Bare Boat Yacht Charter in Devon

Chartering a yacht or boat in Devon should be pretty straight forward but there are things to bare in mind when it comes specifically to bare boat charter as opposed to skippered yacht charter.

You

Bare Boat yacht charter normally requires a higher standard of proficiency from the skipper: generally this will be the RYA Coastal Skipper or Day Skipper with plenty of miles.

There should be a hand over of the vessel. The handover is to ensure you know where the safety gear is and how to use it. It’s quite easy to zone out at this point, but please, stick with it. The second part of the hand over is to ensure that you are happy with reefing and to assess your boat handling skills which is important for the operator and you. If the operator feels you are not up to standard, they may offer a partial refund or a skippered charter instead. From your point of view, you’ll feel more comfortable having a quick refresher and the basics now to hand.

Financially, a boat is in a different league to that of a car. A typical a boat will be in the £100K plus category and they are much more difficult to handle!

Deposits

Insurance companies place large excesses on boat owners or companies that offer bare boat charter, typically £1,000 plus. This is why you are normally asked for a refundable deposit, to cover the excess.

You also be asked to fill in a form detailing the current marks, scratches etc on the boat so that when it is returned, the company or owner can check to see if any new marks have been added. It’s important that you take good notice of this inspection at the beginning as money can be held back from a deposit.

Your Charter Destinations

It is extremely important that you check the almanac and feel comfortable with the passage plan and the destination be that a marina or anchorage. Don’t push the limits – it can lead to a poor experience, indeed. An example of this was last year, when one of our boats was in Torquay marina next to a group of chaps that had chartered another yacht: they asked where they were going they said maybe Totnes. They had a 40′ fin feel boat with a draft of 2 metres. Totnes is a long way up the Dart and it practically dries out. There is no marina or visitors moorings, so these chaps would have been balancing an expensive fin keel boat against a wall … should they have attempted it, more likely they would never of made it. They were quickly talked out of this, but it would have made the owner faint I’m sure!

Some quick points:

• Know the boat and know your own and your crews tolerances.
• Don’t risk putting boats against harbour walls.
• If you’re entering a marina, ask for assistance from the marina staff and make your life easier.
• Don’t attempt berthing in strong tidal situations. The urge to “just get in” after a long sail can be strong but it is a mistake and will cause damage if the tide is running. Don’t risk anything more than +- 2 hours of High or Low water.

There is another post here, that is worth further reading.

When you come back

The boat should be left as you found it – this means clean and tidy. Most companies can impose a charge if they feel the boat is not left in a suitable condition.

Any maintenance issues should be conveyed as well as any marks you may of put on the boat. It’s worth remembering that if any marks are found it will more than likely come from your deposit!

Sailing is a fun past time that can contain elements of relaxation, adrenaline and unfamiliarity. If you have never sailed before, you might find some of the aspects of sailing slightly odd and perhaps a little challenging. A good example is that a sailing boat doesn’t always sail “upright” and can lean to one side (called heeling). It may feel odd, but when you understand the dynamics it makes sense and is somewhat comforting.

A boat uses two opposing forces: the wind (there’s a surprise) and it’s righting movement (normally it the shape of the keel). This opposes the wind pressure and wants to keep the boat upright, so what you get is something in between and the boat moves forward. As the wind increases, the boat leans more. This has the effect of allowing less wind to fill the sails as there is less area for the wind to catch, and the boat naturally tries to balance the conditions using the heeling of the boat. In reality, we don’t want too much, but 20% – 25% is a good value. To maintain this, we can also reduce the sail size with reefing and other controls if the wind picks up. The picture above shows about as much heel as we would want.

At Devon Sailing Experiences, we use all or part of the first day to introduce you to the basic techniques and to get a feel of how the boat moves through the water which allows you to be more accustomed and ultimately to enjoy the experience more. If we have experienced guests, we still go through the same procedure (albeit it a bit quicker) as one boat is different to another. Don’t forget, all our experiences come with a fully qualified skipper / trainer , so you can take part in as much (or as little) sailing as you choose.

OK, it’s day one, you have got on the boat and you’re itching to go. On the way down in the car you discussed various destinations and the plan is to go to Salcombe for the first day. It looks about 20 miles away and shouldn’t take much longer than 4 – 5 hours, as a bonus it will be high tide which means the Salcombe bar can be easily crossed.

