Reviews

Trip of a lifetime on board Blue Clipper to St Kilda. Great crew and other guests.
Fabulous.

Writing a five-star review while not repeating other peoples’ comments is difficult:
here goes.
I have previously sailed many miles on long passages on the Jubilee Sailing Trust
square-riggers before that charity’s closure, but this was my first experience with
Venturesail and a gaff-rigged schooner, Blue Clipper.
For background, I’m 73, rather deaf, and with damaged legs that restrict my
mobility somewhat. In the last 4-5 years I have been day sailing with friends on
their 40’ Contest based near La Rochelle: very comfortable, excellent restaurants
up and down that coast and, to be honest, very little challenge. I joined Blue
Clipper in Portimao, Portugal, for the passage to Penzance, mainly for personal
pleasure but also with the aim of discovering whether I was still up to the physical
and mental demands of such sailing (and I was, just about).
There is very comfortable accommodation for 12 paying passengers, and I was
surprised that there were only three of us signed up. This had the obvious
advantage of giving us each our own cabin, but meant that there were only 14
aboard, of whom 9 were watchkeepers, so we had to operate on three watches
rather than the conventional four. Rather more duty hours than I had planned, so
fitting in sleep was a priority, but I was able to do this without missing out on any
of the excellent meals. I regret that once or twice I slept through the afternoon
cake.
The crew were all very much younger and fitter than I am, so hauling on ropes was
pretty much left to them, while I spent a great deal of the time on the helm as they
did the hard work, in very variable conditions (but keeping me supplied with tea all
the while!).
The crew were without exception welcoming, friendly, considerate and
knowledgeable. There was absolutely none of the ‘them and us’ that often exists,
and I felt that I was being treated much more as an equal rather than a passenger.
Good company, even 0000-0400 was enjoyable (!). I would be delighted to be
able to sail with any of them again. I deliberately haven’t mentioned any names: I
would have to list the entire crew.
My sincere thanks to all of the permanent crew and my very best wishes for their
futures. To borrow a phrase: ‘you have made an old man very happy’.
Portimao to Penzance 5 May – 15 May 2025.

Had the most amazing time on Blue Clipper. It was a gift from my daughter and we
traveled together. Sam is an excellent cook and catered for my non dairy option.
Ben was skipper and such a wonderful man. Cat looked after us splendidly she
couldn’t have made us feel more special. Archie and the rest of the crew were
fantastic and the girls really encouraged us to climb the mast and get out into
bowsprit. I can’t thank them enough. It was a time I will remember and treasure
the memories.

What an amazing adventure on Blue Clipper! The crew were so friendly and
accommodating and did all they could to make this a memorable trip. The
accommodation is cosy. The food- out of this world! Every effort was made to get
us to the places we wanted to see – Staffa, Iona and Mull as well as unexpected like
Ulva and puffins on Lunga – got to climb the mast and go out on the Bowsprit.
Loved the chance to learn about sailing and get hands on.
Worth every penny – unforgettable.

A wonderful experience.
Blue Clipper a beautiful vessel
Crew were ALL fantastic and clearly wanted us to have a good time
Recommend 100%

What a splendid team on board blue clipper. Incredibly helpful, generous in their
time showing us the “ropes“ and involved with the guests and helpful. The
unforgettable time with them and the sailing was great fun and we got to all the
places that I was looking forward to see. The skipper Grace was great fun as was
the first made archie engineer and the other deck hands cook Sam was a five star
Michelin man of unbelievable culinary abilities which is not what I was looking for
or expecting but overwhelmed also by his great banter as with the rest of the
team. If there’s any chance of me sailing with them again, I’ll take it up.

What an unforgettable adventure we all had on Blue Clipper from Penzance to
Oban! Nothing was too much trouble from the crew, food amazing, very clean and
comfortable cabin, views incredible, climbing the mast rigging and anchoring off
Easdale Island just a couple of the more memorable moments. A huge thank you
to the wonderful skipper Grace and all her fabulous team. Just awesome and I will
be back!

