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We specialise in all inclusive sailing holidays for individuals and couples. Your welcoming hosts Lin and Richard are both Professional sailors and whether a beginner or experienced sailor you are welcome aboard Velvet Lady, our well equipped and MCA coded luxury Oyster 55 yacht.

Our idea of cruising is to combine a great days sailing with enough time to relax and explore the places we visit. Join us on our adventures to interesting destinations not on the usual yachting calendar and therefore less touristy. We do not just sail from marina to marina (often there are none) but also anchor in secluded bays and tie up in working fishing ports.

Our holiday prices are all inclusive of all meals on board and yacht operating costs, the only extras are flights, transfers and travel insurance.  We pride ourselves on our safety standards and ability to provide a holiday of a lifetime.  We regularly have guests returning year after year.

These are some recent comments from our guest book.

A lovely introduction into sailing in the extremely capable hands of Lin and Richard.  I felt really safe.  Some very funny stories told by Lin about her round the world trip – what a laugh!! A faultless week and some good food.  The mushroom dish was yummy thank you Richard
Best wishes to you both, Sue

If you want real fun join Lin and Rich for adventure sailing.  Big fun, great experience, nice holiday’s unbeatable hospitality just to name a few.  Thank you very much
Lutz and wolf now ready for the last tack home to Germany!

What can I say to follow Sue and Wolf?  The best week of my life!
Amazing sailing – every day a new experience.  My confidence and learning has increased.  Fantastic food and Lin and Richard were perfect hosts and coaches – very patient!!  Looking forward to joining them later for a milebuilder! Pauline
PS Velvet Lady is beautiful to sail

Velvet Adventure Sailing offers sailing holidays in a comfortable friendly atmosphere. With a maximum of six guests at any one time we specialise in trips for small groups and individuals. You can book a berth or charter the whole boat. We offer the opportunity to visit some destinations not on the usual yachting calendar.

Our ethos is to provide fun filled active sailing adventures in a comfortable and safe environment. Our idea of cruising is to complement a great days sailing with enough time to relax and explore the places that we visit. The destinations we choose are often secluded bays and small fishing ports, rarely modern developed marinas. We’ll be dropping the anchor and taking the dinghy ashore. Sample itineraries are provided for each trip, to give you a flavour but are not rigidly adhered to! With guests now returning for their 4th trips we know we have the mix right, and promise you a great holiday wherever we stop. We look forward to welcoming you on board our yacht Velvet Lady

Velvet Adventure sailing operate year round. The summer months are spent in beautiful Scandinavia amongst islands and fjords, in the winter months we follow the sun south to the Canary Islands. In Spring and Autumn as Velvet Lady moves between our sailing areas we have the opportunity to offer longer ocean passages and blue water cruising. The full programme is published on line in our Schedule and currently shows listings up until 2012.

All our holidays are led by round the world yachtswoman Lin Parker. With 20 years experience she is well accomplished at both introducing the new comer and coaching the more experienced. Although we do not run RYA courses, Lin is an RYA Instructor and Examiner, and happy to include instruction as part of your holiday. With our experienced staff and small guest numbers we are able to tailor the exact itinerary around the interests of those onboard making each holiday unique. There are plenty of opportunities to add extra miles to your log books on our longer Blue Water Adventures and Ocean Passages, even get the sextant out!

We offer a range of 7 night, 10 night and 15 night holidays. All our trips are fully inclusive on board – however travel to and from the yacht is not included. Further details can be found on the Whats Included page on the Velvet website.

Our itineraries are all written to allow time to explore ashore in our destinations – many of these are small harbours and anchorages only accessible by boat where the scenery and wildlife are superb.

Full details of all our trips, including itineraries, travel information, kit lists etc are available on our website. Booking is easy, just book on line from our site, each individual trip page tells you how many berths are currently vacant. We have no minimum number to run trips. If we take your booking we will run your trip. So, do not worry about being the first person to book on a trip, go ahead and book in the knowledge that we will not cancel because of low numbers.

Our adventures take place aboard our yacht VELVET LADY.

She is a 55 foot sailing yacht built by Oyster of Ipswich.

