Tenacious - Caribbean Island Hopping in The Bahamas - 11 days for £999

NEW Sailing Ground - Tall Ship Tenacious in The Bahamas

New for this winter 2011-2012 we have a series of unique tall ship adventures exploring the Caribbean. Tenacious will sail from her home port of Southampton at the end of October, heading first for the Canaries and then Trans-Atlantic to Guadaloupe. After a series of 11 day voyages exploring islands around Guadaloupe and Antigua in February and March 2012, Tenacious sails North from Antigua over 1000 miles up the Caribbean Island chain to a new cruising ground in The Bahamas.

British Tall Ship in the Bahamas

The Bahaman chain consists of 700 islands and 2000 smaller sandy cays extending for some 750 miles from South East of Florida to Cuba. The combination of deep oceanic trenches and shallow seas around the islands creates a mecca for divers. They come seeking large wildlife encounters with dolphins, barracuda and sharks in crystal clear visability (regularly down to 100ft or 30m). Over 5 % of the worlds coral reefs are in the Bahamas so bring your diving mask or at least a pair of tinted swimming goggles.

PDF Crew Handbook - everything you need to know about life on board - 12 pages

Abaco Island, Andros Island, Berry & Eleuthera Island

With a start and finish in Nassau (easy reach from Miami airport) we expect this voyage to fill up very quickly.  The principal islands the ship is likely to visit include Abaco Island, Andros Island, Berry Island and Eleuthera Island

Calling American & Canadian citizens:

Sail a Tall Ship built for disabled crew from Nassau

There are American owned tall ships sailing in the Caribbean but few are true 'hands on' sailing adventures where you are  relied on to be the crew, stand watches, steer the ship and work aloft (correct us if we are wrong). Classic Sailing are unaware of any American or Canadian tall ships ships that will take applications from  crew who want to participate as fully as they can but have a disability - whether it be physical, or a visual or hearing impediment. So if you are a sun starved Canadian or  a US citizen who lives just accross the water in Miami there is nothing to stop you signing up to sail on our purpose designed windjammer 'Tenacious.'

Turks & Caicos - Manta Rays

The Turks and Caicos Islands are about 40 low lying islands perched on on the Southeastern end of the Bahamas island chain.  The Caicos typical wild landscape is arid limestone lacking vegetation apart from dense coastal mangroves. They sit on a vast sandbank creating wonderful swimming and those classic turquiose seas that are so bright you need sunglasses on at breakfast time.

Humpback Whale Migration

The Turks are seperated from Caicos group by the Turk Island Passage with a massive ocean trench 1.2 miles deep. A quintessential sleepy Caribbean set of islands that is quietly one of the top dive locations in the world. Even from the deck of a ship you could potentially see manta rays underwater- especially off the walls of the oceanic trench. Between December and April the Turks & Caicos islands sit in the path of the annual humpback whale migration.

Trade Winds & Tropical Sun

The Caribbean West Indies is perhaps the most perfect sailing ground in the world in terms of wind, sunshine and variety of places to visit. The Caribbean sits squarely in the North East trade wind belt and this time of year (Jan-April 2012) is peak season and well outside the hurricane season. Ships like Tenacious revell in strong winds and boisterious turquiose seas and the white square sails look magnificent against the deep blue skies.  There is few things to beat a tropical sunset below the yard arm at anchor away from the tourist hustle and bustle ashore, or landing on a remote beach anchorage under a forest covered volcanic peak. The ship engineer's deck barbeques and punch are legendary too.

Coral Reefs & Marine Wildlife

Some of the best dive sites in the world are in the Caribbean, but you don't have to be a diver to enjoy them. In Scotts Bay, Dominica you can swim off the beach with a snorkel and face mask and swim from shallow coral and 12ft of water to a sheer underwater wall of coral and cliff - decending 4000ft. Alive with fish and coral and upwelling plankton, this sunken volcanic crater is also deep enough for Sperm Whales to swim close inshore. Further North the Bahamas Banks contain approximately 5 percent of the worlds coral reefs and the crystal clear visability over white sand bottom means you may see sharks, dolphins and turtles from the ships deck without getting wet.