Atlantic crossing from the Azores to Cascais, Portugal, unique, nature’s love of
details, the winds, swells and waves, the common dolphins in their beauty, a
wonderful “rush” and a special experience in keeping focus, concentration, team
building and dealing with team dynamics and excellent in their professional
behavior to us as guest.
The great Crew, with its unique spirit, unforgettable

Had a great week with the Blue Clipper crew as we sailed from St Lucia to Antigua
via the 3 intervening island countries. Captain Jack and his crew did everything to
make this a fantastic trip – as our first tall ship experience. We were encouraged to
take part – hauling ropes etc. The 5 countries visited had lots going for them as we
went ashore daily – including a visit to Deshaies in Guadeloupe where “Death in
Paradise” is filmed. We had plenty of wind in the week so sailing was fast – if a little
lumpy at times! We tried fishing from the boat with the several rods on board – but
failed to catch anything. We saw thousands of flying fish enroute and much other
wildlife including turtles. We enjoyed using the kayaks and also snorkelling. Admin
wise the booking/payment all was good. However the final disembarkation port
changed a few days before the trip – which for us did not matter (thankfully).

Amazing adventure on Blue Clipper from Falmouth to A Coruña (worth the detour) and then further down the map to Portimão in leg 2.

Great to spend so much time genuinely at sea, on watches with an excellent and personable crew, who really know their stuff at all levels, as well as two different guest crews.

A trip of incredible contrasts from the churning waters of the Bay of Biscay, complete with an authentic ‘land ahoy!’ moment, as a bird appeared and the sun rose through a baroque cloudscape, to the tranquility of the Cies archipelago. Not to mention the dramatic caves and rock formations near Lagos once we’d turned into the home straight along the Southern coast of Portugal. My second (and third, if we’re counting legs) voyages on Blue Clipper. Highly recommended!

Blue Clipper voyage was amazing  great food never a problem when weather was being difficult.   Skipper Steve , Archie, Cat , Tanya and crew made it all very enjoyable, many thanks.

We had an amazing trip last week sailing around the Small Isles. The crew were outstanding, so professional and all so interesting and knowledgeable about either the boat and sailing and/or the area of Scotland where we were cruising and the wildlife. The chef Sam’s food was all outstanding and Kat and Liam were wonderful hosts. We were very blessed to have the owner Steve as our skipper who was so interesting.

Weather was pure perfection, all helping the experience! My husband and I were very spoilt. I will recommend the trip to others.

Best wishes, Sue

Our trip on Blue Clipper to St Kilda was fabulous, a trip of a lifetime. The crew (Ben, Archie, Cat, Sam, Joe, Vicky, Sandie, Toby and Stuart) were outstanding and made the trip for us. The other guests were really nice as well. We were so lucky to get a weather window to get to St Kilda and get ashore to explore this awe inspiring place. Please pass on my best regards to the crew and thanks once again. We’re already looking at next years’ itinerary. 

I have just returned from sailing from Penzance to Oban on Blue Clipper. I want to tell you how fantastic your crew are. They were constantly smiling, eager to share their skills with us, endlessly patient and great company. The food was delicious, way exceeding my expectations. How Sam managed to produce such wonderful meals from such a tiny space, I cannot understand, but he did. Kat looked after us all tirelessly, though she must have been exhausted – nothing was too much trouble. Grace was calmly in control, but also found time to chat and share memories of some of her adventures with us, Archie too.

And everyone else, from those leading our watches to the trainee deck hands gaining experience away from college, everyone was a joy to get to know, to learn from and to share the voyage with. It feels wrong not to mention them all by name: Sam, Pete, Kate, Philippa, Jo, Geronimo, Alex, Michael Angelo. They all made the voyage the wonderful experience it was.

And of course Blue Clipper herself is a beautiful boat. Thank you.

I had an excellent week last week sailing with the crew on Blue Clipper around the Caribbean – they were a brilliant team, really well led under Jack. Cheerful and enthusiastic they were a pleasure to be around. Many thanks.