Oysters are world renowned for their comfort and security.

Aboard VELVET LADY we take a maximum of six guests and have two crew members, this ensures that there will be plenty of space and that you will be well looked after.

Life Onboard

The beauty of sailing and our flexible itinerary is there is usually no need to rush. This is the time to leave the stress of detailed schedules behind you.

Breakfast is served when you get up; if we have decided on a long sail this could be early, if not we enjoy a relaxed leisurely breakfast. After breakfast the crew prepare the boat for sailing, often allowing enough time for a wander ashore.

We pride ourselves in our standards of seamanship and safety, and the first morning will be spent going through a safety briefing both down below and on deck. Oilskins and lifejackets will be issued to you and will become yours for the duration of the trip. Please note our policy is to wear lifejackets at all times on deck and also in the dinghy. In hot climates you might want to bring t shirts with collars to prevent them rubbing on the back of your neck.

After departure it is time to clear away the lines and fenders and hoist the sails, take the wheel, trim the sails, plot the course or just sit back and enjoy the sunshine. Whether you are a beginner or experienced sailor we encourage you to do as much or as little as you wish. Time slips by as you admire the scenery and enjoy the fresh air as we head for our next destination. Lunch is often served on the go and so is likely to be simple but delicious. We drop the anchor or moor at our new destination mid to late afternoon.

Once the boat is secure afternoon tea is served, and then it is time to go exploring. Dinner is prepared on board and served around 8 pm but to fit in with shore excursions. The food will be good wholesome food and plenty of it, cooked with fresh local ingredients whenever possible. Lin and Richard prepare all the food, but are always happy for a bit of help in the galley, especially when it comes to washing up or when under way.

Depending upon our destination evenings can be a quiet time to relax on board, take a stroll ashore to enjoy the peace or sample the local nightlife. You may retire to bed whenever you like.

Hot and cold drinks, and snacks are available all day on a help yourself basis.

During the week the heads/bathrooms are cleaned by the crew as well as the communal areas. The cabins are your personal space, and it is up to you to keep them tidy and stowed for sea.

Sailing Holiday in the Canaries

Only 4 hours away by plane The Canary Islands are an ideal place to explore whilst soaking up some winter sunshine. The temperature is usually about 20 degrees, and it is daylight for 11 hours. Sunset is 1800 ish, a perfect time for a sundowner on deck! Join us here for Christmas, New Year or some winter sun in January, February and into March.

Will it snow? Definitely not!
Our base is Lanzarote which is situated just 70 miles off the coast of Africa and is the most easterly of the Canary Islands. The island is 37 miles (60km) long and 12 miles (20 km) wide, making it the fourth largest island in the Canaries. Lanzarote is renowned for its mild dry climate, with average daytime temperatures of 21C in January. Lanzarote is the driest of the Canary Islands, with no more than 20 days rain per year! Situated in the trade wind belt the wind is predominantly North Easterly and the frequency of gales is low. The islands are not affected by hurricanes. Don’t forget your shorts, t shirts and sun tan lotion!

We have now visited all of the islands in the Canary Island chain, and Lanzarote remains our firm favourite. Why? We feel at home here! Lanzarote is different to the other six islands mainly due to the influence of Cezar Manrique. As artistic advisor to the government he ensured there was strict control in the planning and building of tourist developments and tourist attractions. Everywhere is a theme of simplicity, with whitewashed buildings and colourful fishermens huts. With no building allowed to be more than four stories, there is none of the ‘concrete jungle’ appearance of Playa de Las Americas.

As with the other Canary Islands, Lanzarote is Volcanic in origin. Due to the recent eruptions during the 18th and 19th Centuries, many parts of Lanzarote appear to be from another world, often described as ‘lunar’ or ‘Martian’, so much so that parts of ‘Planet of the Apes’ were shot here. The dry climate (and lack of erosion) means that the Volcanic Landscape appears much as it did just after the eruptions.

Despite the Volcanic nature of the island, Lanzarote has several beautiful white sandy beaches.

