Sail, sketch, paint and beachcomb with an artist in Cornwall

Cornish Coast & traditional Boats as Inspiration

The natural beauty of Cornwall and crystal, clear light attracts artists from all over the world.  Painters, print makers, drift wood sculptors, jewellry makers, and all types of artisans from boat builders to basket weavers find their inspiration from the rugged coasts, geology, landscape and seascapes.

Combine this with an aesthetically pleasing traditional boat like Eve and you have plenty of inspiration for your sketching or painting.  We can take our new wooden rowing boat ashore to sketch from beaches or stone quays, or walk up the coast path to look down on an anchorage and sketch the steep cliffs Paul Lewin style.

Eve is a wooden boat so we generally have glues / wood / rope / string and nails...and there is plenty of interesting things to re cycle off the beaches if you fancy a bit of sculpture.

Artist on board to get you in the creative mood

We all still need to learn to sail this gaff rigged pilot cutter, but even pulling on blocks and tackles and manouvring the boat will give you an idea on the technical drawing of sailing boats and rigging.

With the new Newlyn school of Painting and St Ives Painting School as well as commercial artists and art teachers at Falmouth College of Art, we have a wealth of artists to choose from to come sailing with us and help you get the most of your drawing, painting or sketching.

ARTIST ON BOARD TO BE ANNOUNCED

Practicalities:

Eve is not very big. There is only one large double sink in the galley, an oak dining table, full size chart table and lots of deck flat space so there are no conventional artists work stations for each of you.  We will supply some MDF clip boards / masking tape  and a mix of paper sheets.  You will need to bring the type of paints / pastels / charcoal / you would like to use, plus outdoor sketchbooks.  Oil paint will not dry in a dampish boat environment so we ask you not to bring oils. 

Cornwall Escapes - 3 Day Breaks in April, May & June

Eve's regular skippers Adam and Debbie have lived in Cornwall since 1997 and we love the early summer. As the sea temperature starts to rise, plankton blooms and everything springs into life. Seabirds breed on the cliffs, jelly fish float past, basking sharks start to appear, and this is prime time for dolphin spotting.

We paint our pilot cutter Eve of St Mawes dazzling blue to match the Cornish seascape. Artists have been drawn to the sea, rugged coastline and the famous light quality in the far west for centuries. Eves turquoise blue decks and hull seems to help get everybody in the holiday mood too. On the edge of the Atlantic Ocean we have our share of wild grey days, but they just seem to make the achingly beautiful blue sky / deep blue sea days extra special.

 Founders of Classic Sailing Adam and Debbie based the company in St Mawes because we felt Cornwall and the Scillies was the best cruising ground in the world. We now promote sailing holidays in many far flung destinations but a flat water blast along the South Cornwall coast in a crystal clear north westerly takes some beating.

Western Approaches - a historic cruising ground

Stretching between Brittany and the Scillies, and covering the anchorage’s and ports of the West Country, we sail the same Western Approaches as the original pilot cutters would have to patrolled in search of the next sailing ship to put their pilot aboard.

 The Breton, Scillionian, and Cornish that fringe the Atlantic hang fiercely onto their seafaring traditions—celebrating their history with gig boat racing, traditional wooden boatbuilding and maritime festivals. In eleven years of operating Eve we still receive warm welcomes from local people wherever we go. I think it is because we fit so well into their timeless landscapes.  

 3 Day Tasters - a relaxed way to learn to sail

Beginners & experienced Sailors are welcome on all our 3 day voyages.Over the last 12 years, on Eve alone we have introduced at least two thousand newcomers to sailing.

Eve makes a great boat to start sailing on. She has wide decks with plenty of room. She is a fine sea boat with a well proven safety record and kept to the highest standards. With blocks and tackles you can see what you are doing and the team work makes for a great sailing holiday.

We are also a recognised RYA Training Establishment so if you want to do a 6 day beginners course then look at our RYA Competent Crew Course on Eve of St Mawes for a more intensive and structured introduction to practical seamanship.

Healthy Exercise & Environmentally Friendly

Traditional Sailing boats like Eve are powered by the wind, but to harness it requires quite a bit of satisfying physical effort and teamwork. There are no winches on board except the antique brass handled windlass, so you soon get to know your fellow guests as you haul on blocks and tackles. Sometimes we glide effortlessly through the water with 14 tons of oak and larch propelled by the wind or tide. If the forecast is wrong it can be more of a struggle. After the tenth tacking manoeuvre into the teeth of a freshening gale you might begin to wish you had been to the gym more often. Its unlikely you’ll go home thinner (e.g. creme brulee, clotted cream, Lamb with camenbert, rosemary, flageolet bean and red wine) but we can guarentee you will leave looking a lot healthier and either sun tanned, or windswept and interesting. There is plenty of conversation, but even on a 38ft deck you can find a corner for quiet contemplation. For some strange reason, everyone seems to sleep very well on board cocooned safely amongst Eve’s timber curves.

Unspoilt Sailing Ground

 From Eve’s mooring in St Mawes we can explore Falmouth Bay, one of the largest natural harbours in the world. Much of the Coastline is designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, AONB, and there is no better way of appreciating than from the deck of beautiful sailing boat.

See the intinerary tab above for more our our favourite haunts, a typical itinerary and more details on where we might sail.

Wildlife at Sea & Ashore

The remoteness of the Cornish coast this far west bring their own special reward to those who travel with us: Starry nights with no street lights; ocean sunsets, isolated lighthouses and tiny fishing harbours; cliffs sculptured by pounding winter gales; almost tropical white sands with sparkling mica sticking to your toes; woodlands stunted by the wind but with trees adorned with lichen (a sure sign of unpolluted air) and lush ferns and springs along the many coastal footpaths.

The Gulf Stream provides unexpected sightings of turtles, sunfish and more regular visits by dolphins (common, bottlenose and risso’s dolphin), porpoises, whales and giant basking sharks. Gales often bring in wheeling gannets, tiny storm petrels, guillemots, razorbills and even puffins.

The Fal and Helford Estuaries are designated as Special Areas of Marine Interest. Breeding seals hide in sea caves and deep zawns. The drowned river valleys (called rias) have dense oak woodlands with branches sweeping down to deep green waters. At low tide the mudflats are home to egrets, curlews, oystercatchers and leggy herons—all the birds that go screech. At night you hear owls hooting in the moonlight, and a few guests have seen elusive otters in the early morning mists.

We record all wildlife sightings in the ships log and occasionally run specialist wildlife voyages or marine conservation breaks on Eve., but you only need to keep your eyes peeled on any voyage to see the best wildlife moments. Our Skippers have learned much from wildlife experts we have invited on board. Both Debbie and Adam are acredited (Wise) wildlife safe operators and we encourage all new skippers to develop their wildlife expertise.

We have some world class dive spots locally and in the Scillies due to the lack of major sediment bearing rivers, rich underwater ecosystem and wrecks, so it is well worth bringing a snorkel, mask & wetsuit in summer you have mermaid (or merman) tendencies. Many of our anchorages are near interesting rock pools or eel grass, or maerl beds where seahorses hide.