Katie

After enjoying your day or weekend sail with us, the next obvious step is for you to join one of our RYA sailing courses in Devon.

Why choose Devon Sailing Experiences?

Devon Sailing Experiences offer the ultimate experience of RYA sailing courses in Devon. Our students are guaranteed their own double cabin aboard our high-quality yachts. Freshly laundered bedding and towels are provided for you during your training at no additional cost. Meals taken aboard the yacht are also included in the price.

With a 3:1 student to instructor ratio, you will be assured plenty of hands-on experience and opportunities to develop and master your skills. Our highly-experienced instructors will ensure your safety as well as your enjoyment throughout your training.

If you have sailed with us before, you will know that Devon and the West Country offer our visitors fabulous sailing ground against some of the most picturesque backdrops of the South West coast. We can’t think of a better location to carry out your RYA training.

What are my options for RYA sailing courses in Devon?

Listed below are the RYA sailing courses that currently have availability during 2018. We will be adding dates for 2019 later this year, so do check back to see our updated sailing schedule.

RYA Competent Crew

RYA Day Skipper (practical)

RYA Day Skipper (combined)

Don’t forget to look at the “Additional Information” section to check the pre-course requirements. If you have any queries about the suitability of a course, just give us a call on 01752 424 514 and we will talk through our recommendations and options.

I can’t see a suitable date. What should I do?

Just email info@devonsailingexperiences.co.uk with the dates you are able to attend, and we will do our very best to schedule a course that fits your requirements.

What are you waiting for? Book your place directly from our website.

Just 2 weeks ago, Nick had the pleasure of skippering our latest group sailing experience along the south-west coast. This 5-day sail along the southwest coast offers the opportunity to visit some of the most beautiful locations in the west country.

We welcomed our guests aboard our 42’ yacht at 6 pm on Sunday where they had the evening to settle in, relax and go out for a drink and bite to eat together. Nick joined the group, who had not previously met before this charter, on Monday morning for yacht familiarisation and a safety briefing, and then they set sail along the beautiful South Devon and Cornwall coastline.

Setting sail in a Force 4 breeze made a pleasant journey to Salcombe on day 1. Salcombe is a destination that we visit on a regular basis during our weekend sails, and we never get tired of it. It was the first time our guests had visited this busy, historic town so Nick introduced them to some of our favourite pubs and restaurants. It’s a tough job!

On day 2, the sailing destination was Fowey. Another popular destination for our weekend sails, this quaint town which is set in an area of outstanding natural beauty was another new experience for our guests (and another opportunity for Nick to visit our favourite pubs and restaurants – ‘tis hard work!)

Mylor, just up the river from Falmouth, was the next destination. Because this destination is a little too far to reach during our standard 2-day/weekend sailing experiences, it makes a refreshing change for our skippers to visit, as they only have the opportunity to sail there during our longer charters.

On day 4 we were joined by extra travelling companions: dolphins swimming alongside and under the yacht. We were on route to the River Yealm. This was a particularly long sail due to wind direction as well as the miles, however, the reward of the beautifully located mooring was definitely worth it.

On our final day, we headed to Cawsands where we dropped the anchor for lunch, before heading back to Plymouth where we said goodbye to our guests and wished them a safe journey home. Judging by their conversations and TripAdvisor reviews, it sounded as if they had a wonderful time and plan to join us again in the future.

Think this sounds like an ideal adventure for you? To help you make your decision to book your place on our next group sailing experience, here is a little background information for you. Our group sailing experiences are ideal for all sailing abilities: from beginners to those wishing to build miles to access RYA training courses. They also offer refreshers for those who already have RYA qualifications, but just need some time out on the water to build confidence. They offer a hands-on experience for all who take part.

Whether you are travelling alone, with a friend or with a partner, you are welcome to join our group sailing experiences. You are guaranteed your own double cabin, so no sharing (unless you choose to – in this case, we can offer a 30% discount on the second traveller).

Tempted? Visit our South West Coast Sailing Experience page for more information. You can secure your place with a 20% deposit. Can’t see a suitable date? Just get in touch and we will do our best to arrange one for you.

Welcome to our May 2018 Newsletter

In this May edition of our newsletter, we bring you news about Devon Sailing Experiences becoming a recognised RYA Sea School, sailing opportunities for 2018, our new sailing schedule and links to our social media pages to help you keep up-to-date with our latest events. We have also included information about DSE and the new GDPR.

