Looking for an adventure where you actually take part?
On a traditional sailing voyage, you aren’t there simply to watch the professional crew sail the vessel.
You can take the helm, handle ropes, help set and lower sails, keep lookout and take part in watches. What needs doing depends on the vessel, weather and where you are sailing.
On my first voyage, I found that the more I got stuck in, the more the crew involved me, and the more I enjoyed it. It just got better and better.
Grab new skills with both hands.
There is a real ship to sail
Many adventure holidays provide activities for you to do.
Sailing is different because the activity has a purpose. The vessel really does need to get from one place to another.
Sails need setting and trimming. Ropes need handling. Someone needs to steer and keep lookout. When conditions change, the way the vessel is sailed changes too.
These are genuine seamanship skills. National Historic Ships UK includes sail handling, steering and manoeuvring among the practical skills used aboard traditionally rigged vessels.
You work alongside people who do this professionally, helping to sail a real working vessel.
How much can I take part?
As much as is practical for the voyage, conditions and your abilities.
You don’t arrive with a list of compulsory activities. Nor do you need previous sailing experience.
The professional crew show you how to help. Sometimes that means hauling on a rope with several other people. At other times, you might steer while someone talks you through what the vessel is doing.
The more you take part, the more the ship starts to make sense.
You do it together
Sailing a traditional vessel involves teamwork.
A large sail may need several people to handle it. Manoeuvring can involve different jobs happening at the same time.
Strength isn’t the important part. Sailing a traditional vessel is about teamwork. Timing, communication and understanding what everyone else is doing count for far more than simply pulling harder. When several people work together, you can handle sails and equipment that would be impossible for one person alone.
That gives everyone aboard a reason to work together from the beginning.
The weather gets a say
This isn’t an adventure where everything can be scheduled precisely.
Wind and weather affect sailing. A passage might be fast or slow, and conditions may make one route preferable to another.
There can be periods when everyone is busy followed by quieter hours on deck.
The voyage has an overall objective, perhaps reaching a particular harbour or sailing along a stretch of coast, but how you get there can vary considerably. Wind, weather and sea conditions influence the route, the speed and what happens along the way.
There is a destination, but not necessarily a fixed itinerary. That uncertainty is simply part of travelling under sail.
What does it feel like to sail the ship?
Once the ship is moving through the water, the first thing you notice is the movement beneath your feet.
The deck rises, falls and rolls, and your body responds naturally. You experience the sea through your feet and your whole body.
Take the helm and you feel the vessel respond to your movements. Haul on a rope and you see the sail change.
There is a direct connection between what you do, how the ship responds and what you feel beneath your feet.
Do I need to be particularly fit?
That depends on the voyage.
Some sailing is physically demanding. Other voyages are much less so. Vessel size, voyage length, sailing area and conditions all make a difference.
You don’t have to do everything.
If you want a particularly active voyage, tell us. Equally, if you have concerns about physical demands, we can help you choose something appropriate.
There is time to stop as well
Hands-on doesn’t mean working continuously.
There can be long periods when the sails are set and the vessel is making her way.
Sit on deck. Watch the sea. Talk to somebody or look for wildlife.
Then something changes and there may suddenly be work to do again.
That changing rhythm is part of life under sail.
You don’t need to know what you’re doing
For many people, that’s part of the adventure.
You can arrive without knowing one rope from another. The professional crew expect people with different levels of experience.
They show you what to do and supervise where necessary.
You don’t have to become an expert. You only have to be prepared to have a go.
Curious about a hands-on adventure?
Traditional sailing combines travel with something real to do.
You aren’t completing activities simply because somebody has put them on for you. You’re helping sail a vessel that is actually making a voyage.
How much you participate is up to you.
If getting involved sounds better than watching from the sidelines, traditional sailing might be the adventure you’re looking for.
