Booking
How do I make a booking?
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It’s easy to book with us; please Contact Us to find out the availability on the trip you are interested in. Provided there are places available we will reserve your booking for a period of 10 working days to allow you to investigate and book flights and to make your deposit payment to us. We will issue a Booking Acknowledgment by email.
Once you have received your Booking Acknowledgement, you should arrange your flights and you must then make a payment to us of 50% of the full cost of your trip. Note that credit card payments incur a 3% additional processing fee.
If you are booking within 6 weeks of your arrival, you need to pay the full cost of your holiday to confirm your booking.
Once we have received your deposit, we will issue you with booking confirmation. Please note that your booking cannot be confirmed until we have received your deposit payment. If we don’t receive your deposit within 10 working days of your booking request we may cancel your reservation and reallocate your place(s).
Please refer to our Booking Conditions for full details of our policies.
How can I pay?
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You can make a payment in the following ways:
Direct Bank Transfer
Credit Card via PAYPAL
Please see your Booking Acknowledgement or Booking Confirmation for full payment details.
Can I cancel my booking
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If you need to cancel your booking our cancellation policies will apply. Please see our Booking Conditions for full details.
Can I Change my Booking?
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There are certain changes that you can make to your booking before you arrive, and we will make every effort possible to accommodate your wishes. However, it is not an easy task to change our itinerary due to ongoing booking arrangements!
Where practical we can help you to:
• Change the date of your booking to an alternative.
• Substitute members of your party where someone is unable to attend.
Can I Substitute a member of my party?
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If one of your party members can’t make it, you can substitute another friend!
Please contact us to ensure that we have a record of your change and we need your alternative person to complete our pre-arrival checklist.
Can I change the date?
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If you are unable to make your agreed holiday arrival date, and provided you inform us at least 6 weeks before your arrival date, we will help you to find a suitable alternative break with us.
If you want to change your break less than 6 weeks before your arrival date, we will do our best to accommodate your request, but due to the limited number of places available on our itinerary this may not always be possible and we reserve the right to apply our cancellation policies.
Please see our Booking Conditions for details.
Insurance
What travel insurance do I need?
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You will need personal accident and travel insurance and we need to see evidence that you are covered for this when you arrive. You should check that your policy doesn't specifically exclude sailing as a sport.
We hold professional indemnity and public liability insurance.
Arriving & departing
Will you collect me from the airport?
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Where possible we will meet you at the airport, however due to the possibility of different flight arrival times for people on the same trip as you, you may need to wait for other members of the group to arrive. In some cases it may be more pleasant to arrange an alternative rendezvous point so that you're not kicking your heels at the airport for a long time.
Please note that any transport costs from the airport are not included in the price of your trip.
What if my plane is late arriving?
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There’s nothing worse than flight delays to turn your dream holiday into a stressful nightmare!
If your plane is late and you miss our airport rendezvous time, you will need to make alternative arrangements from the airport. The easiest thing is obviously to jump into a cab and you should be able to claim the additional expense from your travel insurance company.
In the majority of cases we don’t depart from your embarkation port until the following day, so arrival delays of up to 18 hours are not a problem.
If your plane is so late that we need to commence our voyage, we will advise you of an alternative meeting point a little further up the coast. Again, you will need to cover any additional costs and reclaim them against your travel policy.
Will you take me to the airport at the end?
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We can arrange local transport from the yacht to the airport at the end of your trip. Please note that the cost of this transport is not included in the price of your trip.
What if we have bad weather?
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Yes, we realise that yachting is at the mercy of weather conditions and despite having planned our itinerary meticulously, there is always the slim chance that freak weather will prevent us from getting to your departure port!
Please be assured that we will provide transportation to your planned departure airport in the event that this happens.
Coming alone
Can I book a single place?
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Absolutely! We welcome single travellers and you can be sure of a warm reception. Many of your fellow yachties will be in the same boat and within hours, you will have made a whole new group of friends.
Will I get my own cabin?
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Where possible, we will provide you with your own cabin and all single guests will have their own bunk. In the event that you do need to share a cabin, the maximum number of people in a cabin is 2.
Don’t worry; we know you’ll all get along like a house on fire!
Sailing tuition
Are you a proper sailing school?
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We’re not an accredited sailing school which means that we don’t have to stick to rigid curricula and can offer a more relaxed pace.
All of the crew have, however, taught in RYA, ASA or CYA Sailing Schools and hold qualifications appropriate to their roles on board.
If you would like to take your experience further and gain a formal qualification, we have strong links with RYA, ASA & CSA Sailing Schools offering sail training in the sunshine!
Will I get a certificate?
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We will provide you with our own recognition of achievement certificates and are pleased to record your sea miles in a sailing Log Book (these are available on board if you don’t already have one).
If you would like to take your experience further and gain a formal qualification, we have strong links with RYA, ASA & CSA Sailing Schools offering sail training in the sunshine!
Can you tell me about your teaching method?
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We’ll give you a full safety briefing when you arrive and show you round the boat which will start to get you in the swing of things!
As we head off towards the horizon, we will employ a mixture of theoretical techniques and a lot of practice so that you start to know the ropes.
If you have a bit more knowledge, we will be pleased to share the responsibility for passage planning and navigation with you.
Do I need to know anything before I arrive?
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No! Even with a full complement of complete novices aboard, your able crew can handle the boat and any weather that’s thrown at them.
Our job is to introduce you to sailing in a relaxed fashion at your own pace.
