Price List 2009

General information

The cost is inclusive of all meals taken on board.

Meals taken ashore are at your own expense. Marina / mooring fees are also a cost shared by guests.

Wet weather gear is not provided as part of the holiday cost but there are some spare oilskins on board which may be borrowed.

When making a reservation a deposit of £75 of the total cost is payable at the time of booking; the balance being payable 30 days in advance of the departure date. In the event of cancellation no refund will be made and you are advised to take the appropriate insurance. (Insurance can be made on your behalf - at additional cost - if you would like us to do so).

Booking Form

A printable booking form in PDF format is available here. Please print this form, fill it out and fax it back to 01425 618757 or return by post. Alternatively, please contact Nick by email or telephone. If you have trouble viewing this form, you may need to download the free Adobe acrobat reader.

This form is also available in MS word format.

Testimonials

Nick,

Well, what can I say? Just come off after a 3 day weekend and sitting at my office desk gently rolling back and forth on my seat while reflecting on our experiences.

Sail-Elixir is a wonderful stable but flighty boat which took us through moderate seas (Nick said they were light but to us landlubbers these growlers were huge) and Force 4-6 with absolute grace. Not once did I feel intimidated and was whooping with joy as we rode the chop off St Catherine’s Point. The contrast in scenery was stunning; an early morning vista of a gentle mist rising from the River Beaulieu, watching deer and spotting sea birds, or anchoring off the fairway in Chichester Harbour and spectating the freneticism of mixed class dinghy racing, or admiring the grandeur of Old Harry or the Needles from offshore.

Nick was the most patient and amiable teacher. I could swear his smile is glued on to his face and it never waivered, not even when I tried twice to bounce his beautiful boat off a channel buoy or marker. I had failed over many years to get my wife to take the helm and relax, but Nick succeeded; Day 1 Catherine was grimacing at the helm white-knuckled and jumping every time the depth alarm sounded as we motored out of the tranquil waters of the Beaulieu. By Day 3 she was at the helm relaxed and giggling as we bucked up and down with spray lashing over the boat where met headwind against tide chop coming out of Chichester Harbour – a brilliant transformation!

And as for the accommodation, it was like staying in a first class DB&B guest house. Ample space in a roomy warm boat (2 double berths available), large saloon, well designed cockpit and lots of lockers in- and outboard. Provisions were enough to feed a platoon; a hearty breakfast, good hand-grub for lunch, lashings of tea or coffee throughout, and Cordon Bleu cooking (e.g. moussaka or chicken chasseuse). The heads included hot shower facilities – bliss!

Will we come again? Most definitely – but next time for a longer passage. Sorry Nick, you’ll have to get larger fenders!

Regards

Ian

Hi Nick,

I expect we all went to bed last night knackered but with a sense of mutual relief that in our different ways we had all got to the end of this saga with the result we wanted!

Personally I've enjoyed getting to grips with the theory which all makes so much sense when applied practically. In that sense the last two days were invaluable having to really concentrate and work hard to put into practice all we knew. Although I'm probably the only person ever to have passed by successfully navigating to Bembridge via Seaview at least it was the Isle of Wight and not Ireland!! Joking apart I also learnt that one must spend more time on deck, use the GPS to monitor and confirm chart position and this is definitely what I will do in future. Most of the yachts I sail have a chart plotter fixed just ahead of the wheel and I can see how helpful this is.

Anyway Nick, take heart, future candidates will not be a couple of thick old buffers but bright and lovely young things who will learn quickly and hang on your every word! So it can only get better from your point of view from now on.

Thank you for your tolerance, warm hospitality and unfailing good humour in the face of unmitigated incompetence. If you can cope with us you'll cope with anybody.

Have a well deserved break and please give my very best wishes to Sue and of course Jonti Clews when you next speak to him. He was a very good examiner and I learnt a lot from him.

I'd like to sort out my chartplotter on my RIB before too long so would be grateful if we could find an hour or two to do that when your free.

Best regards,

David.

yes it was very enjoyable, and surprising weather..

you have a lovely boat - I came away very jealous and plotting plans for a "get away"...sometime in the future..

Thanks

Peter

Hi Nick..

Thanks for a great day yesterday. Fantastic weather, excellent lunch and good company...looking forward to doing this again!

Best regards

Simon

Just to say thank you so much for making today's sailing experience a pleasure. It was the first time I had been on a sailing boat and it was very reassuring to know that we were in such professional and capable hands. Thanks also for being so thoughtful throughout the day especially with special dietary requirements! We were extremely lucky with the weather and I am pleased to put a 'tick' next to my list of things I'd like to do before another birthday goes by!

Thanks again

Best Wishes

Tina

Nick,

Thanks very much, the photos are great.

We had such a fantastic day, we are still talking about it!

We will be in touch at some point to organise the day skipper course – all Rob has talked about since is buying a boat!

Thanks
Regards
Viv

I would like to say thank you a fantastic day out on the boat today. Excellent instruction, great presentation, great food and good company. It had been an ambition of mine to go out sailing for years so thank you for making the day a memorable one.

