Blue Clipper
Tall Ship Sailing around the Globe
History OF The Blue Clipper
Tall Ship Blue Clipper was built in 1991 at Feab Marstrandsverken in Sweden. She was owned by the famous Brandy company Hennessy and named ‘Spirit of Hennessey.’ In 1872, the ship Alfred brought the first load of Cognac from France to Shanghai. In 1992, with the same name and painted white, Tall Ship Blue Clipper repeated this historic voyage. She has appeared in various TV programmes and TV commercials including the Trade Winds TV series starring Hugh Johnson. Following this, she went into private ownership and sailed in Mediterranean waters under a Maltese flag.
Maybe Sailing acquired the ship in 2016. After an extensive maintenance period the ship sailed to London to begin a 5 month tall ship Regatta, the 2017 Rendez-Vous. The ship was one of only four vessels to complete the whole race, travelling over 10,000 nautical miles visiting Portugal, the Canaries, Bermuda, USA, Canada and France. This Regatta was to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the Canadian Federation. It was an extremely successful regatta for Blue Clipper and her crew, placing either 1st or 2nd in four of the five race legs.
2018 marked a new chapter for the vessel, as she was repainted Blue and travelled North once more to visit the Arctic before heading to the Caribbean for some winter sunshine.
2019 sees Blue Clipper returning to the UK, heading up to Iceland before crossing the North Sea to spend the summer in Denmark, Norway and Sweden, participating in the International Tall Ship Races and exploring the Kattergat and Skagerrak.
About the ship
Blue Clipper is a three masted gaff rig schooner. This means that the sails are rigged to run from forward to aft along the length of the ship. There are 10 sails, with an area of 675m2. She has a steel hull and teak deck, steel masts and wooden booms/topmasts.
Below deck Blue Clipper has three main compartments. Furthest forward is the forepeak, with 4 trainee berths and 2 crew bunks. In midships we have the guest accommodation with 7 twin ensuite cabins. Furthest aft there is the crew quarters, with 4 twin cabins and shared bathroom. The engine room and lazarette are also located at the aft of the ship. At full capacity the ship can accommodate 28 people. The deckhouses are home to the galley, the saloon and the wheelhouse.
The ship usually sails with 8 crew, made up of experienced permanent crew and eager volunteers, wanting to put their sailing knowledge and experience to good use.
Life on board
Watches
Blue Clipper sails 24 hours a day. To enable the ship to operate safely and efficiently a three watch system is run at all times. We have Red, White and Blue watch. Watches are usually four hours long. The afternoon watch is split in two to enable a complete rotation of watches every three days. Please see below for an example watch system:
0000 – 0400 Red Watch
0400 – 0800 White Watch
0800 – 1200 Blue Watch
1200 – 1600 Red Watch
1600 – 1800 White Watch
1800 – 2000 Blue Watch
2000 – 0000 Red Watch
When on watch, it is the responsibility of the watch leader and their team to handle the safe navigation of the ship, adjust sails and keep a lookout for any hazards. On Blue Clipper voyage crew join in with the watches, giving you the opportunity to get a real feel for life at sea! Watches will be assigned at the start of the voyage. You have a chance to learn all aspects of traditional sailing from our wonderful deck crew; having a chance to steer the ship, complete the log book entries, plot our course on the chart, climb the rigging, and experience amazing starry skies during a night watch at sea!
MealS
All meals are served in the saloon, and are included in the voyage cost. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served and voyage crew will be able to help the cook on board produce delicious meals for their fellow crew mates.
Bar
There is the opportunity to purchase alcoholic and fizzy drinks from the bar during meal times, at anchor and when the vessel is alongside in port.
Payments for drinks is done via a TAB system, which can be prepaid by purchasing a drinks voucher at the time of booking or can be paid in cash or by card at the end of your voyage.
Please bear in mind that alcohol can affect stability and judgement, and exercise extreme cautions when moving around the ship after drinking. Each person is aware of their limits, and while we wish you to enjoy your time on board Blue Clipper it is extremely important not to endanger the safety of yourself or your crew mates through excessive drinking.
