Channel
crossing to France Sept 2009: "Andrew and
I enjoyed the 3 day sail with you very much indeed. ...Thank you very much
again for such a wonderful sail and for all the
very efficient catering, cleanliness and facilities you provided."
Channel crossing to France Aug 2009: "Just a note to say thank you again for a great weekend. India and I enjoyed it very much and you have been a great host. We will happily recommend Christchurch Yachting to other people".
RYA Day Skipper practical course July 2009: ".Many thanks to Dave and yourself in making my 5 days yachting an unforgetable experience for all the right reasons.Thoroughly enjoyable for all the crew."
RYA Day
Skipper practical course April 2009:
"..As a single Mother of four children the time when they
are with their Father becomes 'Me Time'. 'Me Time' if there was ever a phrase
to make one feel guilty it is 'Me Time'. However, I know first hand the effort
involved in meeting the timetables and deadlines of school, college and home
life. Consequently, 'Me Time' becomes Mums Escape Time.
And so I was glad 'Me Time ' had found me over the Easter weekend. No going
to church, no Easter egg hunt just me doing what I had often thought of doing
but never actually quite making the effort to complete ....I answered the
call of the sea.
I enrolled on a Practise Sailing Course in the South of England. No, not so
close to the sea as to embrace it with a dinghy, no, I wanted a certain amount
of comfort and a certain amount of style. This was to be sailing on a 32ft
Beneteau yacht in Dorset. (in fact only a mile or two from my home).
This was a chance to learn a new skill, a chance to understand the concept
of setting the sails, a chance to take a first step toward a flotilla holiday.
I was blessed with the most patient of RYA instructors and crew members from
all different walks of life. There was a camaradarie amongst us. No matter
how trivial the question, and no matter how many times it was asked the positive
response was enough to billow the sails and send the yacht forth to the Isle
of Wight without the predicted force 4 wind.
The night sails, the mooring of the boat, and the time endured for passage
planning brought us all closer together for the five days in close quarters.
The challenge of catching charts as they swung across the table below deck,
whilst my fellow sailors tacked to see who could achieve the fastest knots
out of the close reach left me swaying.
Not swaying to the rhythm of the boat but swaying to the rhythm of life, of
team work and of team fun. We were all in the same boat, we were all dependant
on each others efforts.
At times when the wind was less favourable we had to motor the yacht. But
the moment she blew, the engine was made redundant, there was a wave of serene
peace. Peace where the wind whispered as we glided through the channel.
To be able to observe the world at a slower pace, to relinquish the traffic
congestion for the crest of a wave.
And my reply to the call of the sea...I will ask her if I can embrace and
share in the element so mighty and imposing. 'Me Time' is an enlightenment,
a time of new beginnings.. that start just outside my door, but every journey
begins with a first step!.."
RYA Day
Skipper practical course October 2008:
Was the teaching style good?
"Yes – excellent and we all felt that this was
what made the course. We were allowed to make mistakes and where necessary
these were highlighted and corrected but without having every last detail
picked up which would have been demoralising."
Was the food good? "Yes
– very tasty!"
What was the worst thing about the course?
"We genuinely could not come up with anything despite
our best efforts! "
RYA Day
Skipper practical course September 2008:
"Thank you very much for your un-ending patience throughout
the Day Skipper's course I've just completed. You managed to tactfully remind
me of the subject areas about which myknowledge was 'slightly' less than perfect
without every once making me feel stupid. Your coaching style of getting us
to think through what the issue might be rather than just telling us the answer
worked really well - I feel I learnt a lot and the whole thing has made me
really keen to get out sailing again as soon as I can. Thanks again John I
really enjoyed it!.."
RYA Day Skipper
practical course April 2008:
"Did
the instructor make the course interesting? 10 Yes. This is a genuine 10.
We found the course extremely enlightening.
Was the teaching style good? 10 Again a genuine mark as you impressed us with
your skill in teaching that was matched with tact and diplomacy on several
occasions. Your style
was completely succesful in getting the subject across to us"
" Our comments above are very genuinely meant and as we have
both had extensive
experience in evaluating people in the workplace then we do not give out
such comments lightly.... We would not hesitate in recommending your courses
to others and would also like to take the opportunity of wishing you well
in your business ventures in the future....."
RYA Day Skipper
practical course April 2008:
"Dear John,
I thought I would write a note to express my great appreciation for the course
last week. It was a very good experience, and I was so relieved that I managed
to cope with it all. I feel well set up for Greece next month and feel much
more confident about it. I am finding now that the written material is so
much more meaningful and easy to picture, now that I have renewed 'hands-on'
experience.
