Greener sailing holidays – charter company wants comments

Help Us Shape Our Direction in 2020

Times ‘they are a-changing’….and so are attitudes to travel. Classic Sailing voyages have embraced environmentally friendly ways of exploring for over two decades, and even carried cargoes under sail. Our customers have crossed between continents under sail way before Greta Thunberg jumped on board.

Unfortunately, globe-trotting sailing routes take months if you want to sail back to where you started. Many of our joining ports are on islands. Flights are sometimes the only way for time constrained customers can join our ships.

The flights we take for our eco-friendly voyage under sail are contributing to global warming and air pollution. We would like to be part of the solution, not contributing to the problem.

Classic Sailing is an adventure holiday company. We are not anti-travel and it would be hard for us to be anti flying without a very radical shake up of what we offer. The two founding directors cut right back on car and plane travel in 2019….but the wanderlust to sail distant seas is still within us.

“We want a positive solution as much as you.”

Adam, Anna & Debbie

Future & Right NOW

Exciting progress is being made towards zero and low emission planes for the future, but what can we do to travel more responsibly without trashing the planet in the meantime?

Classic Sailing team have some climate friendly ideas we would like to implement, but we need to understand your attitudes to travel, as we can’t succeed without willing customers. We are at an important crossroads. This is not just about the flights dilemma, but the broader issues like the mix of voyages and destinations we could offer in future that don’t add to the problem.

You also might have some good ideas to help make our holidays something to brag about without ‘flight shame’

Birthdays, Weddings & Babies 2019

Eda Frandsen’s skipper and cook tied the knot this year. Mr James and Mrs Chloe MacKenzie’s wedding had more than a few sailors at the party in September. James was wearing a kilt of course (but not his check shirt) and the wedding cake was magnificent – of course.

Brig Morgenster celebrated her 100th Birthday in Den Helder, and then ran away to the Canaries to carry on the party somewhere warmer (Join her – she is in the Canary islands Jan – Feb)

Tecla’s captain Gijs Sluik is home in the NL this Christmas to become a father for the first time.

His sister Jet is busy skippering Tecla from Easter Island to the Falklands, taking Cape Horn in her stride – It will be her second rounding on Tecla under sail, taking 6 women and 6 men around with her.

Photo ‘Eda Frandsen’ Dream Team – James & Chloe

Underwater Azores Wins Protection

Santa Maria Manuela was in Sao Miguel, Azores in November for the film premiere of National Geographic’s Blue Azores film documentary.

This 1937 former Newfoundland cod fishing schooner, has contributed hugely to our understanding of the underwater seas by her role as the mother ship for scientific dive expeditions like the Ocean Azul Expedition.

At the premiere event was the announcement of the Blue Azores protected region of 150,000 sq km around the archipelago.

Don’t just watch the film, go on a sailing and diving holiday on Santa Maria Manuela.

1. Lord Howe Island

After crossing the South Pacific Europa is sailing from Brisbane to Tasmania. For her to miss out on Sydney and sail 600km off the New South Wales Coast to Lord Howe Island hints that this jewel must be something special ….and it is.

Ringed by a protecting Coral reef this 7 million year old extinct volcano rises 4km from the sea bed and has many endemic marine species, and rare corals. It is a great place for rare seabirds, hiking and snorkeling.

Europa
27th July – 17th Aug 2020
(Brisbane – Hobart)
22 days from €3410 euros

2. Cornwall Coast – Micro Explore between HW and LW

You need a shallow draft sailing boat that can be beached to explore between high and low water mark in Cornwall. There is a surprising area of tree lined creeks and old trading routes through the salt marsh in Cornwall that few yachts ever see, or tuck into tiny coves along the coast. If you want to get really close to nature and learn a range of small boat and wild camping skills try a 2 or 3 day taster on our 17ft spritsail yawl ‘Outdoor Girl’ with Debbie. We also have a 5 day course to learn practical navigation and sail – camp skills and plan your own exped in August.