When taking part in a watch, please remember that you will be the eyes and ears of the ship and refrain from drinking in the four hours leading up to your watch time and while you are on watch. It is not possible to climb the rig after consuming alcohol.
Cabins
Each cabin has two bunk beds with comfortable memory foam mattresses, duvet and pillow. Each bunk has it’s own reading light and all cabins have a porthole for natural light. Each cabin has heating/air conditioning available. This is controlled for the whole ship by the chief engineer. Each cabin has an individual thermostat on the wall so you can control the temperature.
All cabins are en-suite and we are very fortunate to have a sophisticated hand pump toilet system on board. Each bathroom has a shower, but we do ask voyage crew to limit showers to one a day to help conserve water.
All cabins have plug sockets for charging electrical devices. These are European 2 pin sockets. We ask that you do not leave items on charge when you are not in the cabin.
Smoking
Smoking is permitted either on the stern bench or the forward most deck, unless otherwise advised according to wind conditions. Please consider other guests when smoking and do not throw cigarette ends into the water.
Merchandise
We have some great clothing items to purchase as a souvenir of your time with Blue Clipper. This can be purchased at the time of booking or you can purchase on board and pay for at the end of your voyage.
Laundry
We are able to do laundry on longer passages, depending on the sea conditions. If you would like to do laundry on board please speak to the hospitality manager or stewardess on board. The fee for laundry service is £5 per load. Please note that Maybe Sailing does not accept liability for damage to clothing caused by this service.
Voyages on Blue Clipper
Upcoming Itineraries
| Voyage | Start | End | Embark | Disembark | Ship | Booking | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Bay of Biscay, Ocean Crossing Ocean Crossings | 18 Sep '19 | 28 Sep '19 | Weymouth, UK | A Coruna, Spain | Blue Clipper | Began |
 | Gems of Galicia and Coastal Portugal 2019 European Escapes | 30 Sep '19 | 6 Oct '19 | A Coruna, Spain | Cascais, Portugal | Blue Clipper | Book Now |
 | An Atlantic Christmas Caribbean Sun | 7 Dec '19 | 11 Jan '20 | Portimão, Portugal | St George’s, Grenada | Blue Clipper | Book Now |
 | Caribbean Explorer Caribbean Sun | 14 Jan '20 | 25 Jan '20 | St George’s, Grenada | St George’s, Grenada | Blue Clipper | Book Now |
 | Islands in the Sun Caribbean Sun | 28 Jan '20 | 8 Feb '20 | St George’s, Grenada | St George’s, Grenada | Blue Clipper | Book Now |
 | Caribbean Discovery Caribbean Sun | 11 Feb '20 | 22 Feb '20 | St George’s, Grenada | St George’s, Grenada | Blue Clipper | Book Now |
 | Winter Sunseeker Caribbean Sun | 25 Feb '20 | 7 Mar '20 | St George’s, Grenada | St George’s, Grenada | Blue Clipper | Book Now |
 | Caribbean Delights Caribbean Sun | 10 Mar '20 | 24 Mar '20 | St George’s, Grenada | Marigot, St Martin | Blue Clipper | Book Now |
 | In search of Rum Caribbean Sun | 26 Mar '20 | 8 Apr '20 | Marigot, St Martin | St George’s, Bermuda | Blue Clipper | Book Now |
 | Atlantic Crossing – Follow The Trade Winds Ocean Crossings | 11 Apr '20 | 5 May '20 | St George’s, Bermuda | Horta, Azores | Blue Clipper | Book Now |
 | The Azores to Portugal Ocean Crossings | 7 May '20 | 18 May '20 | Horta, Azores | Portimão, Portugal | Blue Clipper | Book Now |
I had an amazing time sailing on Blue Clipper. It was great to meet new people from all over the world and learn something new whilst being on holiday! The crew was fantastic and incredibly patient, knowledgeable and fun to be around! The food was fantastic and cooked by two very talented girls! It was a great experience and hopefully, I will be back soon to join another trip.