Lanzarote is ideally suited for our relaxed week adventure sailing holidays. There are two modern marinas, and plenty of bays with golden beaches to anchor off. Our local favourite is Papagayo, and we have spent many a night watching the sun go down from here. In addition, there is the beautiful island of La Graciosa situated just off the north coast. A place many people do not get to visit as it is only accessible by boat. On our Canary Island sailing holidays we include one non sailing day. We sail for 5 days and aim to spend the 6th day ashore in La Graciosa – weather permitting. We expect to sail 120 – 150nm on these weeks

As a next step up from day sailing, why not try something different and our Blue Water Milebuilding passage when we leave Lanzarote in March and head north to Madeira. A great trip to sample your first taste of true ocean sailing on the 3 day passage north. We will spend our first day sailing along the volcanic coastline of Lanzarote and stop in the modern marina at Puerto Calero before setting off on a 2 to 3 day passage. This takes us 270nm across the Atlantic to Funchal, the vibrant capital city of Madeira. After spending the night here we will continue along the Madeira coastline to Quinto da Lorde marina situated close to the airport at the eastern end of the island, our port of disembarkation

We are happy to take people of all levels from beginners to experienced sailors on any of our sailing holidays. We do not offer courses, but are on hand to encourage you to put into practice what you already know and give you more experience. We can also coach you in new skills. Our trips in the Canary Island are a good ‘next step’ for people newly qualified from Day Skipper courses or who want something similar to Flotilla sailing. They are also an opportunity for Yachtmasters to broaden their experience and learn more about sailing larger yachts. The Canary Islands are a great place for beginners too. Learn to sail in the sunshine.

As with all sailing holidays our itineraries are weather dependent, but to give you an idea of where we might go, see the sample itineraries on the following pages

Norway and Lofoten Islands

The spectacular fjords and islands of northern Norway are our destination for the summer of 2013. Here the islands rise majestically from the sea to a height of 1000 metres, and white sandy beaches line the waters edge. These stunning mountains are interspersed with many narrow fjords and home to isolated and serene anchorages. Fishing is the industry here as this is the worlds richest cod ground, and there are many picturesque small fishing villages to visit nestled at the bottom of the steep mountains.

The flora and fauna in the area are unforgettable, and we hope to see sperm whales, puffins and sea eagles in their natural habitat. We should even have a chance of catching our own dinner!

Our base will be Bodo, 500 miles north of Oslo and just north of the Arctic Circle, and our cruising ground will be the islands and fjords of the Vestfjorden including the ‘sailors dream’ the Lofoten islands.

As with all our destinations, this area of Norway still remains unspoilt and off the beaten tourist track. Getting there is easy if not direct – fly from UK to Oslo on a variety of carriers, and then take an internal flight from Oslo to Bodo (www.sasbraathens.no , www.norwegian.no). The airport in Bodo is a mere 20 mins walk from the marina, or 5 mins in a taxi.

The Lofoten islands are a chain of islands, just off the coast of Norway here at the top of the map only a days sailing away from Bodo. This year we are offering a variety of 8, 10 and 11 night sailing holidays. The 8 night sailing holiday we will visit the south side of the Lofoten Islands, the longer 10 and 11 night sailing holidays also give us the chance to visit the north side of the islands. The Lofoten Islands are situated at approx 66 degrees north and at this time of year we will have 24 hour daylight. There is plenty of intricate navigation here as we weave our way amongst the rocks but with no dark and not much tide to worry about our sailing days are not limited.

We are happy to take people of all levels from beginners to experienced sailors on any of our sailing holidays. We do not offer courses, but are on hand to encourage you to put into practice what you already know and give you more experience. We can also coach you in new skills. Our trips in the Lofoten Islands are a good ‘next step’ for people newly qualified from Day Skipper courses or who want something similar to Flotilla sailing. They are also an opportunity for Yachtmasters to broaden their experience, practice intircate navigation and learn more about sailing larger yachts. The Lofoten Islands are a great place for beginners also. Learn to sail in spectacular surroundings.

As well as our day sailing adventures in the Lofoten Islands there will be three milebuilding sails in Norway. North to Norway (red route), Bodo to Kristiansund (yellow route) and Kristiansund to Plymouth (purple route)