Straits Sailing Overview
Visit our website for more details here http://www.straits-sail.com.

We now operate 4 sailing yachts, and one motor yacht.

Jeanneau 45.1 (Summer Breeze) used for our Caribbean courses/charter over the winter and charter/tuition in Gibraltar in the summer. [July to October]

Desert Star a Jeanneau 37, Bombay Sapphire a Jeanneau 40 and Stellar a Bavaria 36, all available for tuition and charter in Gibraltar year round

Our Motor yacht is a Trader 44 called Tregony.

All our courses are 5 days starting on a Sunday evening at 6pm and finishing Friday afternoon approx 5pm.  We sail Monday through to Friday. All meals, snacks, tea/coffee etc are inclusive, with the exception of three evening meals, as students often prefer to eat out and sample the local cuisine.

We are holding course prices for 2008 the same as last year. All courses are  £475.00 low season (Oct to Feb) and £490.00 high season (Mar to Sept).

We are happy to accept credit card bookings and require only a £50 deposit per person. We will hold vacancies for 14 days. For anyone who has sailed with us before, we offer a 10% discount and also for couples sharing a cabin. We prefer balances by UK check although we will take credit cards but please note they do incur a 4% surcharge

We are happy to quote for groups and will ‘lock out’ the whole yacht to a group of four or more. Wet weather clothing is available on free loan.

Weather permitting we try and run as many courses as we can to the west of Gibraltar, going as far as Cadiz whenever possible. On our two-week courses we often go as far as Seville [usually in May and September]. Although the first day of the course is spent in and around Gibraltar we always leave on a Monday, spend at least 4 nights away from base and giving you the most varied itinerary possible. We return to base on Friday afternoon. We consider ourselves to be the more adventurous of the local schools. We simply try to do more.

Insurance - Bishops Skinner Boat Insurance is recommended by the RYA, telephone number is 0800 783 8057 or visit them online www.bishopskinner.com

If you have any further questions or need help please get in touch. We look forward to sailing with you.

Regards

Colin Thomas

Principal

JOINING INSTRUCTIONS

All courses begin on a Sunday evening.

The ideal flight would arrive in Gibraltar on Sunday.  Flights are available into Gibraltar from London-Gatwick and Luton with Easyjet, Monarch and BA, we have heard that Monarch will be recommencing flights from Manchester to Gib from September/October.  Flights to Malaga are available from all over the UK daily and are mainly charter flights. 

Should your flights not match your sailing dates Gibraltar has many fine Hotels .

Caleta Hotel   Eliott Hotel     Rock Hotel    

In La Linea The Iberostar hotel is located looking over the Straits of Gibraltar and is roughly a fifteen minute walk from us. www.iberostar.com

There is also a boat situated in the Marina called Con Dios, the accommodation price is £25 per person per night, breakfast is not included.  There telephone number is 00350 200 50755 and email address is: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Our meeting point is the Straits Sailing office, which is in 10 The Square, Marina Bay, Tel: 00350 200 51372 on Sunday evening. 

From Gibraltar airport:

When arriving in Gibraltar the easiest way to reach Marina Bay is by taxi.  The ride is only about 3 minutes and the fare should be around £4/5 (legal tender in Gibraltar is pounds sterling). Taxi’s can usually be found at the taxi rank on the opposite side of the road to the arrival hall about 30m to your right just this side of the border.  Alternatively you can call for one on 70027. Although if you want to walk this will take no longer than ten minutes. Walk over the runway to the first roundabout then take your first right. You will walk past a stadium on your right and a school on your left. When you get to the BMW showroom you have arrived in Marina Bay!  If you walk into the car park with the showroom on you right walk straight ahead and look up, you will see in big blue letters “THE SQUARE” Walk towards these and our gate is on the left, Welcome to Straits Sailing.

From Malaga Airport:

The easiest and cheapest way to Gibraltar is by bus.  You can either catch a bus from the airport to Malaga bus station (Estacion Autobus) or there is a metro train from the airport terminal to Fuengirola. It is about a 200m walk from the airport terminal over a pedestrian bridge to the train station (take your luggage trolley with you). Trains to Fuerengirola run about every 20 mins. At Fuengirola it is only a short walk to the bus station (Estacion Autobus).  The bus to La Linea (Gibraltar) starts at Malaga but stops at Fuengirola. The fare is about 8 Euros (£6) and you ask to go to La Linea.  Buses to La Linea leave Malaga bus station at 07.00, 10.15, 14.00 and 17.00hrs local time (extra bus at 19:00 on Sundays) passing through Fuengirola about 30 minutes later.

We can organize for you to be collected from Malaga airport by private taxi, which will cost you about 70euro each way depending upon the size of the group.

As you approach the bus station in La Linea you should be able to see “The Rock of Gibraltar” As you exit the bus station [exit is on to a small roundabout] you should turn left and then walk towards the Rock, this will lead you straight to the frontier where you will need to show your passport and pass through customs.  You will find a taxi rank immediately as you exit the customs building or having sat on the bus for two hours or so it’s only a ten-minute walk to Marina Bay. Follow our earlier instructions to Marina bay.

We do provide wet weather jacket and trousers as well as bedding so all you need to bring is your own personal items including towel, high factor sun block/aftersun and perhaps insect repellent for the evenings.  If not bringing Wellington boots it is wise to bring a spare pair of shoes and a fleece is recommended for the evenings. Light weight long sleeved top and trousers are ideal for the summer months for those not used to the sun.

We look forward to meeting you and are sure you will have an enjoyable time.

NB. As some walking is involved we recommend soft luggage with wheels, but we can store suitcases in our office should this be required.

NB. Local time is UK time + 1 hour