Can I come on my own?
At least 50% of our customers come on their own though you will soon make new friends when you arrive.
Do we sleep on the boat?
Yes for sailing courses and cruises, accommodation is provided onboard the yachts. You will need to bring a sleeping bag and pillow with you as bedding is not normally provided.
When does the course start?
Courses to commence 0900 on the Monday morning; in certain circumstances and subject to availability Sunday arrival after 8pm might be possible.
What happens if the weather is bad?
As long as it is safe to sail we will carry on. Holyhead Bay and the Menai Straits provide an excellent bases for heavy weather training as we have the bay to play in and can duck back into the marina if conditions worsen.
What clothing should I bring?
Bring warm clothes such as fleece tops, jerseys, track suit bottoms or corduroys. Jeans are fine for evening wear but not practical for sailing as they attract the damp and provide no warmth. It is wise to bring a hat, scarf and gloves and if you are coming in the warmer months please remember sun glasses and sun screen as it is easy to burn without noticing out on the water. Other items to bring are towel, toiletries, notepad and any regular medication you usually take.
What about sea sickness?
We strongly recommend that you bring your own tablets in case you get a bit queasy whilst onboard. The most popular tablets amongst our crews are Dramamine and Stugeron – please check with your doctor if you are at all concerned about taking these. The yachts do carry a small amount of tablets as a back up in case anyone runs out. Another popular prevention is to wear travel bands – these work – on acupressure points and have proved very effective in the prevention of motion sickness. Hopefully you will be fine; very few people find that they suffer badly from this.
Do we come back to harbour each night?
No, the aim is to sail to different places to give you a variety of mooring situations as well as a change of scenery. In the evenings there is usually the opportunity to stretch your legs ashore after the evening meal onboard.
What washing facilities are there?
Shantih has two separate heads compartments with hot running water where you can have a wash or shower in privacy. Our home port and all but one of our local ports of call have shower facilities ashore – most are free – a nominal fee of £1/£2 is charged in others.
What food is provided?
We pride ourselves in providing good quality food and receive many compliments from students on our standards of catering. We will do our best to cater for special diets as long as you give advance notice of your requirements.
Breakfasts – We cater for breakfast each day with cereals, muesli or porridge, toast and fruit juice.
Lunches – We generally have sandwich lunches with fruit and cake as this is quite often eaten on the move.
Evening meals – are prepared with fresh ingredients wherever possible. We also provide soups and some deserts.
Frying bacon, sausages etc on board is not permitted
Alcohol
A lot of our clients like to bring along wine or beer to accompany the evening meal. We have no objections to this whatsoever – in fact it’s very pleasant!
Most evenings we will be moored alongside at a harbour or marina and the opportunity is there to stretch your legs and visit the local watering hole.
This said, we must insist that you do not drink alcohol whilst sailing as this will endanger you and the other crew members.