Relax and enjoy the Scottish sailing experience whilst a full time professional skipper takes care of the boat and more besides! For those who want to have a holiday afloat, but do not necessarily want the responsibility of chartering or skippering a boat themselves, one of the many companies offering comprehensive sailing holidays may provide the solution.

The skipper is usually the owner of the boat and will often spend the whole of the season afloat taking people on sailing holidays around the coast. Customers may book anything from a single berth to the whole boat, and need not be experienced sailors as the skipper takes responsibility for the sailing and navigation. Guests are welcome to join in as much as they wish, particularly with the washing up, although some boats also have full time crew who will take care of this as well.

These holidays are usually fully catered and take place on larger vessels. Cruises may be based around a theme such as wildlife or a tour of some of the many whisky distilleries, whilst others may have a specific aim such as reaching St Kilda or climbing a particular mountain. Many of the boats have a particular ‘speciality’ such as gourmet cooking, walking, mountaineering or adventure sailing; a range of water based activities such as windsurfing, waterskiing or diving are also available on some of the larger boats. Increasingly, some of the vessels are venturing further afield to destinations such as Ireland, the Faroes or even Norway, offering the opportunity for customers to gain experience of passage sailing whilst in the safe knowledge that someone else is in charge.

Individual boats may offer guests the opportunity to take part in organised events such as the Malts Cruise, Scottish Islands Peak Race or West Highland Yachting Week, whilst the option may also exist to undertake a one-way passage on a few of the boats as they cruise to alternative locations during the course of the season.

Sailing holidays are available for different durations, ranging from a short day sail to multi-week trips. The duration offered will often be related to the area in which the boat operates – holidays of a shorter duration are more likely to be available in the Firth of Clyde and closer to the larger settlements where transport links are better, whilst further afield the duration is usually of a week or more. There is also an increasing availability of boats offering Corporate events, be it a day sail or even a long weekend. Most of the skippers will provide informal tuition for those who wish to learn, and some boats are also accredited RYA Training Centres offering a range of theory and practical courses.

There is a wide range of boats on offer for these holidays, together with packages for different budgets. The variety of boats also means that visitors can return year after year and have a different sailing experience each time. The available boats include purpose built steel ketches, modern fibreglass sloops and catamarans and wooden classics. Accommodation and levels of comfort also vary from private cabins with en-suite facilities to more communal living.

Whether old or new, wooden, plastic or steel, the boats are all fully equipped to ensure that you enjoy your holiday as much as possible whilst taking in the magnificent Scottish scenery and hospitality.

Why shoulder the expense of owning a yacht, or the cost in time of getting to places remote from one’s home port, when Scotland’s many yacht charter operations offer excellent choices in location and yacht type, including a large variety of bareboat or skippered charter options for you and friends or family to choose from to suit all budgets aboard a wide selection of craft, from classic to modern.

Glance through these pages to select your preferred option – be it power or sail, self-sail or skippered, in sheltered or more demanding waters. You will see that whether your tastes and interests are historic craft, modern state of the art yachts, power boats or special interest cruising to remote places like St Kilda or the Flannan Isles, they can be catered for.

First Steps

Cruising in Scotland is not all tough, demanding sailing – many areas are ideal for the relative beginner. Pilotage is straight-forward, tides are no stronger than in, say, the Solent, there is little shipping, and fog is rare.

There is plenty of published information about cruising in Scottish waters, which makes forward planning, and day to day pilotage, a pleasure. Admiralty and Imray charts cover Scotland in the greatest detail, and either Clyde Cruising Club Sailing Directions or Imray’s Yachts-man’s Pilot Series will provide complete and detailed information on virtually every anchorage, harbour and stretch of water.

Add to this the invaluable Sail Scotland Brochure, and your required reading is complete. You may have progressed through power or sail cruising school, or have sufficient past experience to satisfy charterers’ requirements – either way there is a superb range of options offered by Scotland’s charter companies.

World Class

Scotland’s cruising grounds are unspoiled, if that is not too simple a word to convey the unique combination of land and seascape virtually untouched by man.