You were so patient with us and affirming, even when we did not really deserve
it! I appreciated your gentle and thoughtful way of getting us to try again
at things that didn't go right the first time. I never felt under pressure
from you, only from my own impatience with myself!.."
RYA Competent Crew practical course April 2008: "...One of the best things i have done, thank you for the experience...."
RYA Coastal Skipper examination preparation course October 2007: "Thank so much for getting me through coastal skipper, I learnt a huge amount, from you, in the 4 days before the exam and would never have got through without your patience, and your skills as a coach, not to mention your determination to see us pass!.."
RYA Day Skipper practical course September 2007: "Was the teaching style good? Excellent, always calm, constructive and patient."
RYA Day Skipper practical course July 2007: "Hi John, I thoroughly enjoyed the course and congratulate you on being able to make learning such a pleasurable experience.......".
RYA Day Skipper practical course July 2007: "Hi John, Just a quick note to say thanks so much for a fabulous Day Skipper practical course. It was such a great learning experience and with your calm, thorough, detailed approach, it was exactly the environment we needed. Carol and I really enjoyed it (despite some challenges that she managed to get through!), and have come away feeling that we learnt so much in the week and feel much more confident in many areas......."
Channel Isles cruise July 2007: "Hi John, thanks so much I had a great time......."
RYA Day Skipper
practical course May 2007:
"Hi
John, I promised to send you more feedback because
I wanted to praise David. I found him extremely knowledgeable with
the ability to impart that information in a way that is very practical. His
patience and great humour
greatly enhanced the enjoyment of the last two weekends. I don't
think he realises how good an instructor he is!..."
RYA Coastal Skipper practical course May 2007: "Hi John,.......Just wanted to thank you very very much for a great trip to France. We both learned loads and really benefited from your time......."
RYA Day Skipper practical course May 2007: "Dear John, I have just returned from my Day Skipper course and would like to thank you for its organization. The boat was well victualed, the instructor, Neill, was exemplary and there was an excellent team spirit amongst the participants. I would not hesitate to recommend Christchurch Yachting."
RYA Competent Crew practical course May 2007: "Hi John, Firstly, thanks for an excellent Comp Crew course. Carol and I had an excellent few days with Neill and the Day Skippers. We have come away feeling very confident and excited about the future of our sailing. The course also dispelled many concerns that Carol had regarding sailing larger boats; indeed she seemed to be the best helm on the boat (Neill excepted of course!)! Mention should be made of Neill; he is an excellent instructor with a clear wealth of experience that makes learning from him a great experience. Venus is a lovely boat as well; Carol has already said that an Oceanis 311 should be our first boat!! "
RYA Day Skipper practical course April 2007: "Dear John, I would like to say a big thank you for the recent day skipper course. I felt I learned a huge amount, visited lots of different harbours and it was interesting to sail a different yacht. It has also confirmed to me that I would benefit from more sailing to further improve my sail handling and berthing techniques! Everyone commented on what a great instructor you are and how calm you remain at all times....."
RYA Start Yachting
practical course April 2007: "Dear John, I've just
recently completed the Start Yachting course and it was a fantastic weekend.
Neil was a superb instructor and his enthusiasm was very evident.
I didn't realise that I would cover so much ground in just a weekend, and
really feel that I got a very real sense of what Sailing is about.
I have now decided that Sailing will be my main leisure activity in the future....."
RYA Coastal Skipper
practical course April 2007: "Dear John, Thank you
so much for arranging my RYA/MCA Costal Skipper preparation course and exam
last week. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I went into the course with all the required experience (according to the
RYA log book) and thought that I knew it all: I just wanted to brush up my
sailing skills and pick up a few pointers for passing the exam. What a fool
I was! I learnt far more in the first three days of this course than I did
in the last three years of sailing!
Doug is an outstanding instructor: he was able to set all of us tasks that
stretched our abilities, let us attempt our own solutions (provided that they
weren’t too dangerous!) and then debrief us and suggest an alternative
technique that we might like to try next time. Slowly but surely, our techniques
improved as we simply learnt from our own mistakes and benefited from Doug’s
wisdom and years of experience.
A few other sailing schools have taught me on my way up to becoming a Costal
Skipper. It’s been a few, because on each occasion I decided that I
didn’t want to sail with them ever again! I’ve just recommended
Christchurch Yachting to a friend who is considering taking a Yachtmaster
exam and I would thoroughly recommend Christchurch Yachting to anybody considering
any sailing course, whatever their level of ability.
Best Regards
Ken..."