Health & fitness
How fit do I need to be?
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You don’t need to be able to swim the Channel or run a marathon, but you should be reasonably fit and agile.
Sailing is a sport that uses a lot of muscles that you don’t tend to employ on a daily basis so expect a few aching shoulders & glutes.
Please let us know if you can’t swim – this doesn’t mean that you can’t participate fully in our activities but we will need to keep a special eye on you going overboard!
Do you eat healthily on board?
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Yes, we always utilise the freshest local produce for cooking on board and we love the whole healthy lifestyle thing.
With all the fresh local fish & supplies its hard not to eat healthily!
What activities will be available?
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Apart from the sailing and unrestricted access to the largest salt water swimming pool, we carry snorkelling gear, lilo’s and other toys for messing about in the water. We also have an inflatable dinghy and outboard for exploring the coves.
At certain times of the year we will also have a fitness instructor aboard who will be pleased to involve you in aquagym!
Ashore, you can hike up the hills, go cycling, or take advantage of other activities available in the local area. Your crew will help you to organise additional activities if required.
What if I get injured or ill whilst I'm there?
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Our crew hold recognised First Aid qualifications and are on hand to deal with all emergencies.
Your welfare is of the highest importance to us and we have all the resources on board to get you to the nearest doctor or hospital if (heaven forbid) the need were to arise.
What if I get seasick?
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The biggest contributor to seasickness is being tense and worried, so you should try not to stress about your trip and mind over matter can help a lot!
As soon as you get on board, just accept that the boat moves a little and try to relax and move with the boat.
Please let us know whether you think you might be prone when you come on board and we will give you advice!
Do you have any tips/drugs for seasickness?
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Yes, we carry a range of medications on board from travel sickness wristbands to herbal remedies. If you are concerned, you should pay a visit to your GP and he can prescribe seasickness patches which you stick behind your ear. These are very effective .
The sailing conditions in the Caribbean are fairly gentle and there are things you can do to help you get over nausea quickly:
Lie down as soon as you start to feel queasy – there, we just gave you an excuse for sprawling out on deck! Lying down and even sleeping causes your muscles to relax and you will become more accustomed to the movement….unconsciously!
Eat little and often – keeping your stomach occupied seems to take its mind off expelling contents!
Bananas are a great remedy and healthy too!
Ginger is also efficacious, either biscuits or ginger ale.
Drink lots of water – dehydration is a contributor to nausea.
Living on board
What if the weather turns bad?
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We always obtain a weather forecast before leaving port so there are rarely any big surprises weatherwise.
You may be asked to don a life jacket if it blows up a bit and the sea gets a bit rough, but the instructions of our experienced crew will ensure your safety.
What if I want to get off?
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When we’re in port you can come and go as you wish provided it won’t interfere with our itinerary.
When we’re at anchor things need to be a little more planned as we only have the one dinghy to take you to and from shore.
When we’re at sea, I’m afraid you’re stuck on board until we get into port!! If you really hate it, you’re best to go to sleep until we reach shore.
Will I have to do the washing up/cleaning?
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Our staff are on hand to make your stay as comfortable and carefree as possible, however we do expect you to chip in with day to day chores; after all, its all part & parcel of living on a boat!!
Can I wash my clothes?
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We don’t have laundry facilities on board and you will need to be careful with water usage, but you are welcome to rinse out your smalls in the sinks! In most destinations there are launderettes although some only provide overnight services which may not always fit with our cruising itinerary.
Will I/we get my/our own cabin?
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IBIS has up and down bunks in two of the cabins which means you will be sharing with one other person in some cases. If you are a single traveller we will give you your own cabin where possible.
Two of the cabins have a double bed as opposed to bunks and you may need to share with your best mate…sorry!
What's it like living on board?
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It’s a bit like sharing a luxury caravan with a bunch of friends! Except that we can harness the power of the wind to transport our home to different magical places, our terrace has a perfect sea view and the Caribbean sea is our private swimming pool!
On a more serious note, the cabins and ensuites tend not to be as big as hotel bedrooms, and instead of nipping down the corridor to the hotel bar you’ll be jumping in the dinghy to go ashore!
We have a contraption which supplies 220v power just like on land, and large water tanks mean that, with a little care, fresh water on board is not a problem. However, care needs to be taken with things flushed down the toilets...but more on that when you arrive!
What's included
What's on board that I don't need to bring?
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You will be provided with bed linens and towels so no need to bulk up your luggage with towels!
There is a hairdryer on board.
What to bring
How much spending money will I need?
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The minimum you will need to cover is your evening meals as indicated on the fact sheet, and a little more for our bar and any contingencies or shopping trips!
There are ATM’s everywhere we go so you can draw out local currency as you need it.
What do I need to bring with me?
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Travel light! A checklist of what to bring is given 1n your pre-arrival literature and the most important thing to remember is to bring a squashable holdall!
In our experience you really only need to bring a swimsuit, shorts, T shirts and perhaps one going out frock. Life on the islands tends to be pretty informal, although somehow the local womenmanage to give the most informal wear a bit of added chic!
Don’t stress it, there’s nothing you can't buy here if you forget it and clothes tend to be surprisingly cheap.
Are there any additional charges?
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There are no compulsory additional charges other than local meals etc as already indicated.
Please refer to the literature we send to find out what’s included and what’s not included.
Specifically, you will need to organise flights to and from your arrival and departure points. We have indicated websitelinks to the airlines serving these airports.
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