Cornwall sailing holidays

Sailing Holiday in Cornwall - The Pure Cornwall Escape

Any short break on Eve of St Mawes is suitable for beginners. They are also popular with experienced sailors who come for a refreshing break, or to learn about gaff rig. We create 3 day voyages in many flavours from women only weekends to basking shark specials. There is plenty of active sailing with a rare chance to get away from the pressures of modern life and be more in tune with your natural surroundings. You will gain sailing skills but less formally than our RYA courses.

Leave the Hectic 21st Century behind

If you are in a hurry to escape computers, e mails, traffic hassle then you can fly to Cornwall Newquay from London City Airport or other major cities for as little as £29 and jump in a taxi and be aboard in only a few hours. A more eco friendly approach is by train to Falmouth and accross by foot ferry to St Mawes Quay. Many of our customers drive down to Cornwall and combine sailing with a few extra days surfing, visiting art galleries, walking the coast path, art classes in St Ives or even viewing boats to buy !

St Mawes - Home of the Pilot Cutters

In the 19th Century St Mawes was famous as the home port for many Falmouth registered pilot cutters. Eve may be a recently built pilot cutter but the village is very proud of her. It all helps to give you a warm welcome and the locals are always keen to hear about your adventures when you return.

St Mawes has a long history of wooden boatbuilding and the Peters yard was famous for building the best six oared pilot gigs in Cornwall. In 2009 the Roseland Gig Club girls won the World Championships - an event with 120 gig boats racing - so give them a cheer when the row past.

In Summer you will also see many Falmouth Oyster Boats racing with their colourful jackyard topsails. From the 1st of October each year the oyster dredging season starts - a rare sustainable fishery where the oysters must be fished under sail or oar alone. It is an evocative sight if you sail late or early season so bring a camera.

Also a regular visitor to Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly is her bigger pilot cutter 'sister' 'Annabel J'. She comes down for our annual pilot cutter gathering and racing and June and spends most the summer in Cornwall, Isles of Scilly and Brittany

Dates, Prices & of 2010 Cornish coastal voyages on Eve of St Mawes

Dates & Prices of 2010 Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Voyages on Annabel J

Eve of St Mawes Scillies 2010 voyages are full but we have draft dates for 2011 so please ring on 01872 580022 if you want to reserve a place.

Marine Wildlife on the Atlantic Edge

The Atlantic Ocean and the remoteness of Cornwall brings its own special rewards; Oaks are twisted by the winds and adorned with lichens - a sign of crystal clear air quality. Unpolluted seas and the warm Gulf Stream provide unexpected sightings of turtles, sunfish and more regular visits by dolphins, whales and basking sharks. Gales often bring in diving gannets, tiny storm petrels, guillemots, razorbills, terns and even puffins.

The Fal and Helford Estuaries are designated as 'Special Areas of Marine Interest ' and St Mawes Bay and Helford are Voluntary Marine Nature Reserves. Breeding seals hide in sea caves and the drowned river valleys or rias have dense oak woodlands with branches sweeping down to deep green waters. At low tide the mudflats are home to egrets, oystercatchers, wading birds, otters and at night from your bunk you can hear owls hooting in the darkness.

Our skippers have learned from many local wildlife guides who have sailed as guest lecturers on board Eve. Regular skipper Debbie was one of the first boat operator to become a (WiSe) wildlife safe operator - a training scheme that has now gone nationwide.

Epics Under Oar

Our 3 day SAIL WALK ROW voyages are designed with novices and newcomers to sailing in mind and appeal to those who particularly like a holiday with plenty of fresh air, healthy exercise and great food. By combining half day sailing with a chance to stretch your legs ashore you can experience the best of both worlds, whilst working up a great appetite. In terms of the sailing there is no experience needed and the skipper will break you into a whole new language of sailing terms and show you what ropes you need to pull and why !

The emphasis is on a holiday afloat, with plenty of activity involved in sailing the boat, combined with the chance to explore ashore along Cornwall or Devon’s rugged and varied coastline. You live onboard Eve - the wind dictates whether we sail East or West. Where ever we go our 15ft rowing boat ‘No. 8’ takes us to the magnificent SW coast path and access to coastal woodlands, wild headlands and historic fishing harbours. The skippers know many wildlife haunts, caves and coves, pubs worth walking inland for and spectacular viewpoints.

We aim to keep the art and pleasure of rowing alive and have many epic adventures under oar. On short trips Eve tows our locally famous rowing tender ‘No. 8.’ Not as fast as her gig boat sisters and rather more buxom, ‘No 8’ has many advantages over a rubber dinghy and noisy outboard engine. We can get everybody in and rowing keeps you warm. Using the large sweeps we have rowed up mysterious creeks and into sandy coves inaccessible from the land. Cornwall has lots of good waterside pubs so we like to arrive and (hopefully) leave in style in our ‘buxom gig boat’ gliding silently under oar with only a trail of phosphorescence behind.

Exploring ashore is part of why we sail. Our skippers know the shoreline like smugglers and have spent years finding every small stone landing stage and secret cove to land a boat. We want to share the delights of unspoilt Cornwall with you. Assisted greatly by the presence of the South West Coast Path ,an opportunity exists at almost every anchorage. Wander amongst bluebell woods, take photos from the cliff tops, or escape autumn gales at sea and hug a tree.

" The highlight of the voyage was quietly rowing back to Eve, the stars above, the owl nearby and phosphorescence in our wake – Magic! "

SAIL WALK ROW Voyages 2010 - Dates, Prices and availability

So where do we go in three days?

From Eve’s mooring in St Mawes it’s easy to sail into Falmouth Bay - one of the biggest natural harbours in the world. We might go south west past the Manacles to small fishing villages like Cadgwith or Coverack, or further afield around the Lizard to Penzance, Newlyn and St Michaels Mount. The Helford estuary is great for an evening row to a pub and a return in the dark with stars above and phosphorescence in the water below. Eastwards, Eve can blast between famous headlands like The Dodman and Gribben, anchor off National Trust beaches or make a dramatic entrance into Fowey. In wilder weather there are plenty more sheltered options within the deep water inlets of the Fal.

View Voyages and see a typical itinerary for our Eve short breaks