Devon Sailing Experiences is now a recognised RYA Sailing School

We are pleased to announce that DSE has expanded its offering to become a recognised RYA Sailing School. After a thorough inspection by the RYA, we have been certified to offer official RYA training courses, providing an ideal opportunity for guests who have enjoyed their sailing experience to take their new interest one step further.

Nick Rich continues to be the Director of DSE, and has taken on the additional role of Principal. Tim Sunderland, formerly of Brixham Sea School, becomes our Chief Instructor. Mick Chantler, who many of our skippered charter guests have already met, is also a qualified instructor and will run some of our training courses. He will continue to skipper on our day, weekend and exclusive sailing experiences.

We are pleased to say that Gail Wright, Mike Eggins, Trevor Kirkin and Neil Murray will continue to skipper our sailing experiences which are growing in popularity; they provide a less formal introduction to sailing as part of your holiday or mini-break in Devon. Katie Rich will still be dealing with your bookings and enquiries.

Our high-quality yachts will continue to be unbranded (ie, no logos pointing out that you, our guests, are aboard a training or holiday vessel).

This is an exciting opportunity for us, and we hope that this extra offering will be of interest to our past guests as well as guests we are yet to meet.

What is happening in 2018?

Listed below are all the opportunities on offer for 2018 with links to our information pages. With our new and improved online booking and payment system, booking your experience or course has just got easier. Don’t forget – we can always add dates if you can’t find one that is suitable.

Experiences

Our sailing experiences are ideal for all levels of sailor, from beginner to seasoned. They offer an informal opportunity to get out on the water and experience hands-on sailing without any pressure or time commitments. All our sailing experiences are skippered by a yacht-master offshore, commercially-endorsed skipper.

Day Sails, Weekend/2-day Sailing Experiences, Sailing Vouchers, Exclusive Charters, Group Sailing Experiences.

Our scheduled 7-day sail to the Isles of Scilly is now fully-booked, however, we are happy to schedule another date on demand. If this is of interest to you, just get in touch and we will discuss availability.

RYA Training Courses

Our RYA training courses offer officially recognised qualifications are run by fully-qualified Instructors. There are minimum requirements for some of the training courses, so please refer to the details listed on our website.

RYA Start Yachting, RYA Competent Crew, RYA Day Skipper Practical, RYA Day Skipper Combined, RYA Coastal Skipper.

RYA Shorebased courses will be available at a later this year.

Bareboat Charter

We we are almost completely booked out for our bareboat charters this year. However, we do currently have limited availability in May, June and August. Do get in touch if you would like to book – we sometimes have cancellations so we will do our best to help you where we can.

Our Sailing Schedule

You will find all our current sailing opportunities listed in our sailing schedule.

We are always adding dates throughout the summer, so don’t forget to check it regularly. Notifications of new dates are announced on our Facebook page and in our Twitter account. As always, if you can’t see a suitable date, just get in touch and we will do our very best to help you.

We’ve just added the late May Bank Holiday weekend to our schedule (26th, 27th and 28th May) and to celebrate we will be including wine with lunch on our day sailing experiences. Book now while places are available.

Getting Social

We can’t wait for you to start sharing your photos of your 2018 yacht charter with Devon Sailing Experiences. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to hear about our latest news and events, and please continue to tag us in your own photos. (Don’t forget to add #DevonSailingExperiences to any of the photos you share on Instagram, too.)

DSE and The New General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

As part of our customer service and to enable us to effectively deal with your enquiries, we need to hold some information about you on our customer database. This is information that you have given to us.

The new General Data Protection Regulation (GDRP) means that from 25th May, we need you to confirm that you are happy for us to store your contact details. Our Privacy Policy describes the information we may need to keep about you, why we need it, and how long we will store it.

If you wish to be removed from our customer database, you may email us (info@devonsailingexperiences.co.uk) at any time. You may also reply to this email and type UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject box. If you do this, we will remove any information we currently hold about you from our database.

Haven’t been in touch with us for a while? Then in line with our Privacy Policy, we will contact you directly to check that you are happy for us to continue to store your details. If we do not hear from you at this point, we will automatically delete any information we hold about you.

Please be aware that if we delete your name and contact details, you may not be able to claim our returning customers discount (where applicable) and will no longer receive our newsletters. So, if you want to continue to hear about our exciting sailing opportunities, look out for and respond to that confirmation email.

Here’s to an exciting sailing season in 2018. We are all looking forward to welcoming you to Devon soon.

Nick, Katie and the Devon Sailing Experiences team.

In line with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), our Privacy Policy is detailed below. May 2018.

