Sailing on the West Coast of Scotland and elsewhere

with PETER WADDINGTON

(ex Sinbad Charters & Yacht Zamora)


Villa Marina, Shore Road, Kilcreggan, Helensburgh,Dunbartonshire, UK, G84 0HN.
Telephone/Fax: (+44)(0)1436 842247.Email: pwaddington1@btinternet.com
Old friends and customers please note the new postal and email addresses. My telephone number remains as before.


Welcome to my home page.  I live in Kilcreggan on the Rosneath peninsula, near Glasgow.
 
I am a retired Naval Officer with years of sailing and sea command experience, and for 22 seasons, completing in the winter of 2004, I ran a small Skippered Yacht Charter business & Sailing School, trading under the name "Sinbad Charters", in my 36 foot Westerly Medway yacht ZAMORA cruising one of the finest  sailing areas to be found anywhere - the beautiful West Coast of Scotland. I have now also  retired as an imstructor, and have disbanded my sailing school and charter business,  but continue to do a considerable amount of private sailing for my own pleasure.To those of you who may have found this site through an old link or search engine reference looking for a charter, or a RYA recognised sailing course, I regret that  I cannot now help you, having ceased commercial operations. There is however a link at the end of the site, under "Contact Details" to the Association of Scottish Yacht Charterers, whose members can give you the best in Scottish bareboat or skippered charters, and RYA recognised sailing courses.
 
Those of you who have sailed with me before and would like to join me, with perhaps a bit of tuition thrown in, please see the following pages, beginning with "The Background and New Developments". My West of Scotland sailing  resumed in the last half of the 2011 season, having been "on hold" from 2008 when, after a brief shakedown on the Firth of Clyde, the rest of the season was spent sailing ZAMORA from Rhu to Malta, and doing a bit of touring and late season cruising there in September and early October.  During 2009 I cruised the Med with the help of former customers, friends and family, via the East and North coasts of Sicily,  a circuit of Sardinia and via Menorca, Majorca and the Spanish Costas to Gibraltar, finally laying up the yacht in Lagos, in the Algarve. During the 2010 season, progress was made towards returning her from there to Scotland, and an interesting and successful passage cruise was made up the West coasts of Portugal and Spain. However, I eventually ran out of available  crew while awaiting a suitable weather window to cross Biscay, and  at the beginning of October the yacht was  laid up for the winter in Bilbao in North Spain. Early in  July 2011 I completed the return passage to the Clyde by way of a cruise round harbours on the the Biscay coasts of Spain and France, then via  Newlyn, Milford Haven and a number of harbours in Eire and Northern Ireland. After a short period catching up on home and family matters I completed the  2011 season with a few late Summer/ early Autumn weeks sailing in the Firth of Clyde, and in 2012 I  returned to a full Scottish sailing programme.
 
With some regret, having owned and sailed her for just under 36 years of her almost 42 year life, during which time we have voyaged together almost everywhere between  St Kilda and Loch Inver in the North and Malta in the South, I have recently sold  ZAMORA. Having now  foregone the expense and labour of her upkeep,. my aim, while I am still fit and can afford it, is to continue sailing by sharing an occasional charter on the West Coast of Scotland and in the Mediterranean with any of my old friends and sailing companions, and indeed any reader with sufficient sailing experience to help crew a medium sized charter yacht,  who would care to join me. To this end I am now showing on my Current Programme page dates from April to late summer when bookings have been made. Where there are no vacant berths in any of the bookings shown, newcomers may phone or email and suggest further weeks during the sailing season between April and October in which they would like to join me. I will then endeavour to charter a yacht for a week or two on the West coast of Scotland, single weeks on the Firth of Clyde or, in any of the longer periods in which I am available, a  fortnight on either a bareboat charter or a flotilla hoilday in the Mediterranean .  First come will have the choice of specific dates, duration and starting point, and I will then endeavour to obtain a suitable charter and (unless the first taker wishes to bring a party or sail singly)  more takers to share the same cruise. (See Page 5 - "Current Programme"). Please keep an eye on that page, which will be updated from day to day during the sailing season as individuals or groups come forward and things develop.

I am most grateful to all those who joined me between 2008 and 2011, enabling me to  complete a round cruise of  7385 nautical miles to and around Malta and back. Without your help I would not have achieved any part of this enterprise. In recent years I have looked for friends, ex customers and newcomers with experience of cruising under sail who, for a share of the food, fuel and berthing expenses while on board, would like to accompany me in continuing what has been  principally day sailing around the West Coast of Scotland or the Mediterranean. This venture, changed since I ceased to run my own yacht, will  of course be a little more expensive as it will additionally  involve a negotiable share of the charter cost, but if enough people can  be persuaded to take part, this will keep the per capita cost down.
 
The Background and New Developments.
Why the West Coast?
Pick up Points and Joining Arrangements in Scotland.
Current  Programme.
About ZAMORA - a Memento.
Contact Details.
Family - Waddington/Robinson Archive Photos