I would like to share my recent experiences under sail, using GSA yachts.

The crews comprised of Bath Sailing Club, Bristol Sailing Association and/or GSA members.

My main aims were:

• To not only get out on the water but also,
• To test the system of booking and chartering GSA boats along with members of other clubs of similar interests and a shared passion to get on board and sail.

I booked on two GSA ‘Skippered’ cruises in April and May.

The first was out of Plymouth Yacht Haven on GSA’s ‘Celtic Flame II, a well-equipped Dufour 34.

The second was out of the River Itchen, north of Hamble on Southampton Water on GSA’s  ‘Ocean Flame IV’.

PLYMOUTH

The cruise out of Plymouth was blessed with sunny skies but light winds.

Despite some motoring we sailed every day and enjoyed mooring overnight in beautiful rias and fishing villages. We embraced the opportunity to sail into Falmouth harbour in the West to Dartmouth in the East.

The crew of Bath, Bristol and GSA members who had only briefly met before, in a pub-based planning meeting, bonded really well.

Led by a very competent and friendly skipper, sharing everything from menial tasks to planning and navigation, from sailing the boat to dining out. We bonded very well, challenged ourselves and earned a lot of good memories.

A combination of cooking and eating aboard, or in charming harbour-side pubs and restaurants all helped.

SOUTHAMPTON

The cruise out of Southampton was again blessed with sunny skies, light winds and full Spring tides.

I had the same skipper but joined a different crew, again a mix of Bath, Bristol and/or GSA members, who bonded well due to the same reasons as above.

We sailed almost all of the Solent from Poole Harbour to Osborne Bay and enjoyed two overnight moorings on the Isle of Wight.

Despite being challenged by the large tidal range inducing strong currents and a lot of depth checking, we navigated past The Needles stacks through the ‘tidal gate’ into the West Solent Channel.

We also moored one day for a very scenic lunch, on the environmentally friendly buoys, just North of Old Harry Rocks. This allowed us just enough depth to enter Poole Harbour to moor for the night.

The final mornings of both cruises were spent unpacking and cleaning the GSA boats for a midday handover. This is part of the GSA deal, where members are expected to act as part owners of the boats and service them accordingly. However this, in my opinion, is more than made up for by the fact that our chartering costs were approximately only two thirds of the cost of a similar commercial charter, for capable, well maintained and cleaned yachts. (It may be possible by your own arrangement to employ a harbour side boat cleaning for the task)

In conclusion, I would believe that the system of club members booking and chartering a GSA boat works. It is considerably less costly than a commercial charter for a similar product and experience. Additionally it can be a great way to meet and enjoy the company of like-minded people and a great way to get yacht sailing.

Regards, Pete