A perfect alternative to Hustler, combining classic lines with modern creature comforts such as heating and an engine for when the wind dies. With her sister yachts America and Lapwing, she is the largest yacht available for hire on the Broads without a skipper. For experienced sailors only.
Highland Admiral
Length: 35ft
Max numbers: 8
Berths: 2 double, 4 single
Home port: Great Glen
Price: £730 - £1,199 a week; 3/4 night break £487 - £800
Tel: 01502 501010 (www. hoseasons.co.uk)
The Caledonian Canal passes through some of Scotland's most beautiful places including Loch Ness and past the foot hills of Ben Nevis. Thanks to the long hours of daylight during late spring and early summer, there is plenty of time to explore at a leisurely pace. This motorboat is also suitable for inexperienced sailors with full instruction provided.
Guildford Lady
Length: 50ft
Max numbers: 5
Berths: 2 double, 1 pipe cot suitable for children up to 12
Home port: Guildford
Price: week's cruise £437 - £712; 3/4 night short break £292 - £475
Tel: 01502 501010 (www. hoseasons.co.uk)
The River Wey was established as a commercial waterway in 1651 and extended to Godal ming in 1760, transporting a variety of goods including gunpowder for the Napoleonic wars. Despite its size, this narrowboat can be handled by novices as instruction is provided by the yard on arrival.
Island Cruising Club
Location: Salcombe Estuary
Tel: 0800 9179025
E-mail info@icc-salcombe .co.uk
Price: packages range from an evening sail at £10pp to a 6 day residential cadet week at £430
The club offers a range of keel boats and dinghies from high-performance RS400s and Laser 2000s to the more sedate Salcombe yawls. You can either stay onboard the club's floating HQ - the former Mersey ferry Egremont - or join in the day's sailing and live ashore. If you have no previous sailing experience, you can attend one of the club's many courses.
