'Women Go Wild' after the school holidays - women only voyage with Debbie, Lara or Esther as skipper

Women Go Wild Weekend

Debbie and Adam Purser founded Classic Sailing in 1996 and we have employed probably more female skippers than most sailing schools. Skipper Debbie launched  'Women go Wild' Weekends on Eve of St Mawes with the help of Health and Fitness Magazine in 1998 and we have run women only voyages ever since. Lara Caine was our full time skipper in 2008 and now makes regular guest appearances. Esther carried on the 'women go wild' tradition in 2010 and Debbie as Operations Manager is still frequently on the boat but prefers to call her womens voyages - women in the wild ! For several years we ran a deliberate campaign called 'More Women at Sea' and now it is rare to find an Eve of St Mawes voyage without its fair share of women on board.

Escape with friends or come and make some

This 3 day weekend is just for you (unless your a bloke, of course). Whether you are an experienced sailor or just plucking up courage to do something completely new, living and sailing on a pilot cutter like Eve is a great way of getting to know new friends. This is Cornwall so we are not talking sailing and wild parties in town. We call it women go wild but really it is more like 'women in the wild' - beachcombing in secret coves, brushing their teeth on deck under the stars, enjoying a glass of wine in a peaceful anchorage as the sun sets, chatting up the local harbourmaster, passing gig boat rowers or what ever takes your fancy....

Most our guests come as individuals but if you have a bunch of girlfriends who want an interesting active weekend then we can take group bookings for this weekend.....or transform any available Eve voyage into a girls adventure, re-union.

Women in the Rigging Worldwide

It you look around our website you will find photos of girls of all ages up in the rigging on tall ships, helming 115ft sailing ships. We have sailed with women who are definately not the shy and retiring type but over 70 and have signed on a square rigger as crew exploring under sail in Antarctica, crossing oceans and even joining ships in crazy places like Ascension where the ocean swell was so high the new crew were lowered  from the harbour onto transfer rafts in a cage !

One for the Boys ?

To balance things out before women take over the world, we are hoping our new full time skipper James will  introduce a voyage for the boys.

Blue, but Not just For Boys

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.

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.