About UNKNOWNSAILING
AN UPDATE ON A YEAR OF TWO HALVES!
4 SUPERB SAIL WEEKS BETWEEN JANUARY AND JUNE WERE
MADE WITH BOTH NEW FRIENDS AND REPEAT UNKNOWNSAILORS.
THE EVIDENCE IS HERE
SINCE THE SUMMER THOUGH. I HAVE NOT BEEN WELL ENOUGH TO DO ANY TRAVELLING. MY HEALTH IS IMPROVING. SO I HOPE TO RESUME UNKNOWNSAILING SOME TIME IN 2024.
WISHING YOU ALL A HAPPY AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR!
Julian
Hi and welcome to my UnknownSailing website.
My name is Julian Lloyd-Hitt.
I have just retired from work as a Boeing Captain. Much of the time I like to be sailing. If this can be done somewhere warm with new friends then so much the better. My family can only do one week a year so the rest of the time is available for other people, like you!
I have bought a 43' catamaran off Dream Yachts on their leaseback purchase scheme. She is an amazing craft. Check out Bali4.3 review.
We use these or Lagoons or FontainPajot of similar size.
The advantages of the catamaran are basically those of space. Plenty of it, whether sitting around a table both inside and out and all above the waterline to enjoy the views or sunbathing on the extensive surface areas.
For the next few years I have an allocation of points to enable use of a similar catamaran or monohull anywhere in the world where Dream have a base. This ranges from several Mediterranean countries to the Caribbean, the Seychelles, Mexico, SE Asia, Australia, French Polynesia.
It is easy relaxed daytime sailing. Evenings are spent at anchor/mooring ball in lovely sheltered bays with a drink, chat, card games, swim etc.
Whatever boat we use it is provided and prepared just as it would be if you were chartering a bareboat at the commercial fee. There will be several trips done each year. If the idea of relaxed sailing with new friends appeals, contact me direct at
unknownsailing@hotmail.co.uk (note co.uk).
You can see the evidence of past enjoyable trips at
unknownsailing.smugmug.com
I hope you will consider joining one!
FAQs
UNKNOWN SAILING FAQs
WHAT DOES IT COST? It can be as low as £38pppd as £76/day provides for a double cabin for use by one or two persons. There is also a £20pppd initial cost which covers both the boat insurance and the fees and taxes I will have already paid to secure the boat cleaned and provided with bedding and towels etc. This is paid to me before the trip and after you have seen confirmation that the boat is booked. This enables me to put you on the crew list with Dream. Once on the boat, all of us contribute equally to a kitty. There is, of course, the cost of flights and travel insurance for you to pay for yourself. A boat like these I use would charter out at £Ks/week but I get it for nearly "free” by using my owner points. This provides the benefit for all of us.
WHAT DOES THE KITTY COVER? We provision the boat ourselves from the marina shop or a nearby supermarket with the kitty we create on the boat. This also will cover the diesel fuel use at the end of the trip. We usually have most of the meals on the boat which is fun and keeps the costs down.
INSURANCE. Boat covered as per above.
All must have personal travel insurance.
DO WE TRAVEL ON SAME FLIGHTS? Not necessarily. It may be more convenient for some to travel direct from other than the London airports which suit me. We can either meet for the first time at the departure airport or the arrival one or the boat whichever is the more practical.
TRANSFER AIRPORT TO MARINA. Airport taxi.
EXPERIENCE NEEDED? None is vital but some is preferable. It is a good idea if you have actually been on a yacht before and experienced and enjoyed sailing. We nearly always use catamarans which remain more upright than monohulls sailing across wind. And they have so much more space too. Much more comfortable all round.
I will ensure that there is at least one other person with a good level of experience on each trip.
YOUR EXPERIENCE? I’ve done RYA Coastal Skipper and a SailQuest IYT(American/International) course completed in Thailand with SailingSchoolAsia.
I’ve also done many bareboat and flotilla holidays over the years.
CAN I SKIPPER? Yes! Please do if you have the confidence and ability. The idea is that we all share the tasks as much as we wish to do so from skippering to deckhand and from efforts in the galley to sunbathing! This is not a “skippered” charter. It is a group of friends all making up a crew together.
WHAT IF YOU CANCEL? I am normally obliged to be on board as the shareholder. It is also possible to recruit in a Dream Skipper for bareboat bookings which would enable a holiday to continue if I were to become unavailable. This is not even remotely likely and I would stand the skipper cost in this very unlikely event. WHAT IF I HAVE TO CANCEL? Well it hasn't happened yet so don't be the first! I aim to be flexible on this as after all we are friends. It really depends on the amount of notice given and whether I can recruit someone else in to take your place.
LATE NOTICE TRIPS. I have an allocation of long term prebook opportunities and also an equal amount of shorter notice ones. The definition of the latter is 10 days before trips, but from a month or so ahead I will have a good idea of the likelihood of availability remaining the case and will keep all interested parties informed. I anticipate the prebooks will be weighted toward far off trips so that people can advance book the longer flights and get them at reasonable rates. As there are so many Dream boats in the Mediterranean at a multiple of bases there will always a choice of somewhere to go for in any late notice bookings I make. I liase with Dream from about a month before to get a feel for availability. It will then be a balance between destinations desired and flight costs. In fact as I am eligible for the larger boats there is always the additional possibility of smaller boat availability so that is another option depending on our numbers. We focus in on 2 or 3 options. I then check again for boats and flights, email/ring to agree with all concerned and then I book (advising Dream of names and passport details) and pay for the boat (handover fee and insurance) and pay for my flights and you book and pay for your flights and then we all email each other to confirm done. I will email everyone on the trip with the Dream booking document listing names. If it sounds complicated don’t worry, it isn’t. I do all the organising.
WHAT ABOUT A FORTNIGHT? Very possible, maybe even longer, especially on long haul destinations. If you only have a week of time spare it may be possible to fit you in to a longer duration trip. Also many people choose to add on their own arranged shore based time for before or after a sail trip. In fact a 9 or 10 day sail trip has proven very popular for some destinations with people then often adding on their own previous/subsequent shore based adventures.
SINGLES OR COUPLES, FRIENDS? All welcome of course. Mix of male and females on board works well.
AGE RANGE? No children. In practice has been 20s to 70s.
IS THERE A CATCH? I know it sounds too good to be true but no there isn’t! What I can say is that I can look back on all my share a yacht holidays with pleasure and I look forward to a whole lot more. Again, have a look at the happy results at
unknownsailing.smugmug.com or click link below.