RYA Competent Crew practical course October 2006:
What was the best thing about the course? > "John's very patient and unflappable style of skippering and teaching. Due to this, there was never a moment - even in some rough conditions - where I felt unsafe, unsure of being on the boat or stupid for making a miskate. It is great to be sailing with someone who can show achievement of all the relevant qualifications...."
What was the worst thing about the course? "Nothing, it was all excellent..."
Would you recommend your friends to do the course with Christchurch Yachting? >"Yes, without hesitation."
RYA Competent Crew practical course October 2006: "A fabulous week had by all, admittedly with fabulous sailing conditions. Indeed, the last days reality check of mist and rain did not dampen my enjoyment. I have no hesitation in recommending this thoroughly enjoyable and well instructed course with John at Christchurch Yachting...."
RYA Start Yachting practical course September 2006: "I really enjoyed my sailing weekend and would like to thank you for a professional yet relaxed experience...."
Cowes Week 2003: "....A belated "thank you" for a great day at Cowes. Lucy had a memorable experience and we all had a wonderful time.....Howard"
RYA Competent Crew practical course August 2006: "Many thanks for the Competent Crew course. Both of us enjoyed the experience thoroughly.............Should i wish to take on further education with regards to navigation then i won't hesitate to contact you."
RYA Start Yachting practical course August 2006: "....The course was tremendous and thoroughly enjoyable. We all had a great time.........thank you for a very interesting and enjoyable few days."
RYA Start Yachting practical course August 2006: " The yacht was both comfotable and suitable for us as absolute novices to experience sailing. We both enjoyed the course and your style of teaching made learning the necessary terms and techniques possible without feeling we were constantly on assessment. The two of us have managed to retain a lot of what we learnt......If in UK we would definitely be completing our course with you and would happily recommend you to others....."
Skippered charter day June 2006: " Thank you on behalf of us all. You provided us with a full and interesting day.......The day not only lived up to, but exceeded my expectations...."
Skippered charter half-day April 2006: " Just a quick e-mail to say thank you for the wonderful morning spent on your yacht on Sunday. Even though the wind left us towards the end, both Kerry and Charlotte really enjoyed themselves, and want to come back and sail again....."
Skippered charter day April 2006: " Just wanted to drop you an email to thank you for a great day's sailing last weekend. Tessa really enjoyed it and that was the main aim. Thanks for your clear instructions and the chance to get involved on the boat......"
RYA Day Skipper practical course March 2006: "Firstly may I thank you for a fantastic 3 days with you last week. I have been asked by many friends if the weekend was good and I can honestly say that I would be hard pressed to find anything that I would have wanted to be changed. Compliments to your wife as well for her excellent cooking and cakes......"
Corporate day October 2005: "We had a great day and thoroughly enjoyed our first sailing experience...."
RYA Competent Crew practical course October 2005: " John, many thanks for a great weekend, which was most enlghtening, we seemed to deal with so many aspects, which have made my bookwork fall into place, I am pleased to have experienced some rough weather with such a good skipper and crew, it was an all round terrific experience........."
Skippered charter day October 2005: "Thanks very much for the sailing day - we had a great time!....."
RYA Day Skipper practical course July 2005: " ......I am most complementry about all aspects of the course, I for one had a really enjoyable five days sailing. Thank you."
Skippered charter July 2005: "Hi John, We thoroughly enjoyed our midweek skippered charter with you last month. The conditions were just perfect & with your expert guidance we felt confident with both the navigation & the helm control. Hopefully you had as relaxing a time as we did! We enjoyed your company and appreciated all the catering you did. I won't go on about the cakes, suffice to say they were great as usual...."
Individual tuition July 2005: "Dear John, Thank you so much for your patient and expertise Sailing Lesson of last week. It is amazing how much diference even that one lesson has made to our enjoyment and competancy of our sailing. When one has 'been afloat' for many years, one does not realize, or forgets the finer points of sailing. Thank you for bringing them to our notice in such a gentle way. Where we might have thought of giving up sailing at our more advanced age, we are now invigorated, renewed and ready for the challenges. Many thanks,..........."
Skippered charter July 2005: "Thank you John.........We had a fantastic time on the yacht. We have some beautiful memories on video ............"
Skippered charter weekend, for 13 clients on 2 yachts July 2005: "Hello John,...........Again, thank you very much for the fantastic weekend!......."
Cross-channel cruise June 2005: "Thank you for looking after us so well to and from Alderney. We both enjoyed the trip and learnt a lot...............The sausage casserole and cakes were excellent. Best Wishes..."
Cross-channel cruise June 2005: "Thanks for a good trip. It was much harder than I expected but it was still a good experience......... The cakes were excellent! My compliments to the chef......."
