Yacht Delivery UK is an Essex based company offering services all over the UK and Europe. We have been operating for over 30 years with RYA skippers sailing across all types of seas and conditions. Delivering a boat is a very personal service and we know how important people possessions are and in particularly yachts. They are often a huge expense and are part of the family. We specialise in yacht delivery around the UK and Europe and ensure we delivery every yacht in the best order we can. Every yacht we deliver is treated as our own. All our crew are experienced sailors and have the same ethics and professionalism as we do. The senior skipper has sailed across literally every ocean over the last 30 years gaining invaluable experience and now works as a Yacht master Examiner. This is the highest ranked sailor and is a very privileged title. Most of our crew are either yacht masters or as a minimum day skippers. Although we charge for deliveries, we also enjoy our job and think we are in a privileged position to carry out our passion whilst at the same time paying our bills. That’s all we look to do.
Delivery skippers are known to be some of the best skippers in the world. Often sailing in conditions most wont, but knowing exactly how far to push the boats without undue stress on them. A good skipper will set a schedule and unless extreme conditions come in, will stick to it. The crews safety is the first concern of any skipper and no crew member will be put into a dangerous situation where it could have been avoided. However, all crew are fully briefed of the risks involved and make the decision to join the boat with full knowledge. Yachts are designed for certain waters and can take more than most will ever sail in. A delivery skipper will know a boats capacity and will not push it beyond its limits. If it means pulling into a harbour for the night, or anchoring up in a bay for the night, than that is what happens. We tend to build in a 5 day leeway on the time frame od the delivery to allow for any unforeseen stops. But rarely do we go past this. In fact we have delivered within the designated time 97% of the time. The time we didn’t was a mechanical fault with the boat and an inability to replace the faulty part.
This is Des Purcell. He is our senior skipper and has been delivering boats all over the world for some 30 years. Des’s attention to detail and safety on deliveries is second to none. Being on the water the majority of his life Des , , no short cuts are taken and there have been a few incidents where he has refused to sail until the boat is brought up to the correct and relevant standard for the trip it was about to do.
I have personally sailed with him on many deliveries and seen first hand his ability to stay calm and focused when others maybe wouldn’t. One of the best examples of Des’s talents was when he had to sail a 42 Beneteua into the tiny marina on Capri, Italy. Just as we were entering the marina the diesel run out (unknown to us the fuel gauge had broken during the trip). If you have ever been to the Isle of Capri you will know it is very busy with medium size ferries bringing visitors from the main land. The fast ferries do not stop or deviate off course lightly. Des managed to maneuver the boat using the wind on the side of the boat and turning the engine over for a short burst of power into the marina. Not only did he get through the narrow entrance avoiding the rocks either side, but he also kept enough room for the ferries to enter and exit and then got us not just into the harbour and stop and the first opportunity, but instead got the boat to the fuel station so we could refuel. An amazing piece of sailing from a man who simply gets how a boat acts in water!