The Ocean Race Yacht Experience £149
Crew an Ocean Race Yacht, on this fast-moving, exciting day out. With a real hands-on focus you will have the opportunity to try all aspects of sailing one of these famous yachts. Take the wheel and steer the 60ft yacht as she speeds past the other yachts in the Solent or try your hand at winching as we put the yacht through its paces. It will be action packed and fun as you work together with other participants to get the most out of one of these powerful and fast yachts."It's a hands on day ideal for novices to more experienced sailors, available midweek aboard Whitbread 60 Blueprint and on weekends aboard Clipper 60 Taeping. It's our most popular sailing experience, as it offers the most flexibility on dates..."
After meeting our crew in the morning you will be shown to your yacht where you will receive a short safety brief before slipping lines and motoring out into open water. Then it's all hands on deck as we hoist the giant sails and set sail towards the Solent. There will be plenty of opportunity to put any existing sailing skills into practice and learn new ones as we put the yacht through its paces.
You will have the opportunity to work on the foredeck for sail hoists, drops and changes and in the cockpit on the winches as we trim sails and put the yacht through some manoeuvres. Lunch is normally served under sail, racing style, before we cruise back to the marina.
Find out more...
9:30 - 10:00: Meet us in our office in the marina for a tea or coffee whilst everyone arrives.
10:00 - 10:45: Your Skipper and Crew for the day will fit you with lifejackets and take you to the boat for a quick look around before a full safety brief is given and everyone rigs the boat ready for sea. At this stage you will be hands on getting the sails ready, leading the ropes and getting used to the boat.
10:45: Depart the marina and motor down the River Hamble to the Solent where we hoist our sails and get underway.
13:00: Lunch is served under sail after a morning of cruising around the Solent.
15:30: After an afternoon of sailing and boat manoeuvres, we arrive back outside the River Hamble and drop the sails before we motor back up the River to the Marina.
16:00: Depart the boat.
Where we sail: On the Solent, from HYS Marina in Hamble
Event time: 10am to 4pm
Maximum participants: 12
Dates on Friday, Saturday or Sunday: Aboard yacht Clipper 60 Taeping April to October.
Dates on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday: Aboard yacht Whitbread 60 Blueprint April to September.
A baguette lunch, snacks, soft drinks and tea and coffee as well as all the safety kit such as lifejackets and wet weather clothing are provided as part the day.
Participants must be at least 12 to come on this day and if they are 12 to 17 they must book with a parent or guardian. There is no upper age limit.
There are a number of steep steps on Blueprint and a short ladder on Taeping, if you think you might need assistance to move around, we would ask you book with someone who can give you a helping hand.
What is the difference between C-60 Taeping and W-60 Blueprint?
W-60 Blueprint finished second in a professional round the world yacht race and C-60 Taeping was a participant in an amateur round the world race. Therefore the systems, design and sail plan of W-60 Blueprint are more powerful and advanced than those on C-60 Taeping.
W-60 Blueprint also has a very open plan deck incorporating "coffee grinders" (the upright winching system most famously seen on America's Cup Yachts), whereas C-60 Taeping has a cockpit you can sit in. As for which is better, this is very much a personal decision – check out our galleries to see whether you are prepared to sacrifice the relative comfort of Taeping for the out and out speed of Blueprint.
The day was absolutely brilliant, the weather was really on our side and the crew could not have been any friendlier. An experience of a lifetime. Neil
I cannot praise the crew enough. Professional, courteous and very knowledgable . A very enjoyable experience shared by all on board. Mike
Really enjoyed the day. It was great to have this hands on experience and get involved in sailing the boat, steering, changing sails. Ruth
A fantastic, safe but thrilling experience left me wanting more, the staff were fantastic and the refreshments were great all in all a fantastic day, I would certainly recomend it. Dave