RYA Day Skipper practical course June 2005: " I would like to say that at all times at all locations visited and conditions encountered I at no time felt that we were at any risk which is a credit to your expertise, experience and teaching methods. It reinforced my thoughts that I do want to continue to learn through the recommended routes. I particularly enjoyed the amount and variety of sailing and locations. I was also impressed by the trust you put in us and let us learn from our mistakes and by explaining what we should have done to avoid it................... Oh yes and the cakes ! I thoroughly enjoyed the five days and look forward to the next trip.
RYA Day Skipper practical course June 2005: "..... What was the best thing about the course? > Sailing and knowing what was going on and the company. Your wife's bakewell tart. Was the teaching style good? > Very good very calm and patient. John I had a great time. Thank you."
RYA Day Skipper practical course June 2005: " Even better than our competent crew course, and we really enjoyed that. Thanks once again for a superb course. I'm really glad we did the theory course first, otherwise I think we would have found the navigation tough going........".
RYA Competent Crew practical course June 2005: "..Dear John, I wanted to say a big 'thank you' for running such an excellent Competent Crew course. I thoroughly enjoyed the 5 days - your patience, relaxed manner was much appreciated, as was the wonderful food (your wife should be given an award for her amazing cakes!) I can't wait to get back on the water to try out my new skills, Best Wishes, Victoria.
Corporate day for 14 clients on 2 yachts for Selenia Ltd June 2005: "I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for a great day out. Everybody enjoyed themselves and would definitely like to "do it again". I have already passed your details on to a couple of the participants and would have no hesitation in recommending you to third parties. Both you and Clive provided an excellent service yesterday and hopefully I will get the opportunity to book another event with you in the future. Perhaps next time it would be possible to do a bit more fishing, maybe having a barbecue at lunch time or in the evening with the "catch" as the main course! The catering was excellent, although possibly a few more beers would have been welcome. The organisation was exactly what we required from a team event, with everyone learning something new. I think we have come back as a more unified team. A 10 out of 10 is definitely in order......"
Round The Island Race 2005: "... I really did enjoy the week-end, everything was well organised and I can't think of anything that you could have done to improve it..."
RYA Competent Crew practical course June 2005: "..... A truly fantastic course that taught me so much from the basics to navigational skills at night in just 5 days. The way the course was delivered made learning easy and fun and John's years of experience and knowledge showed throughout the course. Any question that were asked John confidently explained and answered no matter how trivial the question may have seemed. Johns professionalism for sailing is a credit to his school and his passion for sailing showed throughout the course. I will without doubt only use Christchurch Yachting for future courses and recommend anyone else considering doing a course to book with CY as the tuition, expertise and personal care and attention is second to none - CY is not like any other school, it offers a personal service that often the larger "production line schools" fail to offer. The extra special touches of the homemade cakes by Mrs Challener made the course even more special so a big thank-you - your cakes really do make a difference - and the Bakwell tart well 10 out of 10 absolutely scrumptious! Two days after the course I had the opportunity to go out crewing on a local boat and was a little nervous even though it was with a very experienced skipper. Just to let you know that the skipper was so impressed with my knowledge that I demonstrated out on the sail that I ended up crewing for his yacht for racing out of Poole Yacht club that same evening as he was a crew member down - a credit to you John as it is all your doing - you took me from knowing very little to being able to be a useful member of crew racing just one week later so need I say any more about how good your teaching is other than to say a huge thank you for so much and I look forward to seeing you soon for my Day Skipper theory"
RYA Day Skipper practical course May 2005: "An excellent course. Thank you for everything. Very very happy. Cakes and apple crumble a lovely bonus"
RYA Day Skipper shorebased course May 2005: ".....the course was excellent. I will definitely use Christchurch Yachting again."
Day cruise May 2005: "Dear John, Just a note to say thank you very much for such a splendid day-sail yesterday.The solid force 6,gusting 7(or even 8?) made for an exciting day. I was grateful for you allowing me to helm so much,especially on our return past Hurst.Fantastic! ............ thanks again for such a great day."
RYA Day Skipper practical course April 2005: "....Thank you very much for such an informative week. Feel we've learnt loads also thank you for your patience....."
RYA Day Skipper practical course April 2005: "I cannot fault Cath, both her teaching style and her personality were perfect!"
RYA Day Skipper practical Ladies-only course April 2005: "Cath is brilliant - so encouraging and positive - we had fun and learned loads - couldn't have been better. Excellent for those of us who doubted our confidence. Superb"
RYA Day Skipper practical Ladies-only course April 2005: "Really impressed with Cath, so quickly picked up and managed the groups different needs and prioritised so well, particularly with our confidence for example."
