May Day Weekend

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At just three miles long and just over a mile wide, this most northern of the Channel Islands is also the closest to our base in the Solent. This makes a weekend sail to Alderney a very attractive and feasible option. Leave work and come and explore this sparsely populated tiny outpost.

Along with your usual sailing gear, to really get the most from this weekend, you will do best to bring a good pair of comfortable walking shoes. There are some 50 miles of footpaths to explore, along with beautiful sandy beaches and cliffs where you'll see gannets, fulmars and perhaps puffins. Alderney is a bird-watcher's delight!

The locals believe they have an enviable lifestyle which has a unique phenomenon known as 'The Alderney Feeling'. It is contagious, apparently! Oh yes, and among the more unusual residents are black rabbits and about 1000 extremely rare blonde hedgehogs.

We plan to depart very early on Saturday morning for Alderney. Our destination is the small harbour of Braye, hidden behind the famous victorian breakwater and we aim to arrive in time for supper at one of the local hostelries.

On Sunday we have the choice of cycling some of the 50 miles of paths or joining the Alderney Wildlife Trust's Dawn Chorus Walk (with cooked breakfast)- or you can do both! You can also take a two hour boat trip around the Island led by a local skipper, with intimate knowledge of the dramatic coastline. This will allow you to get close inshore to areas where we wouldn't dream of taking our yachts!

On Bank Holiday Monday you can join us as we do the May Day Ramble around Alderney organised by the Alderney Wildlife Trust (www.alderneywildlife.org).

On Monday evening after dinner we set sail back to the Solent overnight and aim to be back in Gosport by mid afternoon on Tuesday.

There is no pressure to always remain with the group once our sailing has finished for the day. If you want to walk, shop, meditate, explore, or just be in your own space that is just fine!

What is included?
The cost of our Alderney Adventure includes accommodation on board your yacht, breakfasts, lunches and our now famous homemade cake. We tend to eat ashore in the evenings (apart from when we are night sailing) so that everyone can stretch their legs (this cost is not included) or you can cook for yourself on the boat if you wish.

Our yachts are generally vegetarian. Breakfasts and lunches will be warm, tasty and filling but will not contain meat! By eating ashore in the evening a non-vegetarian diet can be catered for.

The only additional cost is a proportion of mooring fees which are split between those aboard. These vary between nil- £5 per night depending on where we stay. All organised activities on Alderney are also not included.

Upon booking you will receive your Joining Instructions which provide a suggested list of what to bring. Sailing waterproofs are an important item, whatever the time of year, as they keep you warm and dry. We have these for you to borrow, free of charge. You are likely to have most other items on the list and we encourage clients to travel light because of the limited storage room on board.

Your Joining Instructions will also detail where to find us. We sail from Royal Clarence Marina in Gosport which is easily accessed by road (it is 20 minutes from the M27 at Fareham) or by train to Portsmouth Harbour (from Waterloo).

We look forward to sailing with you!

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