The forecast is for a South Westerly Force 5 and the tide in Salcombe looks to be high at about 2 o’clock …

Although this plan is possible there are reasons why you may change your mind.

Unsurprisingly, the weather plays a very large part in your plan. A sailing boat cannot sail directly into the wind – typically 45’ is ok but even this may not be achievable; if the sea has had chance to build a little, you won’t find it very comfortable to sail even at this angle.

Sailing at 45’ to your destination will require a number of tacks and it’s important not to under estimate the number of tacks you’ll need to complete your ‘leg’ to Salcombe. Typically you may need to double your distance to the destination and time taken.

The second issue is that although high water is preferable at Salcombe, when you arrive it means the tide will be against you from Brixham, typically slowing you by a knot or so.

On route to Salcombe is Start Point which is a headland and typically this means a tidal gate (pictured above), where the tide will run strongly against you and you may even go backwards! You can see the tidal race in the picture. This can mean endless beating to get to the destination.

Having explained such a situation to our guests/crew, we would recommend a change of plan – perhaps a halfway house to Dartmouth and up to Dittisham which will be well sheltered and has a great pub!

More and more people are choosing to stay in the UK for their holiday*, we have some of the best destinations ….anywhere.

OK, let’s get the obvious out the way. You cant guarantee the weather in the UK, however there are compelling reasons to at least consider chartering or trying a sailing holiday in the UK.

• The med has very high temperatures in Jun / Jul / Aug. Whilst this sounds great, at night it can be very difficult to sleep and during the day you’ll be looking for shade. Most of the boats you’ll charter wont have air conditioning.
• You don’t have the hassle of the airport and transfers.
• In the UK, when you moor up, you can go where you please and not just to the designated taverna which owns the mooring you’re on
• You’re helping the local economy.
• If you enjoy sailing, then you’re more likely to get wind in the UK which makes the experience fun.
• The food in the UK has improved beyond recognition over the last 15 years or so, and we no longer play second fiddle to our European partners

*The data was published by Travelodge. It found that a staggering 65% of Britons are planning to enjoy a staycation this year, a stark increase compared to the 41% who were keen to holiday in the UK rather than visiting shores abroad. With the average trip costing £399.28, this will also see a rise in the revenue generated for the UK tourism industry, rising by £3.3 billion to £12 billion.

The south west has seen a very good September so far this year for sailing, wind strengths have been no more than Force 5 and usually 3-4 and only  a mile off the coast the sun had shone whilst inshore it’s been hazy until mid afternoon.

With high pressure in control we usually get easterlies sometimes with a northerly component which means we make great progress to the west saving the beat for the journey home.  As a rule anything with a bit of north wind in it makes the south coast very easy to transverse, not only does the land prevent large swells or chop it also means we can go east or west fairly easily.

Depending on your point of view September can be a great month, the crowds have started to drift away, it’s still busy enough but the large crowds have gone with the start of the new school term. Settling down on board for dinner now tends to mean the light has faded or gone and the stillness of the harbour adds to the romantic feel.

Sailing during the low season in Devon and Cornwall is often over looked but can be a surprisingly good experience at lower cost.

The benefits of high season are obvious: Regattas, better weather, vibrant towns and plenty onshore to entertain.

But the benefits of low season can often be over looked:

• Quiet locations, the image above was taken last December in Salcombe
• Interesting and sometimes challenging sailing
• Cheaper costs, both from a charter point of view but also moorings
• No hassle to get into your favourite pub!

Booking at low season charter does require a bit of flexibility in your schedule, although obvious it’s worth taking in to account the following points:

• Wind direction and strength should make you decide whether you go for a longer or shorter passage on that day. Wind coming from close to your destination means you will be on a beat, this will add up to 100% or more to your calculated journey time.
• If the sea is a little choppy you wont point as high as you would like.
• Don’t worry about staying at the same location for more than one night, sailing should be enjoyed after all, after all our boats have heating on board.
• Day light hours are shorter.

Devon Sailing Experiences also give you the added confidence from our rebooking scheme which operates at low season, this means if the weather is unacceptable (see T&Cs)  for your booking we will allow you to rebook for free for up to one year.