1. YOUR CONSENT TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

If you undertake any of the following activities and provide personal data to us we will endeavour to make it clear why we need it and to obtain your specific consent to use it. You will be treated as having consented to our use of your personal data under the terms of this Policy if you have contacted us by telephone or email with an enquiry or provided any personal details to undertake a sailing experience, bareboat charter or RYA training course.

For the purpose of the Data Protection Act 1998 (the Act), the data controller is Devon Sailing Experiences, 16 Barton Brake, Wembury, Plymouth, Devon, PL9 0BJ. 

2. INFORMATION ABOUT YOU

We may collect and process the following data about you:

You may give us information about you by filling in forms on our website or by corresponding with us by phone, e-mail or otherwise. This includes information you provide when you do any of the following things:-

• contact us by telephone or email with an enquiry;
• book a sailing experience;
• book a bareboat charter;
• book an RYA training course;
• subscribe to our newsletters.
• The information you give us may include
  • your name, postal address, e-mail address and phone number, personal description and photograph;
  • the name, address, email address and phone number of your next of kin and/or emergency contact;
  • details of any relevant training records and training plans;
  • details of your relevant qualifications including the results of any examination, assessment or training course provided by us or by any recognised training centre and any accompanying notes and observations regarding your performance.
  • details of your participation and performance in sporting events and competitions;
  • details of any relevant boating, yachting or other seafaring experience you may have
  • health information including details of your age, sex, height, weight and any particular health conditions or mental or physical impairments you may have
  • any relevant dietary records and details of your dietary requirements.
  • Credit card and financial information. Please note that DSE does not hold or store any payment information. Payments are made via accredited payment processor (in this case, Square and Payment Sense)

If we have not heard from you after 5 years, we will contact you directly to check that you are happy for us to continue to store your details. If you do not agree (or if we do not hear from you) we will automatically delete all the information we hold about you.

3. HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION

We use information held about you:

• to administer your sailing experience, bareboat charter and RYA training course bookings and payments.
• to keep you updated about our own products and services. If you do not want us to use your data in this way, you may unsubscribe at any time. Your data is not passed on to a third party.

4. HOW WE MAY SHARE YOUR INFORMATION

DSE’s data is hosted by TSO Hosting which stores information on secured servers in the UK. We will not normally share your information with third parties.

We may disclose your personal information to third parties:

• in the event that we transfer, sell or buy any business or assets, in which case we may disclose your personal data to the prospective transferee, seller or buyer of such business or assets;
• if we are under a duty to disclose or share your personal data in order to comply with any legal obligation, or in order to enforce or apply any contract or terms in force between you and us;
• to protect the rights, property, or safety of DSE, our customers, members or others. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organisations for the purposes of fraud protection and credit risk reduction.

5. PASSWORDS AND PIN NUMBERS

Where we have given you (or where you have chosen) a password or PIN number which enables you to access certain parts of the DSE website, you are responsible for keeping the password or PIN number confidential. We ask you not to share passwords and PIN numbers with anyone.

6. YOUR RIGHTS

If we retain your personal data, you have the right to ask us not to process your personal data. You can exercise this right at any time by contacting us at info@devonsailingexperiences.co.uk

Our site may, from time to time, contain links to and from the websites of our partner networks, advertisers and affiliates. If you follow a link to any of these websites, please note that these websites have their own privacy policies and that we do not accept any responsibility or liability for these policies.  Please check these policies before you submit any personal data to these websites.

7. ACCESS TO INFORMATION

The Act gives you the right to access information held about you. Your right of access can be exercised in accordance with the Act.  Any access request may be subject to a fee of £10 to meet our costs in providing you with details of the information we hold about you. You can exercise this right at any time by contacting us at info@devonsailingexperiences.co.uk.

8. CHANGES TO OUR PRIVACY POLICY

Any changes we may make to our privacy policy in the future will be posted on our website and, where appropriate, notified to you by email. Please check back frequently to see any updates or changes to our privacy policy.

9. CONTACT

Questions, comments and requests regarding this privacy policy are welcomed and should be addressed to Devon Sailing Experiences, 16 Barton Brake, Wembury, Plymouth, Devon, PL9 0BJ or info@devonsailingexperiences.co.uk

If, like many people, your New Year’s resolution for 2018 was to ‘try something new’, ‘have an adventure’, ‘take more exercise’, ‘get closer to nature’ or ‘relax and enjoy life’, west-country based Devon Sailing Experiences has the perfect opportunity for you.

Try something new

Our day sails offer the perfect introduction to sailing for all abilities, so if you have already booked your west-country based holiday for 2018, why not use it as the perfect opportunity to travel to Plymouth for a day out on the water?

