Price
£1196
Nights
Nine
Age range
18-80
Start port
Portsmouth
End port
Plymouth
Passport
Yes
DofE
Yes
RYA
Competent Crew
Voyage code
CF715
Bursary
Available
Voyage highlights
This ten-day voyage starting in Portsmouth and ending in Plymouth presents the perfect opportunity to build up your sea miles and night sailing hours while expanding and improving your sailing abilities in potentially challenging conditions.
Depending on the voyaging experience of the group, weather conditions and other variables, you could return from the voyage having sailed more than 300 nautical miles.
This voyage will involve a combination of continuous stretches of offshore passage sailing and shorter legs between coastal destinations, with the opportunity to explore ashore.
Our Challengers are 72ft ocean-going steel yachts, constructed to withstand the Southern Ocean. Launched in 2000, they raced round the world in two editions of the BT Global Challenge, the route taking them against prevailing winds and currents, through some of the most challenging sailing conditions on the planet.
This means that our Challengers are the perfect vessel for this cross-channel voyage and will make it an exhilarating and memorable experience!
On board, you’ll meet like-minded individuals, aged from 18 to 65 with varying levels of experience, who you’ll quickly bond with to form one crew.
You will also work to achieve the RYA Competent Crew certificate, and there is also the opportunity to complete the residential section of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award, if this applies to you.
Plus, by taking part you’ll be supporting our life-changing youth development work. Proceeds from our adult voyages support our charity’s vital work with young people aged 12-25 from across the UK.
The beginning or end of your voyage may include stopovers along the south coast such as Cowes, Yarmouth, Poole and Weymouth.
Depending on the weather conditions, we may sail to Alderney, Sark or Guernsey in the picturesque Channel Islands.
Depending on the voyaging experience of the group, weather conditions and other variables, there could also be the opportunity to visit Cherbourg, Le Harve or Dieppe in France.
New skills. Increased confidence. New friendships. Lifelong memories!
Throughout the week, you’ll experience steering a yacht, night sailing, sail handling, ropework as well as learning how to keep safe on board.
We divide the crew into watches, in which you’ll take it in turns to be involved in all aspects of sailing the Challenger from deck duties to cooking and cleaning.
You’ll also experience plenty of offshore sailing. This voyage is a great opportunity to build your confidence and broaden your sailing experience.
And if all this isn’t enough… We want you to know, that our adult sailing experiences give you an exhilarating journey that directly enables more young people to benefit from our transformational youth development programme.
The Skipper will determine the final route depending on weather and other variables.
If you share our values and are keen to do more, you may be able to support our vital work further by joining the TSYT Volunteer Crew.
Your Skipper can recommend you for our Watch Leader training programme if they feel you have the skills and attributes that we’re looking for.
All meals on board are included.
You’ll hopefully get the chance to complete the RYA Competent Crew course while you’re on board.
The syllabus includes:
- Sea terms and parts of a boat, rigging and sails
- Sail handling
- Ropework
- Fire precautions
- Personal safety equipment
- Man overboard
- Emergency equipment
- Manners and customs
- Rules of the ‘road’ (at sea)
- Dinghies
The cost of your RYA certificate is included in the price.
RYA logbooks are available for purchase onboard at a cost of £6 (Skippers are only able to take cash for this).
All our voyages of four nights or more qualify for the DofE Gold Residential award. Please let our Reservations Team know before sailing if you want to use the voyage for this.
You’ll be asked to enter your passport details as part of the booking process. If you don’t have these to hand, please contact us as soon as possible after submitting your booking form to let us know your details, as we cannot accept your booking without this information.
You will also need to present your valid passport to the Skipper at the start of the voyage.