Even the sheltered lochs of the Firth of Clyde are relatively unspoiled, and the majestic west coast, with Skye and the Hebrides, offers the cruising sailor the ultimate in scenery and wildlife.

This environment is one of peace and quiet, of empty anchorages, of clear clean water, of long summer evenings when it barely gets dark at all. It is one you will not want to miss.

You cannot truly appreciate the magic until you come to try it!

Scotland’s watersports tuition is in a class of its own! Combine the finest scenery and sailing waters and a wide selection of RYA approved establishments with many years of experience, and you have the best possible range of opportunities for learning, afloat! Our sailing schools – and there are more than twenty-five of them – are located all around the country, and offer a wide range of tuition opportunities, including windsurfing, dinghy sailing, cruiser racing, cruising, and power boating. All levels of RYA qualification are on offer. However, apart from the selection of courses on offer, there is marvellous variety in locations, types of vessels, and tuition styles. What could be more pleasant than to learn your boating techniques in Scotland’s incomparable environment.

Cruising Tuition

A typical day begins with the weather forecast, a little cruise planning over breakfast, and then it is anchor a-weigh for a passage to a distant isle, or a favourite harbour. Whether you are under sail or power, the challenges of navigation and seamanship are similar.

The day might be punctuated by a sighting of dolphins or whales, and there will certainly be an abundance of seabirds to identify. Later, the approaching anchorage prompts a look at the pilot book, to ensure that the best approach is made, and a snug spot selected for the night. Then it could be a row ashore for a pint or a dram, or a meal prepared aboard followed by a few sailors’ yarns!

Could there be a more pleasant learning environment?

Dinghy Tuition

The holiday atmosphere at most Scottish sailing schools is part of the appeal, and everyone is guaranteed an interesting, enjoyable and useful time, for whether the school is located on a coastal or inland loch, or an island, you can be sure of entertainment and instruction in good measure. For the beginner, there is the satisfaction of ones first solo dinghy sail, or a successful sailboard dash in the pleasant surroundings of a Scottish loch. More advanced pupils could be enjoying their first steps in dinghy racing, powerboat driving or water skiing.

Whatever the day’s activities, the evening barbecue and the company of others on the course will round off your day to perfection, and at the end of the week you may have a new range of skills, have gained a certificate, but you will certainly have a lot of new friends!

You may even become one of the folk who come back to Scotland again and again. Even if you don’t come for the fishing – you risk being hooked!

Scotland has excellent facilities for those who wish to set sail in their own sailing dinghies or powerboats.  Most marinas have a slipway or can assist with launching, and there are numerous slips around the coast and on inland lochs where boats may also be launched.  The waters are so suitable for sailing that there are almost 150 RYA clubs in Scotland – a full list can be found on the RYA Scotland website.

For those who yearn to learn there are almost 150 RYA recognised training centres in Scotland.  Everyone loves the holiday atmosphere that is in abundance at most Scottish Sailing Schools.  Whether you choose a school that is on the coast, an inland loch or an island, you can be sure of excellent instruction and lots of entertainment.  Combine the finest scenery and sailing waters together with a wide selection of RYA training courses and you have the best possible range of opportunities for learning afloat, including windsurfing, dinghy sailing, cruising, power boats and racing.

All levels of RYA qualifications are available, together with a whole host of different tuition styles and vessels to choose from.  Visitors wishing to learn to dinghy sail, handle a powerboat or test their balance on a windsurfer, may either do so at a residential centre such as the Scottish National Sailing Centre on Cumbrae, or combine their sailing with a family holiday at somewhere like Tighnabruaich, Loch Insh or the Galloway Sailing Centre.  Port Edgar Marina on the Firth of Forth is the largest sailing school in Scotland, and runs a variety of shorebased and practical sailing courses throughout the year, covering the whole of the RYA syllabus for cruising and power boats as well as dinghies and windsurfers – why not combine your holiday to the capital with a sailing course?!