I've attached a copy of one of the photo's I took today.

Thanks once again.

Sam

Many thanks once again for all your help last week aboard ‘Elixir’, we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and benefitted enormously from the time spent with you. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend ‘Captain Bown’ to others interested in furthering their sailing experience.

All the best for the future

Clive & Philippa

Good pictures thank you. We really enjoyed the five days and learned a great deal. I would always be pleased to provide a reference for your day skipper course.

Regards
Paul

Nick,

Just a few words to say thank you so much for the Start Yachting Practical at the weekend. I had great fun, really good company, a superb boat to learn, on and be in and of course, you. I thought your calmness, humour, knowledge of sailing and being able to impart that to a beginner like myself, was brilliant and just what I was after. The whole experience from the initial dinghy to meet Elixir on that Friday evening through to Cowes and back again to Bucklers Hard will stay with me for years.

I propose taking the experience forward with local dinghy experience near to Reading where my two boys might get interested in it and I can really learn the basics of the craft before pursuing other five day courses later on and who knows what from then on. I still had my ‘sea legs’ on the Monday evening, so I think my body’s chemistry is about 18 hours behind, and what with the ‘mal de mer’ on Saturday afternoon I think Stugeron for the first few days might be prudent next time.

I wish you and Elixir well and I thoroughly recommend anyone to your boat and you for tuition on sailing, whether they be novice or otherwise.

All the best.

Peter Clare

Thanks once again for a really great weekend.

I have come away with much more confidence, greater knowledge of the boat and how to handle her, even in rough seas and a force seven! You are unfailingly polite, patient, and reassuring, so that even when I make the odd mistake I don't feel that I am a complete idiot, an absolute boon for all those people who hate to be shouted at!

The food on board was terrific, especially the organic eggs, smoked salmon,duck, asparagus, et al - a real gourmet menu.

Elixir is the best craft I have sailed in, with a really solid and safe feel to her, whilst being beautifully appointed and spacious below, and I really enjoyed overtaking most of the other boats on the Solent! I will be back for a 'second shot' as soon as I can organise it!

Jan Britton-Mosley

Our charter to France & the Channel Islands was outstanding. The boat is
well built and well fitted, handles with total predictability, and is a
pleasure. The layout makes for a comfortable trip whether on deck or
inside, and easy communication between outside helmsman & navigator, who can
use the large dining table as a chart table within sight of GPS, radar &
chartplotter. There are 3 double berth cabins, though for a long trip I'd
recommend limiting numbers to 5 including the skipper. In the saloon or on
deck there's stacks of room and comfort for 6.Nick, the skipper, is calm, capable, and ever-patient. Whatever your group, he'll fit in. Our charter was supposed to be just a fun-run, but we found ourselves learning anyway, and eventually asking for formal tuition for part
of the trip. Whatever our mistakes, we never felt foolish! If you want a
complete, safe & enjoyable experience, I can unreservedly recommend Nick &
Elixir.

Keith Ferguson

I'm still on a 'bit of a high' after a fantastic trip but I thought you would like to hear my thoughts about the learning experience aboard Elixir.
Elixir provides a real 'Rolls Royce' of a boat to learn on. She is very easy to sail and handle so, for a not very confident learner like me, she offers a safe and secure environment in which to learn. I did wonder how just having two of us would work but considering my reasons for doing the course (because I will normally be sailing with just one other person) it provided an ideal opportunity to learn how to manage this. I never really felt it was very difficult to cope even during the more tricky manoevers.
Your skills as a coach and trainer are exceptional. Your style very quickly helped give me the confidence to tackle things I found daunting and if I did get into difficulty you just turned the moment into another opportunity to learn. My confidence was further developed by your ability to work alongside me in a calm and outwardly very relaxed way as I knew that you were there to provide help if needed.
I'm astonished at the amount we covered in the time and just how much I learnt. Again your coaching skills meant that you created opportunties to re-inforce any learning by reviewing the experience and checking my understanding. You wouldn't let me get away with trying to ask you - I had to work it out for myself, which is a better way to learn (if much tougher on the grey cells).
Finally, you were great company to be with. With so much adrenaline rushing through my veins you showed great stamina as a listener too!! So, all in all, this was definately five days to remember and hopefully I will gain sufficient experience to tackle Coastal Skipper next year.

Carol Mason

I can thoroughly recommend our sailing day organised by Sail-Elixir. From the moment we stepped on board until our late night finish we were well & truly looked after. The food & drinks served up by the friendly but unobtrusive crew were top class. All of our party had a go at sailing the boat under tuition from our skipper Nick Bown. This luxury yacht is ideal for corporate activities as its configuration offers great flexibility for comfort above decks and below. We enjoyed a quality day at a competitive price and look forward to our next opportunity to get out on the water. We will certainly use them again.

Gary Ashworth
Executive Director Sun Microsystems

Last Updated - 27th February 2009