The year 2024 season is now in full swing. Last season I spent a total
of five weeks afloat. This consisted of a 2 week flotilla in
the South Ionian, 2 weeks helping a friend sail his own yacht in the Aegean,
between Kilada in the Peloponnese and Chania in Crete, and finally a 1
week cruise in the inner Firth of Clyde, from Largs Yacht Haven. I have
now booked a Beneteau 40 on a 2 week North/South Ionian flotilla holiday with
Sailing Holidays for myself and old friends/sailing companions in May 2024;
(see below). I will probably join my friend in South Greece for another fortnight
crewing on his yacht at some stage later in the season, but I am now looking
for further charter sharing with friends and ex customers in any vacant
period in the 2024 season.
As most of you will have now learned, ZAMORA, the yacht with
which most of you will associate me, has now been sold. After
almost 36 years of sailing, maintaining and caring for her,
I decided late in 2018 to forego the expense and hard work of continuing
to look after her, and to use the money saved to continue sailing
for a few more years while I am still relatively fit by, hopefully
with your assistance, hiring a charter yacht occasionally, either
on the West coast or in the Mediterranean or both. Please watch
this space, where the outline programme will be amended from. day
to day as things develop. As from November, I start to look for
enquiries for the next season, in this case starting from April 2024,
since many charter businesses offer charters at the current year prices,
introducing the following year prices late in December or early in
January. Some also offer diiscounts to previous customers.
Although the cruises further afield in Scotland, such as those to the Western Isles (Inner and Outer Hebrides) have continued to be popular, there has been some reluctance in recent times to take up berths for cruises on the Firth of Clyde and adjacent sea lochs. Those unfamiliar with the area please note that this is not the industrial waste land which you might imagine. It is very scenic, and includes Loch Long, Loch Goil, the Holy Loch, the Kyles of Bute, Loch Fyne, and the whole of the Firth of Clyde north of a line between the Mull of Galloway and the Mull of Kintyre. It offers considerable areas of sheltered sailing as well as more open and exposed conditions, and a large number of interesting places to visit.
Now that I am not running my own yacht, I am no longer showing a pre-planned
sailing programme, but am listing bookings that have been made,
as they arise, together with the number, if any, of vacant
berths that are still available. I can, myself make myself available
in virtually any vacant period between April and October. I will leave
it to those first expressing an interest to suggest
any other dates within the season when they would like to sail, the
location /area in which they are interested, and whether they
would be alone or accompanied. I will then contact the
charter companies in the area selected to establish what
is available and the likely cost, and contact the original
enquirer for their agreement, before making a provisional
booking and, if more crew are needed, putting the specific details
on the programme and inviting more people to come forward.
Needless to say, this will all take more time and negotiation
than previously with my own yacht, so the earlier people express an
interest the more likely things are to come to fruition.
I will usually look to sail with between one and four crew members, depending on numbers electing to participate and agreement on sharing of the overall cost. Unlike when running my own boat, this will not only be a share of the fuel, food and berthing expenses, and also usually hire of, or bringing your own, bedding, but additionally a proportion of the charter fee. From a rough survey of current charter fees on the West of Scotland, which vary of course according to location, size and age of boat, they work out at roughly £2000-3000 per week, with a discount of 5 or 10% for a second week. I propose to assume a crew of myself plus 2, and up to that number coming forward will ask for just 1/3 of the charter fee, plus extras, per person. I will also cover the security deposit. If there are 2 or more plus myself, we will divide the cost between all on board. These figures are not set in stone, and I am willing to pay a higher proportion of the main charter fee if the cost appears to be too great. After all, my aim is to do more sailing. I need crew, and although I could on occasion single-hand my own yacht, I will not be allowed to single-hand a charter yacht, and I don't want to frighten off otherwise willing helpers. At each stage of the expansion of the programme into specific dates and cruising areas, I will indicate the current numbers involved, and whether (if agreed by those already booked) there are any vacancies remaining. Any last minute changes dictated by weather or other unpredicted circumstances will be communicated as they occur, directly by email or telephone to those affected.
The number of berths still available in current bookings
(to date 26 June 2024) are shown in parentheses after
the dates of each of the periods when sailing has been booked, and this
will be kept up to date as berths are filled. I will be happy to initiate
sailing bookings on request for any period not already booked,
between early April and the end of October. A zero indicates
either that all berths are filled for the specified period, or that
those who have already booked have expressed a wish to be the sole crew.
Bookings to date:
19 May to 2 June 2024 2 week North/South
Ionian flotilla holiday in Sailng Holidays Ltd Beneteau 40. (0).
14 to 28 September 2024 2 weeks crewing for owners of HR36 Mariche VI, (originally my Sailing School customers) in Southern Greece. (0).
13 to 19 October 2024 5 day Firth of Clyde cruise in Seaspray
Yacht Charters Moody 376 "Midnight Mirage" from and return to Largs Yacht
Haven. (1800 Sunday to 1000 Saturday) (2).
Notes on the longer availability periods
Until specific dates and locations have been chosen and indicated in the
programme, any other period in the sailing season between
April and October inclusive may be selected by the first comers
for a single week on the Firth of Clyde, any fortnight on the
West coast of Scotland or a fortnight single boat charter or flotilla
charter in the Mediterranean. .
The main starting points for a fortnight charter on the West of Scotland, giving flexibility in the choice of cruising ground to suit the weather, and avoiding the initial delay of having to either transit the Crinan Canal or make passage round the Mull of Kintyre, are Ardfern, Craobh Haven and Dunstaffnage.
If any of you wish to explore some of the charter possibilities before
contacting me, the people I know most about and would look
at first are:
In Scotland: Association of Scottish
Yacht Charters. (https://www.asyc.co.uk), some of whom
are colleagues of old, and/or Sail Scotland. (https://www.sailscotland.co.uk).
In the Med: Nautilus Yachting (https://nautilusyachting.com),
or Sunsail. (www.sunsail.co.uk), or Sailing Holidays Ltd.
(https://www.sailingholidays.com). All of these I have
used before and found very satisfactory - particularly the
last, who are most friendly and helpful. Sailing Holidays operate
principally around the Ionian and parts of the Aegean, and
are the only ones who quote "flight inclusive" prices. In looking
at the others, you have to add in the cost of flights, either
arranged by yourselves or in some cases by them if you request
this.
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ZAMORA.- A Memento
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