Katie

Welcome to our latest newsletter, where we review the outgoing 2024 sailing season for Devon Sailing Experiences and fill you in about our plans for 2025. We are also giving you the chance to win a gift voucher for a day sail by taking a short sailing quiz on our website. Read on to find out more.

What happened in 2024?

In a nutshell: the weather was rubbish, bookings were down and our boats needed a lot of repairs. Not great news for a small, family-run, seasonal business, but we made it through and are looking forward to the 2025 sailing season! Here are some of our stories.

Bewitched to the rescue!

During our recent Milage Building Weekend whilst on passage to Salcombe, Bewitched received and responded to a Pan Pan. It was issued from Falmouth Coastguard regarding a 21ft blue and white angling boat with engine failure drifting NE from Hope Cove.

You can read an account of the situation in our latest blog post.

Well done to Chief Instructor Tim and his weekend crew for their support to a vessel experiencing difficulties.

New Feathering Prop for Bewitched

Following mechanical failure aboard Bewitched, we decided to invest in a prop that will enhance the sailing capabilities of our boat.

Initial tests has shown a 1/2 – 3/4 knot increase in speed.

Thank you to our talented Skippers

As always, huge thanks go out to our skippers who always demonstrate professionalism, expertise and skill. This year they have exceeded any expectations by (amongst other things) diving under boats to recover/fix/check parts, sailing into marinas after mechanical failure (not recommended!), towing/being towed, responding to pan pan call outs from other craft and being flexible to meet the requirements of our guests.

Was your booking postponed in 2024?

We sail in all weather EXCEPT when high winds make it dangerous. When this happens, we may need to postpone your booking to keep you and our boats safe. If your booking was postponed in 2024, please make sure you give yourself plenty of time to re-book your date for 2025.

What is planned for 2025?

Our sailing schedule for 2025 is now live and can be viewed on our website.

Whether you are a regular sailor or have never tried it, we will have a package just for you. Many of our longer sailing experiences and courses are scheduled on demand, so if you cannot see a suitable date, please get in touch and we will do our very best to help.

Before booking, be sure to check the “Additional Information” section for restrictions to avoid booking something that is not suitable for you or is not going to offer what you need. If in doubt, just call or drop us an email to check.

With Devon and Cornwall on our doorstep, we believe you have the best sailing destinations all within easy reach.

Bareboat Charter

We are now taking bookings for bareboat charters in 2025. A 20% deposit will secure your date with the balance due 8 weeks before you sail. Take a look at our Bareboat Charter page and then get in touch to confirm availability.

Take our Sailing Quiz and Win a Gift Voucher

Test your sailing knowledge and have the chance to win a sailing voucher worth £132! You will need to complete the quiz on our website then enter your name, email address and phone number to be entered into a prize draw.

Remember – the quiz is just for fun! It is not too challenging and you do not have to score 100% to be in with a chance to win. You will not be contacted unless you have won.

The closing date is 31st December 2024. A name will be randomly selected on 1st January 2025 and we will contact you by email and telephone call if you are the lucky winner.

Sailing Gift Vouchers – the Perfect Christmas Gift

If you are in possession of a gift voucher, we recommend visiting our sailing schedule to book a date as soon as possible to avoid disappointment as our day and weekend sails get booked up quickly, particularly during the summer months.

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Report by Skipper and Chief Instructor, Tim Sunderland.

During our recent Milage building weekend, whilst on passage to Salcombe, Bewitched received and responded to a Pan Pan. It was issued from Falmouth Coastguard regarding a 21ft blue and white angling boat with engine failure drifting NE from Hope Cove.

For those not familiar with the term, a Pan Pan is a distress call. It is issued by craft when an urgent situation has occurred; it is serious, but not life-threatening. (Not to be confused with a Mayday which is used in an urgent, life-threatening situation.)

Upon hearing the call, the Crew aboard Bewitched started to scan the area with binoculars and located what they thought was the vessel. Communication with the Pan Pan vessel was challenging because the vessel had a bad connection on their VHF radio so were only able to communicate when very close. Bewitched notified the Coastguard that they had the vessel in sight and were proceeding toward them. Bewitched was advised that the Pan Pan vessel was in contact with someone by mobile phone and was relaying information to the coastguard. In the meantime, the crew of Bewitched was preparing to set up a towing bridle if this was required.