RYA Day Skipper practical Ladies-only course April 2005: "This is a quick thankyou for giving us such a brilliant instructor for the 'ladies only course!' Cath was really super at getting us to do all the things necessary to help us achieve the day skipper I found she gave me real confidence , calm instruction and motivation, I am so pleased that I came.......I feel your boat is ideally suited for the course............... ps: Loved the apple crumble too........"
RYA Day Skipper practical Ladies-only course April 2005: " I would like to take this opportunity to tell you that I was very happy with the course......Cath was a brilliant leader and I think all of us enjoyed the course more because it was 'all girls' and we could do things at our own pace......."
RYA Competent Crew practical course March 2005: "...We found the course thoroughly enjoyable and we were very impressed with your professionalism. We felt very safe at all times and could not have wished for a more competent or patient instructor..........we look forward to seeing you again in the near future..."
RYA Day Skipper practical course November 2004:"I just wanted to drop you a quick note to say thank you to Cath and yourself for a very enjoyable two weekends of instruction. Given my previous experience, it was refreshing to be instructed in such a knowledgeable and easy going manner whilst at the same time getting to grips with the more complex aspects of sailing. Apologies for eating you out of house and home !! but you'll be pleased to know that I will be recommending Christchurch Yachting to everyone I bore with my "Day Skipper" tales."..Nick
RYA Competent Crew practical course October 2004: "John, Thanks for a very enjoyable week sailing I thoroughly enjoyed it and have learnt an great deal, thanks to your tuition..........Thanks again for a great week of sailing. Peter"
RYA Competent Crew practical course September 2004: "John we really did enjoy the course - many thanks - feel a lot more confident now....."
RYA Competent Crew practical course August 2004: "...Just a quick note to say thanks again for a good weeks sailing. It was a great experience and has really fired my enthusiasm to do more in the future. Your relaxed style was also very much appreciated!..." Graham
RYA Day Skipper practical course August 2004: "...Thank you very much for the course. We all enjoyed ourselves and learned a great deal. The teaching was very good and the meals were wonderful.....Guy"
RYA Competent Crew practical course August 2004: "...Once again thank you very much for an excellent course, brilliant company and some great sailing, not forgetting Mrs Challener's cakes - excellent...... Best wishes - Brian.
RYA Competent Crew practical course August 2004: "Hello John I'm sorry we never got around to thanking you for everything you did for us on our Competent Crew course. Both Mark and I really enjoyed ourselves. It gave us both a much clearer idea of what sailing was about and left us enthusiastic to do more. You and Cath were very good teachers.........., you should definitely ask your wife to have a "Ideal Cakes for Sailing Recipe" section on your website. Delicious! Please thank her, it's touches like that that makes sailing with you so much more appealing than one of these awful industrial sailing schools.......".Alex and Mark
Bareboat charter June 2004: "We all had a great time and were very impressed at the state and spec of the boat......Don"
RYA Day Skipper practical course June 2004: "I did a few sailing courses about 3 years ago but your course is by far the best - both best in knowledge gained and best value for money (number of hours sailing and especially the night sailing). Your manner and patience as a teacher is excellent."
RYA Start Yachting practical course June 2004: "....thanks for an excellent Start Yachting course, very enjoyable (and challenging at times!). We would like to continue with the Competent Crew course...........Heath and Margaretta"
Day Cruise June 2004: "....It was a lovely day with good company and plenty to see and do".
Round The Island Race 2004: "....thanks a million for a great weekend. The feedback I have had from the guys is 100%, they all thoroughly enjoyed themselves".
RYA Day Skipper shorebased course May 2004: "The course was excellent and I can't think of anything that would improve upon it"
RYA Competent Crew practical course May 2004: " ...I really enjoyed the course last weekend. You are an excellent teacher…..very patient and very thorough. I learned a lot over the two days and I know that, having seen the practical side of things, reading the theory notes makes a lot more sense now. The night sails were a great experience......Thanks again..... Gráinne"
RYA Day Skipper and Competent Crew course, March 2004: "..all boxes ticked.."
Round The Island Race 2003: "......Thanks for ensuring we all had a good time, John, and please thank Mrs Challener for those delicious cakes........Peter"
Round The Island Race 2003: "....Had a really enjoyable time, and gained some good experience......Together with your hospitality, experience, the crew (who were great guys) and our finishing place ended the weekend on a high........Derek"
Corporate sail for BP plc. "....Many thanks for a well organised and enjoyable day. My colleagues had great fun..........Jim"
Hen Party, June 2003: ".......Once again many thanks for a lovely day, all the girls said that they thoughly enjoyed themselves....Tracey"
..