3. Tasmania & Bass Strait

During Europa has 2 voyages sailing between Melbourne and Hobart so you can sail either way. There are 12 uninhabited islands in the strait. Pelicans, fur seals, Southern Gannet & shy albatross breed here. On this crossing you may spot orca, fairy penguins, dolphinshumpbacks and dolphins.

Tasmania itself is just as awesome. Tall mountain peaks, impenetrable rainforests, wild flowing rivers, massive man ferns, towering tall eucalyptus trees and her weird and wonderful animals. Tassie devils, fluffy little wallabies, spiky echidna’s, playful platypus and bushy possums live in the lush bush.

19-26 Aug (Hobart-Melbourne)

8 days from €1320 euros

27 Aug – 3rd Sept (Melbourne – Hobart)
8 days from €1320 euros

Photo – Europa & Wallabies in Wineglass Bay

4. Maine for Bald Eagles & The Blues

Sail Down East on Victory Chimes schooner. Mix with talented on board musicians from blue singers to Appalachian fiddle players as part of the ships summer Sea Music Concerts. Go looking for Bald Eagles in the Acadia National Park and take part in windjammer festivals in Rockland, Camden and Boothbay Harbour.

Captain Sam Sikkema has spent years in the charter world on other peoples sailing ships, including the barque Picton Castle, and has put his heart and soul into creating an iconic Maine experience on his own vessel. Victory Chimes has ships rowing and sail boats too to explore closer inshore in this beautiful sailing ground.

5. Roaring Water Bay & Fastnet

Pilot cutter Agnes likes to go somewhere different on her summer holidays each year. In 2020 she is off to SW Ireland and will base herself in Baltimore, just East of Mizen Head for 3 voyages.
Heading west from this sheltered harbour is Long Island and Roaring Water Bay with a multitude of Islands and anchorages. If the weather is good Fastnet Rock is just South and ready to be “rounded”.Beyond Mizen Head are four deep, drowned river valleys Dunmanus Bay, Bantry Bay, Kenmere River, and Dingle Bay.

5-11 Aug 2020 (Baltimore-Baltimore) FULL
12-18 Aug – (Baltimore-Baltimore) Places
19-25 Aug – (Baltimore-Baltimore) limited places

Photo Tom Ormond – Galway Hookers

6. Pacific South Seas 2020

Ok. I have to confess (Debbie). The reason why we are looking at carbon offsetting and ideally carbon positive schemes to mitigate long haul flights is because my resolve not to fly was shattered by Europa publishing her South Pacific Programme last autumn. It is the last great ocean I have not explored and I have booked a place on two legs from Tahiti to New Caledonia. I will be funding a lot of tree planting with ‘treesisters’ as the best solution I can find to my flight’s carbon footprint. – see the link below and join me growing a Classic Sailing Forest.

Many of the berths on these South Pacific voyages are now full, and I can only hope that experiencing these island nations first hand will make most of us on board, determined to do something positive to save the low lying islands of the world from rising seas and the warming planet.

CURRENT AVAILABILITY
Just before the Christmas break there were limited spaces in 4-5 person cabins still on:
Valparaiso to Easter Island
Tahiti – Fiji
Fiji to New Caledonia
New Caledonia to Brisbane

Engineless Ships, Pure Sailing & Rowing

Any of you who sailed on a Pure Wind Power Challenge on ‘Eve of St Mawes’ or delivered sail cargoes on Grayhound will know that sailing without using an engine at all is a different mindset to using one as little as possible. Both will improve your sailing skills and reduce your carbon footprint.

We do have 2 vessels in the fleet without an engine at all. The historic schooner 127ft Victory Chimes and 17ft spritsail yawl Outdoor Girl do not have main engines, but they do have other means of propulsion. Victory Chimes has a push boat to help manoeurvre her in port. ‘Outdoor Girl’ has oars as well as sails and can sail right up to the beach or into tiny harbours under oar.

The rest of the fleet have engines, but it is how you sail, and how often you reach for the starter key that counts, not the presence of a powerful engine.

The Classic Sailing Fleet is carefully chosen for their vessels owners desire to sail as much as possible. Some voyages are better than others for pure sailing – ring us to discuss.

Greener sailing holidays – charter company wants comments

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