Once Bewitched was on the scene, the crew took over communications with the vessel and Coastguard. The skipper of the Pan Pan vessel indicated that he had some comms on the VHF currently. Bewitched spoke to the vessel and they had managed to resolve a temporary jury rig fix of the cooling system and the engine was running, all be it a bit roughly. The Coastguard was notified of this and advised that Bewitched should ‘Shadow’ the Pan Pan vessel to Salcombe and take them in tow if required.  During the next 90 minutes, Bewitched checked in with the vessel and Coastguard every 30 minutes to ensure all things were ok.

As soon as the transit into Salcombe was in view, Bewitched took up station leading the Pan Pan vessel in on a safe course, as the crew was unfamiliar with the port. When we were close to the pontoons, there was only just sufficient space for the Pan Pan vessel to go alongside which they duly did. They called up the crew of Bewitched and thanked them very much for their assistance during their difficulties and that it was comforting to know that someone was there should things turn for the worse again.

Bewitched advised Falmouth Coastguard that the Pan Pan Vessel was safely alongside Normandy pontoon in Salcombe, she then picked up a buoy off the town and the crew went ashore for a deserved drink after their ‘rescue mission’.

Just another day in the life of Bewitched!

On 27th March 2024, we updated our Terms and Conditions for EXPERIENCES, COURSES and BAREBOAT CHARTERS. All guests who have already booked with us for 2024 have been contacted via email informing them of the changes. Those with bookings scheduled have been given the option to OPT OUT of the changes as their bookings were secured based on the old T&Cs.

For guests who secure their bookings after 27th March, the new T&Cs will apply.

Why are you changing your T&Cs?

Changes to our Terms and Conditions are due to the increased number of late cancellations we are now receiving from our valued customers. This often results in loss of income for our small, family-run business when we do not have enough time to re-sell the sailing experience or charter that has been cancelled. An earlier payment and cancellation window will give us more time to re-sell the cancelled booking and may also provide us with a bigger chance of being in a position to refund part of your payment.

What are the changes?

Here is a link to our T&Cs for EXPERIENCES and COURSES

Here is a link to our T&Cs for BAREBOAT CHARTERS

In a nutshell, the changes are as follows:

Changes to paragraph 2: Payments
Where deposits have been paid, the balance will be due 8 weeks before commencement of the experience/course/charter instead of 4.

Changes to paragraph 4: If you wish to cancel
Requests for cancellation or alterations to bookings will need to be received 8 weeks before commencement of the experience/course/charter charter instead of 4.

What will happen next?

In our booking confirmations, we will continue to provide a direct link to our T&Cs and continue to recommend that our guests take out adequate insurance to cover any cancellation outside our terms and conditions, particularly in respect of medical conditions for you or close members of your family which may result in your cancellation.

We would like to thank you for your understanding and look forward to welcoming you aboard in 2024.

Welcome to our first newsletter of 2024, where we introduce you to the fantastic skippers who will be working with us this year, and we remind you about our current availability with our sailing experiences. As always, we encourage you to get in touch to ask questions or discuss your sailing requirements to ensure you and your crew have a wonderful sailing experience in Devon.

Meet our Skippers for 2024

We would like to introduce you to our skippers and instructors for the 2024 sailing season. You can find out a little more about each of them by clicking the links.

Tim Sunderland, RYA Instructor and Commercially Endorsed Yacht Master.

Mick Chantler, RYA Instructor and Commercially Endorsed Yacht Master.

Stewart Milne, RYA Instructor and Commercially Endorsed Yacht Master.

Dominic Collins, RYA Instructor and Commercially Endorsed Yacht Master.

Martin Jordan, RYA Instructor and Commercially Endorsed Yacht Master.

Tony Bale, Commercially Endorsed Yacht Master.

Giles Ridyard, Commercially Endorsed Yacht Master.

Bon Voyage to Skipper and Instructor, Charlie Musgrove

We are sad to be waving goodbye to skipper/instructor Charlie Musgrove this year, but wish him the very best of luck with his new adventure – skippering the Caribbean. We hope he will return to skipper with us again in the future (when he has got fed up with all that sunshine!).

