Oosterschelde - Channel & Celtic Coastlines ending at Liverpool Boat Show- 8 days €770

Spring Coastal Sail Training Voyage 

The ship starts in Veerhaven in Rotterdam, Oosterschelde's home port, which is a great excuse to maybe spend a night in this waterfront city or nearby Amsterdam (cheap easyjet flights and short train journey from Amsterdam to Rotterdam). The Captain will welcome everyone aboard and expalin some the the safety and emergency drills and the plans for the voyage. this is a very varied voyage with a mix of challenges that will develop your sailing skills. You can usually sail out of Hoek of Holland but straight away you are in the busiest stretch of water in the world. The ship will look for the best time to cross the shipping lanes to the English Coast and then sail down on through the Dover Straits. After a while the watch keeping for commercial shipping get less intensive as the English Channel gets wider.

French & English Channel Ports

Ther Cherbourg Peninisula and Channel Islands offer some great ports with maybe some seafood and wine as a reward.  Further West the historic ports of Dartmouth, Fowey, Plymouth and Falmouth are great safe havens for a tall ship if the seas are rough. The Lizard and Lands End are major headlands to pass, and if the seas are calm then the Isles of Scilly may offer a stunning anchorage or two.

For our mini brochure on the Channel Islands read here

 Irish Sea & Celtic Coasts

Plenty of fishing boats to dodge in the Irish Sea and the lure of Guiness in Dublin on the Irish side versus the wild scenic anchorages in Pembrokeshire, Llyn Peninsula or Anglesey before reaching the Mersey entrance.

Liverpool Boat Show & River Mersey

It is always rather special when you are invited to an event. Sailing a 1918 tall ship up the Mersey past the iconic waterfront and into the restored docklands around Albert Dock creates a great feeling of nostalgia, especially in the company of other ships at the event..  Next to Albert Dock is the Merseyside Maritime Museum with cafes and shops underneath the old warehouse buildings.  Liverpool Boat Show is a venue to rival the London Boat Show but  with much more scope for displays on the water. (If you want to stay an extra night on board Oosterschelde after your voyage to enjoy the boat show you can book Bed and breakfast on board at €75 a night).

Lofty Rig with huge gaff sails

The gaff sails on all three masts are huge and it is a long way up to release the gaskets and set oosterschelde's square sails. There is a Captain, Mate, couple of deck hands, engineer and chef so the ships guest crew will need to work hard as a team to race this impressive ship.

Oosterschelde is a very comfy ship - restored for adventure charter with a huge saloon with bar, piano, wood burning stove and library so if you have always fancied running away to sea for a few weeks, we can't think of a more stylish way to do it as hands on ships crew.

Both of Classic Sailing working directors have sailed on Oosterschelde in Jan 2011 so we can tell you what she is like to sail on if you give us a ring.

More details and photos of Oosterschelde - see vessel details tab above.