Join First Class Sailing for some amazing boat experiences and challenges & how you can get afloat

Covering the whole Atlantic coast of France, from Ouessant in the north to Hendaye on the Spanish border, the Royal Cruising Club Pilotage Foundation Atlantic France pilot book has been thoroughly revised and updated by Nick Chavasse who has taken his Bowman 40, Wild Bird, into every main port and a multitude of anchorages, including explorations up the numerous navigable rivers.

To order your copy just visit: 

https://www.imray.com/Publications/Imray+Pilots/Imray+pilots+and+cruising+guides/North+West+Europe/IB0162-2/ 

The East Coast Pilot has become the bible for cruising sailors for the waters between Great Yarmouth and Ramsgate covering as it does the many harbours, rivers and creeks in a clear and concise manner. This podcast features Ceri Hurford-Jones talking to the authors Garth Cooper and Dick Holness as they reveal some of the mysteries of sailing these shallow and shifting coastal waters. Both authors keep their boats on the East Coast and are life-long lovers of the area. They maintain that every time they cast off and take to the water, they learn something new, adding to the considerable wealth of experience which they have passed on enthusiastically over many years.

To find out more just visit:

https://www.imray.com/Publications/IB0232-1/

Podcaster Ceri Hurford-Jones talks to 19 year old Peter Russell, who despite being reasonably experienced and knowledgeable for his age, found that people wouldn’t take his sailing dreams seriously. He was hell bent on proving them wrong, initially setting about doing dinghy cruising, he rapidly found that planning and completing his own cruises required a lot more forethought and knowledge than he realised. Luckily he got the chance to turn his experiences around, as he was introduced to an extraordinarily generous man, Jon Stokes, who lent him his yacht, Muffin. She was for all intents and purposes a dinghy with a lid. She had only two beds, an anchor light, a depth sounder, a radio, an outboard and a suit of sails. Most would say she wasn’t much, but she was enough for Peter, enough to start gaining his own experiences as a skipper, learning from his own mistakes, and having his own adventures with great support from Imray.......circumnavigating Britain via the Caledonian Canal!

Read Peter's full log here;

https://liveicomgrshot.blob.core.windows.net/rccfiles/Uploadedpdfs/Logs/Peter%20Russell%20RCC%20Marshall%20Award%20Log%20%202020.pdf 

Graham Adam, author of the Royal Cruising Club Pilotage Foundation pilot book Isles of Scilly talks to Ceri Hurford-Jones about this extraordinary and beautiful archipelago, just ten miles long and five wide, that has so much to offer and yet so few know of its very existence, let alone where it is! 

The islands are 30 miles out into the Atlantic, so any visitor, travelling from any direction, must make a special effort to get there. It is certainly not the easiest of cruising destinations but well worth the effort! This podcast will draw you in to find out why this compelling mix of dramatic seascapes, a huge variety of flora and fauna, and a fascinating history that reaches back over 4,000 years will draw you towards it.

To order your copy just visit;

https://www.imray.com/Publications/Imray+Pilots/Imray+pilots+and+cruising+guides/North+West+Europe/IB0137-1/ 

First Class Sailing help boat owner Mark Essex achieve his goal of getting his Yachmaster qualification. Hear he talks to FCS Ceri Hurford-Jones about how he found the course and the pressures of the exam and the challenging conditions it was was held in!

Jamie steers the good ship First Class Sailing through the myriad of RYA approved courses available and the length of time you should allow to get the best out of the course at a pace that works for you.

Alex Eyre talks to First Class Sailing's podcaster Ceri Hurford-Jones about her sailing experiences to date and her plans for the future.

At the age of 7 Alex discovered sailing, mucking around in old wooden wayfarers in the Devon estuaries. But is wasn't until University that she really got the sailing bug as she joined the yachting team race training and exploring the Clyde, spending nights at anchor in remote Scottish villages and towns including Tarbet and Holy Loch.

In 2013 she ended up working on some ex Whitbread yachts in the Whitsundays taking backpackers on 3 day trips, followed by a life changing experience that saw her taking part in the Fastnet yacht race,

In 2017 she decided to fulfill a life long dream and cross the Atlantic, at trip that really followed in her mother’s foot steps. And that is where First Class Sailing came in.

First Class Sailing talk to Paul Pilsworth about the practical courses he runs for us and what to expect when you get on board for a weekend of week with him.

Upon retirement Paul sailed across the Atlantic, before relocating to Cowes where he bought a yacht. He then realised his long held dream of sailing round Britain before becoming a cruising instructor! He's enjoyed teaching both novice and experienced sailors for First Class Sailing now for over 7 years. As many of my students say about him "Paul really is really living the dream!” To find out how you could take the helm on board one of First Class Sailing yachts just visit https://www.firstclasssailing.com/

fulfilment of a long held dream of arriving at a favourite destination on our round Britain sail.

Ricky discovered the thrill of sailing relatively late in his life after booking a sailing holiday on a whim for his family. He then signed up for a Round-The-World yacht race, billed as the "Worlds Toughest Yacht Race" - the Global Challenge 2004-5., That experience decided Ricky's future - he gave up his high powered career in Information Technology.

Wind forward fifteen years and Ricky has now clocked up 260,000 sea miles, completed another Round-The-World-Race, this time as skipper in 2007-8, six trans Atlantic ARC races, six Fastnet Races, and sixteen Atlantic crossings as well as sailing as far North as the Lofoton Islands in the Arctic Circle and as far South as 62 degrees South, 120 miles further South of Cape Horn. He is the Principle of his own RYA Sailing School, instructs and examines for a number of other sailing schools including First Class Sailing.

Nigel Rennie started sailing in 1984 whilst serving in the Army (REME). He qualified as a Yachtmaster Instructor in 1990 becoming an RYA Examiner a few years later. He’s skippered large sail training yachts worldwide, crossing most of the oceans and venturing south as far as the Falkland Islands.

Presently Rear Commodore Sailing for Warsash Sailing Club, Nigel splits his sailing time between instructing and examining Yachtmasters, teaching Celestial Navigation, offshore racing safety and boat handling skills. Recreational sailing includes supporting club sailing and family chartering

Here he share with First Class Sailing some of hints and tips that could help you become a qualified RYA Yachtmaster.