Winter Sailing Breaks in Cornwall

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Block and Tackles Keep You Warm

“The best way to cure the winter blues is to spend as much time outdoors as you can during the day and snuggle up somewhere cosy with good company, wholesome food, candles and wine in the evening”

  says traditional boat skipper and dedicated outdoor fan Debbie Purser.

If you suffer from winter blues / SAD (Seasonally Affected Disorder) then why not maximise your time in the unpolluted UV light of Cornwall, learning to sail a traditional boat.

Debbie and Adam Purser run sailing holidays on a 51ft wooden pilot cutter ‘Eve of St Mawes’ from St Mawes Bay on the south coast of Cornwall. Last year they ran Winter Sailing Breaks right up to Christmas and it was a bit of a run- away success.

Autumn & Winter Sailing Weekends - Tried and Tested

For the last 11 years as skippers we would look forward to ending the season in October, so we could have free time to beach comb on empty beaches with our dog, rustle through the leaves in waterside woods and take atmospheric photos of the Falmouth Working Boats dredging oysters.“Wouldn’t our sailing guests love this ? we’d muse rather selfishly.

The more we thought about creating active winter breaks - the more it made sense. Surely living on a seagoing wooden boat as a base is no different from staying in a climbing bothy, and Cornwall is a damn sight warmer than the Scottish Mountains....The deep sheltered creeks of the Helford and Fal Estuaries give us the perfect location for short exciting sails and we have a rowing boat that takes seven people for river expeditions when the 'big sea' is too rough. Basically we ran of excuses to stay in the office.

So they are back by popular demand: 3 day autumn and winter sailing breaks in Cornwall. A multi activity sailing holiday based on our eye catching pilot cutter 'Eve of St Mawes.' A flexible itinerary to keep you outdoors in the fresh air as much as possible: Sailing offshore when we can; gliding up drowned river valleys amongst the curlews, or rowing expeditions and walking the coast path if it is too wild to go out to sea..

NEW for 2009: RYA Winter Sailing Courses on a Gaff Cutter

 Fight the urge to hibernate. Get outdoors in Cornwall. You might get a bit wet and windswept but we guarantee to keep you busy enough to stay warm...

Blocks and tackles really do keep you warmer and Eves decks are wide enough to stride around on. Eve is traditionally rigged with blocks and tackles and often requires two or three people using their legs, arms and stomach muscles to pull ropes to set or trim sails so it’s a great winter workout. RYA Courses involve a lot of tacks and gybes and close quarters manoeuvring so there is very little sitting around.

Winter RYA Competent Crew Practical courses with Classic Sailing are ideal for beginner's who are fairly hardy and already enjoy outdoor pursuits all year round. Part of the RYA Competent Crew course syllabus is to be able to handle a dinghy under oar, and rowing ashore to waterside pubs in the pitch black of a Cornish evening is a more advanced test of your new seamanship skills than getting a rubber dinghy out for a quick row around a marina.

If you are doing a shorebased navigation course at evening classes then a Winter RYA Day Skipper Practical course is a great way of putting your theory skills into practice before you forget it all ! The shorter days means more night sailing experience, without losing a night’s sleep. Day Skipper students can improve their pilotage and navigation skills way beyond the RYA Day Skipper syllabus. Potential Coastal Skippers and RYA Yachtmasters can gain valuable night hour experience for your logbooks. The whole crew have an incentive to work together and reach a safe mooring or anchorage in time for a pint in Cornish waterside inn and toast their feet in front of a log fire.

3 day ‘Wild & Mild’ Winter Short Breaks – traditional sailing, rowing and walking

RYA Competent Crew Practical Courses (Dates of 6 day courses in October / November 2009 and 2010)
 

RYA Day Skipper Practical Courses in (Dates of 6 day courses in October & November 2009 and 2010)