A Very Special Ships Company

Tenacious is a ship specially designed to take disabled crew sailing where they can participate as equals. If you are lucky enough not to have any disabilities - just think how the rewards of being about to explore the Caribbean in an adventurous context on a an eye catching ship feels to those who would normally have a very restricted choice of holiday abroad.  The local islanders have seen plenty of rich tourists sipping rum punches and trying to look laid back and cool.  It is far easier to talk and relate to local people when you are a bunch of sailors ashore struggling with a friend in a wheel chair or having a laugh with an ex soldier with a leg missing !.....especially when they hear you have arrived as crew on a square rigger.

Caribbean style Itinerary

As with all our sailing holidays the Captain has many considerations to plan for when chosing the weeks itinerary so these islands are only an informed guess at where you might sail.  Weather, swell from unusual directions, customs clearance regulations and new marine wildlife reserve anchoring restrictions or even booking an alongside berth to change crews, fuel or water the ship can all affect the plans for the 10-15 days. Even the time of day and whether the sun it ahead or behind you can influence pilotage in these coral reef strewn coastlines - but it is all facinating stuff the the Captain or mate will brief you each day to explain the latest plan !

Largest wooden tall ship to be built in the UK for 100 years

Able bodied & disabled crews sailing as equals 

Tenacious (and her smaller sister ship Lord Nelson) are the only two of their kind in the world that have been designed and built to enable people of all physical abilities to sail side by side on equal terms. 36 000 people have sailed on the two ships since they were built. Facilities on board include wide flat decks for ease of movement around the ship, wheel chair lifts between deck levels, a hearing hoop, a speaking compass when required and hydraulic power assisted steering to enable people with limited strength or mobility to experience the thrill of steering a 586 ton sailing ship. (see vessel details for more on her special facilities for the disabled).

A Challenge for All

The safety of everyone is top priority and so every activity is conducted at a pace comfortable for all. The forces of nature show no compromise and Tenacious is still a powerful square rigger so with main course, upper and lower topsails traditionally rigged so there is still considerable challenge in every voyage. Perhaps going aloft (climbing the rigging is optional) will be the biggest adrenalin buzz or simply the challenge and rewards of being part of a very special floating community.

The Buddy System on Tenacious

On Board Tenacious & Lord Nelson we operate a buddy system, which pairs able bodied and physically disabled people together. Everyone is there to help one another and share the experience, so the buddy system works both ways! You’ll get the chance to share skills and life experiences and, as many of our crew have found, make friendships that can last a lifetime. (On the booking form able bodied crew are asked if they are happy to buddy a mildly disabled crew member or a severely disabled crew member.)

Debbie in the Classic Sailing office has been a buddy for young wheelchair users and blind crew, as well as sailed on Tenacious as Watch Leader and Lord Nelson as a deck officer so if you are worried about your role on board, do give her a ring on 01872 580022.

 

 

GAP year or Career Break, or Adventurous Retirement

If you are taking time out to re appraise your life or do something worthwhile for your fellow humans, then a voyage on Tenacious or Lord Nelson can be both re-affirm your faith in human nature and take you on some interesting paths. The lovely thing about Tenacious's voyages is the great mix of ages and people come from all walks of life with amazing stories. For longer voyages and ocean crossings it helps if you have sailed or spent time on ships before, and that you like the company and working as part of a close knit team. It's a healthy life for most - out in the open doing straightforward physical work, and often a very hard thing to leave the ship at the end.

If you are aged 16-24 find out more about the ships Youth Leadership @ Sea programme - available on some voyages. There are bursaries available if you can't afford it.

A Tenacious voyage is also an accredited Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award residential programme.