Haven’t booked your 2018 west-country holiday yet? We can offer bespoke sailing holidays with overnight accommodation aboard out 40’ yacht, Bewitched.

Have an adventure

Not only do our sailing experience packages offer the chance to learn a new skill, the discoveries you make under sail are priceless. Whether you find a secluded anchorage that cannot be accessed by road, helm a yacht for the first time or visit a beautiful Cornish or Devonian fishing town, the opportunities for adventure are endless.

Take more exercise

Taking part in one of our sailing experiences offers exercise without even realising. Sailing requires core-stability muscles, so even if you are just standing in the cockpit trying to keep your balance, you will be exercising those muscles (as well as enjoying the view, breathing fresh air and learning a new skill).

Get closer to nature.

Travelling under sail powered by just the wind is as good as it gets. With the beautiful west country coastline always in view and a mackerel line hanging off the back of the yacht, there is nothing more natural than the opportunity to catch and cook your own lunch. If you are particularly lucky, you may spot the pod of dolphins that frequent the area.

In addition to this, we are so lucky to enjoy the South-West Coast Path on our doorstep – it actually passes King Point Marina where our yachts are moored, you know!

Relax and enjoy life

It may take longer to reach your final destination under sail, but as we all know, life is about enjoying that journey. There really is something about the smell and feel of that sea air that makes you breathe more slowly and smile more. If to ‘relax and enjoy life’ was your New Year’s resolution, our weekend sailing experiences to Salcombe or Fowey might be just what you are looking for.

If you took part in one of our weekend sailing experiences to Salcombe or Fowey earlier this year, it is likely that you would have met Gail. She also skippered most of our bespoke sailing experiences during 2018, too. Next in the hot-seat for our “Meet our Skippers” series – Gail Wright.

When did you first get the sailing bug?

Sailing in the BVI’s 16 years ago. I had sailed previously, but this was sailing in such a beautiful place that it made me want to do more. It was lovely to sail from island to island and enjoy the Caribbean.

What is your finest sailing memory?

Sailing to Cape Town after 33 days at sea. The coastline is so rugged and it was really special to see after not sighting land for over a month. The last 3 days of the journey were really rough, and I was tired but elated to have sailed all that way and experience big seas and rough weather. We crossed the equator and dateline and saw some incredible wildlife – dolphins fishing and a mass of pilot whales gliding past the yacht, which was a really amazing experience. I learnt so much about ocean sailing and a lot about myself as well.

What is your favourite sailing destination on the south-west coast?

Tricky one…Fowey or Dartmouth? I love both of these places; they both have good pubs and great food. Fabulous harbours to sail into…it’s got to be Fowey! A great location for a weekend sailing experience.

What is your ‘go-to’ sailing meal when you are on the go?

Cottage pie with sweet potato topping, preferably made in advance so you can just put it in the oven and it is ready when you come into the harbour.

Force 3 or Force 5?

Force 5 – as long as it’s going in the right direction! Put a reef in, keep an on on the wind and enjoy the sail!

Our skippers are the people we rely on to help you make the most of your day or weekend sail. At Devon Sailing Experiences, we have been putting them in the hot-seat over the past few weeks so you can learn a little more about them.

Next up – Mick Chantler.

When did you first get the sailing bug?

After a very autocratic introduction to sailing courtesy of the Royal Navy in the ’70s which almost put me off for life, I eventually got to see the more relaxed and rewarding side to sailing some 10 years later – again, courtesy of the Royal Navy, but in a different environment and mindset. I have never looked back.

What is your finest sailing memory?

My finest sailing memory was quite recent – delivering a yacht with the owners onboard from Plymouth to Whitehaven in Cumbria. A very satisfying and rewarding trip and lots learnt by all onboard. I learn something new every time I go to sea – the learning curve keeps going up.

What is your favourite sailing destination in the south-west?

My favourite places to visit are all west of Plymouth, but probably top of my list is Polperro. I prefer smaller ports which are a little more challenging to get into, and therefore quieter at the height of the season.

What is your ‘go-to’ sailing meal when you are on the go?

My go-to meal whilst sailing has to be simple and hearty – a 2-pot dish like meat pie with smash, tinned veg and extra gravy – yum! (Ok – maybe 3 pots!)

Force 3 or Force 5?

I prefer sailing in a stiffer breeze like a Force 5 with the wind over your shoulder. More exhilarating than a gentle breeze and you can really get the boat going. Ideal to reach a weekend sail destination.