What’s happening in 2024?

Our sailing calendar for 2024 is filling up fast which is great news for us. Lots of events/sailing opportunities are scheduled on-demand, so if you can’t see dates or events on our sailing schedule that work for you, it is always worth getting in touch to ask – we will always do our very best to help.

In the meantime, we would like to draw your attention to a few sailing experiences that are currently available:

5-day Westcountry Sailing Experience
Monday 13th – Friday 17th May 2024

If you are looking for a sailing adventure in the Westcountry, our South West sailing experience is the ideal choice for you. We currently have 3 places remaining in May.

Possible sailing destinations (depending on wind direction) may include Salcombe, Fowey, Falmouth, Helford River, Dartmouth, Brixham, River Yealm.

A 20% deposit will secure your place, with the balance due 4 weeks before you sail.

Isles of Scilly Cruise (Group Sailing Experience)
Monday 2nd – Sunday 8th September 2024

Ever considered setting sail to the Isles of Scilly? If this is your ambition (and you have had previous sailing experience), this group sailing opportunity is the ideal choice for you. It is a hands-on sailing experience for those who have sailed before, but would prefer to be under the watchful eye of an experienced skipper.

Weekend and Day Sails
Various dates

Weekend sails and day sails are our most popular sailing experiences that are suitable for all levels of sailors. Whilst they offer a good introduction to sailing, they are useful to help build miles and develop skills. Due to the beauty of the southwest coast, our weekend sails are often used as mini-breaks to allow guests to explore fabulous close-by locations such as Salcombe, Fowey and Noss Mayo. Please visit our website to book yourself aboard.

Our exclusive sailing experiences offer a wonderful way to introduce your family to the water. They are also ideal for special occasions such as birthdays or meeting up with friends that you haven’t seen for some time. We offer single-day and multi-day exclusive charters. They are scheduled on demand, so please get in touch to discuss a date and your requirements.

RYA Courses (Competent Crew, Day Skipper and ICC)
Various dates

Was your booking postponed in 2023?

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Dom has been passionate about all things boating for the best part of 35 years.

Qualifying as a boat Cox’n during his long career with the Royal Marines he subsequently learned to sail on dinghies and Hobie Cats. He went on to learn to sail yachts and has taken part in expeditions off Norway during the winter, in the Mediterranean, Indian Ocean and more recently a circumnavigation of the UK.

Dom is a RYA Instructor and Commercially Endorsed Yacht Master.

Stewart is a RYA Instructor and Commercially Endorsed Yacht Master.

More information will be coming soon!

Martin started having sailing holidays with his wife in 2010, mostly in the Med but also chartered in Thailand, The Caribbean and The Whitsundays.

On retirement in 2016 his project was to pass his Yacht Master offshore exam, then he continued to achieve his commercial endorsement and cruising instructor qualifications. After that, he started volunteering as a skipper for a sailing charity based in The Solent.

He has now moved to Cornwall and whilst still volunteering for the sailing charity, he is now pleased to be skippering and instructing with Devon Sailing Experiences.

Martin is a RYA Instructor and Commercially Endorsed Yacht Master.

Giles is a specialist paramedic and skippers for Devon Sailing Experiences for fun in his spare time. In the past, he has taught young people outdoor adventure sports so loves passing his enthusiasm onto families as well as adult groups. He holds a YM Sail & Motor Commercial Certificate of Competence & has worked commercially in locations such as the UK, West Africa and Greenland. He is a dad to 3 children.

Giles is a Commercially Endorsed Yacht Master.

Tony has sailed offshore since the early eighties and has logged close to 50,000 passage miles. He started sailing commercially in 2008 with yacht deliveries and sailing tuition after a sea-going career in marine science.  He is very familiar with the waters of SW England, the Channel Islands and Brittany coast and has also undertaken Biscay crossings to destinations in Northern Spain, Portugal and the Mediterranean. 

He stated that he loves the fact that being on the water is always fun, always different and he still gets a buzz every time the engine goes off and the sails take over.  A lunch stop or an evening at anchor with good company is the perfect way to wind down for Tony.

Tony is a Commercially Endorsed Yacht Master.