We have been organising hen and stag parties from our base at Ocean Village Marina in Southampton for the last 16 years and the name MEC Sail has become synonymous with good, fun sailing during the day on the waters of the Solent and partying the night away. Being in the city centre, our marina has plenty of car parking, new showers, the railway station is 5 minutes taxi away and the nearest bar 1 minute walk away!
We use very popular ten berth Beneteau 40.7 yachts which offer both comfort and the opportunity of some evenly-matched performance racing if your requirements are for more than one yacht. If you want a more leisurely sail, that’s fine too. We can also provide larger 12 berth yachts.
Our experienced professional skippers know the waters of the Solent like the backs of their hands and will share this knowledge to ensure that you will have the experience of a lifetime. At the same time, they take complete responsibility for the safety of the yacht and those aboard her and will allow all crew to participate fully in the sailing.
You have a large amount of flexibility on where to sail, most parties will head to Cowes on the Isle of Wight – the centre of UK sailing, or Portsmouth for Saturday night. There you can enjoy pubs, clubs, bars and restaurants all within walking distance of the marinas.
No experience is needed for this kind of charter, we’ll teach you all you need to know. We will send you joining instructions, what to bring and share our expertise and advice to make sure you have the most memorable, exhilarating weekend.
Your weekend includes:
- Yacht and professional skipper
- Two nights accommodation onboard
- Wet weather and safety gear
- Overnight mooring fees
- Tea, coffee and water
- Boat expenses
We can provide lunch onboard if you wish, but you can bring your own provisions and drinks to make for a more economical weekend.
Suggested itinerary for the weekend
(This is one example itinerary, but let us know what your party is looking for and we will tailor your event for you)
Friday 1800 hrs.
Arrive Ocean Village Marina Southampton, we will meet you and welcome you on board the yacht. Enjoy a sundowner or two onboard, put on your glad rags or hen and stag outfits and make your way to the marina bars or city centre for a few drinks.
Saturday
Enjoy breakfast at one of the marina venues, we can recommend the nearby Wetherspoons pub for an excellent breakfast at an even more excellent price. After a thorough safety briefing by your skipper and details on how to sail a yacht you will leave the marina and head down Southampton Water and into the Solent.
We will provide all sail tuition, which will include helming, raising of sails, winching and navigation. In no time at all we will have you sailing the yacht, even complete beginners! Everybody gets a go at the helm and to try their hand at the other roles onboard. Any crew who do not wish to join in are welcome to sit back and enjoy the ride.
Lunch can be onboard or you can stop at Cowes, Hamble or even Beaulieu. If it’s hot, stop for a swim! More sailing in the afternoon and if you have two or more matched yachts, if you wish, we can organise a race course for some fun, exhilarating racing to your evenings destination so the crew can maximise their newly found sailing skills!
Portsmouth and Cowes are the favoured destinations for Saturday night. Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth is surrounded by bars, restaurants and clubs, where you can dance the night away. Cowes is the home of international sailing with great pubs, live music and restaurants – we‘re happy to recommend venues to suit.
Sunday
When you’re ready! Try and have breakfast before setting sail into the Solent and back towards Southampton. Sunday can be ‘full-on’ again or leisurely depending how you feel. We will have you back at the marina by 1700 hrs latest, or earlier if you wish.
Other suggestions to add spice to the week-end:
- We can as an alternative to sailing and provide a luxury Motor Yacht.
- Add an extra adrenaline rush – we can provide a RIB to provide high-speed rides
We are completely flexible on the period of the booking. Some people may wish to day sail, others take a weekend or even a 4 to 5-day midweek break.
Please contact us for more information or a comprehensive quote – prices start from £99 per person
For all your professional wedding photographic requirements, please call Harrison Gurney on 07734 800218 or visit www.hg-photo.co.uk
A 10% discount will be offered if you mention MEC Sail!!
Not quite Kate Winslet..!
Pirate girls…
…and sailor boys
Fun sailing during the day
Testimonials
…Just a quick email to say thank you for organising the weekend just gone, everyone, including the stag had a brilliant time! The skippers, Paul and Tom were also very good! There’s a small group of us who are now very keen to charter one of the yachts again from you at some point in the future, perhaps for a slightly longer weekend of sailing.
…We would like to thank you at MEC-Sail for a fantastic weekend of sailing, the weather was just perfect even the odd showers did not put a dampener on our weekend, the boat Blue Juice was a great boat to sail and Tom was a great asset and made our sailing great fun.
…Just a quick note to say thank you so much for all your help with organising our weekend away, we had a fantastic time and James was simply brilliant, I’d recommend MEC Sail to anyone.