Assist with navigation; forage and fish for your meals; visit special places that can only be accessed by sea and creek.
Create a memory that will last a lifetime with an indulgent charter with friends and family on the Norfolk coast.
Blue sky thinking takes on real meaning when you're at sea. Re-energise the team with an away day aboard one of our boats.
“We create fun, relaxing, sometimes challenging, but undoubtedly life-enriching adventures on traditional wooden sailing boats, based in Wells-next-the-Sea, on the beautiful North Norfolk coast.
Run by a small, local team of professional adventurers, we skipper and host trips ranging from four hours to three days, through creeks, marshes and open sea. Get involved with the sailing and cooking, or sit back and connect with nature – the pace is yours to choose.
We only use locally sourced high-quality food and drink on our sails, ensuring a full Norfolk experience. Our philosophy is to run a sustainable business by investing in slow food, community engagement projects and the movement of cargo under sail.”
EASTER HOLIDAYS
Monday 8th April
Traditional Sea School: traditional lug rig sailing, foraging, wildlife, knots, tides & navigation - depart Wells 0800 – Return 1600
£195 per person, including all meals & drinks, children welcome (under 12’s must be accompanied by an adult)
Tuesday 9th April
Traditional Sea School: traditional lug rig sailing, foraging, wildlife, knots, tides & navigation - depart Wells 0800 – Return 1600
Wednesday 10th April
Family breakfast sail out to sea then into Wells salt marsh - depart Wells 0830
Crab Boat max 6 persons – exclusive charter £495 or £95 per person
Thursday 11th April
Morning Sea and Salt Marsh Sail 0900-1300
Crab Boat max 6 persons – exclusive charter £495 or £95 per person
Mussel Flat Sail to Stiffkey from Wells depart Wells 0900
Mussel Flat max 4 persons – exclusive charter £295 or £85 per person
Friday 12th April
Mussel Flat Sail to Stiffkey from Wells, Lunch on the marsh depart Wells 1000
Mussel Flat max 4 persons – exclusive charter £295 or £85 per person
Saturday 13th April
Family sail through the marshes, hot soup and picnic lunch - depart Wells 1100
Mussel Flat max 4 persons – exclusive charter £295 or £85 per person
Sunday 14th April
Lunchtime wildlife sail through the marshes - depart Wells 1230
Mussel Flat max 4 persons – exclusive charter £295 or £85 per person
Monday 15th April
Mussel Flat Sail to Stiffkey from Wells depart Wells 1400
Mussel Flat max 4 persons – exclusive charter £295 or £85 per person
Tuesday 16th April
Warham marsh evening sail with hot soup and picnic depart Wells 1500 to 1830
Mussel Flat max 4 persons – exclusive charter £295 or £85 per person
Wednesday 17th April
Sea and marsh sail with evening picnic and hot soup depart Wells 1530
Crab Boat max 6 persons – exclusive charter £495 or £95 per person
Warham marsh evening sail with evening picnic depart Wells 1530 to 2000
Mussel Flat max 4 persons – exclusive charter £295 or £85 per person
Thursday 18th April
Sunrise breakfast sail Wells marsh depart 0600
Crab Boat max 6 persons – exclusive charter £495 or £95 per person
Salt marsh evening wildlife sail depart Wells 1630
Mussel Flat max 4 persons – exclusive charter £295 or £85 per person
Friday 19th April
Traditional Sea School: traditional lug rig sailing, foraging, wildlife, knots, tides & navigation - depart Wells 0630 – Return 1430
£195 per person, including all meals & drinks, children welcome (under 12’s must be accompanied by an adult)
Saturday 20th April
Traditional Sea School: traditional lug rig sailing, foraging, wildlife, knots, tides & navigation - depart Wells 0630 – Return 1430
£195 per person, including all meals & drinks, children welcome (under 12’s must be accompanied by an adult)
Sunday 21th April
Sail to Cley Windmill through the salt marsh - depart Wells 0630
Crab Boat max 6 persons – exclusive charter £495 or £95 per person
Early morning wildlife & sunrise sail - depart Wells 0630
Mussel Flat max 4 persons – exclusive charter £295 or £85 per person
James Boyd's Wilderness concerts reflect James’ love for adventure and wild spaces. They are immersive experiences – thought-provoking, uplifting and unforgettable.
May 19th, 2019 - starts 18.00 finishes 21.00
Joshua Ellicott, Tenor
James Boyd, Guitar
This is a bespoke concert that will crystallise from the emptiness and wildness of the salt marsh, the threnody of the wind, the cry of wading birds, the chuckle of the tide. Joshua and James are renowned not only for their exquisite musicianship but for their intimate storytelling that weaves through each performance. They gave their first concerts together a short voyage across the North Sea in Delft. Now with the Coastal Exploration Company they are creating an exclusive experience on the beautiful North Norfolk coast. An unmissable opportunity to hear world class music making in one of Britain's last wildernesses. Including a rare performance of Jonathan Dove's The Immortal Ship, this is for lovers of fine and rare moments. Moments that will become lifetime memories.
Reviews
"Deservedly huge cheers at the end of the night went to Joshua Ellicott…
...musical distinction, emotional precision and a keen dramatic urgency…"
The Boston Globe
'Each note falls like a teardrop such is the beauty of Boyd's tone and deeply expressive phrasing '
International record review
What most impresses is Boyd's sense of naturalness, of ebb and flow, recalling both Bream's and Segovia's willingness to savour the moment.
Gramophone Magazine
Sun 16 June 2019 – Start 1730 Finish 2030
Solo concert
James Boyd
Still finishing the details on this one Jules and Henry but... will either be a new programme built around an old parlour guitar I found in my village ( a love story) or the sequel to my programme 'stolen years'-https://www.jamesboyd.co.uk/stolen-years/ which is under construction.
Sun 21 July 2019
Harriet Mackenzie - Violin
James Boyd - Guitar
International star violinist Harriet Mackenzie and the wizard guitarist James Boyd in concert together. Guardian Angels, Devils and Will o' the Wisps weave a spell across the centuries, from Bach to Paganini. The Norfolk Salt marsh is rich in tales from the edge of an other world. Harriet and James weave this folklore into a programme that reaches from the depths of hell to the heights of heaven. Harriet is not just a world renowned soloist and chamber musician but engages her audiences with a passionate intensity that few can match. James' way with words has become legendary and he is one of a handful of international musicians that can weave a spell with words and music. This concert with the Coastal Exploration Company will take you on an adventure into the heart of salt marsh and a musical journey that will become a lifetime memory.
Reviews
Harriet
Searing intensity...full of panache...captivating.
The Strad
I defy you not to be mesmerised.
The Times
James
I was magicked
The Telegraph
The Wizard guitarist James Boyd held us enthralled
The Times
'You are not only a master musician but also a Magus, a magician who from the first moment casts a spell over us…’
Audience Member
Sat 26 Oct 2019 – Start 1630 Finish 1900
The Age of Discovery
James Laing Countertenor
James Boyd Guitar
An event born from a love of adventure, the sea and wild places of Britain. It explores a golden age when new landfalls and horizons were sighted and explored. James Laing's vocal range and dramatic talent make him unique among today's countertenors. He is one of the most highly regarded singers on the opera stage and a brilliant exponent of the song repertoire. This concert with guitar will take you on a voyage of discovery. In the lonely creeks of the salt marshes something rare and beautiful will be created for a moment, then borne away on the sea wind, leaving the memory of an extraordinary experience that will stay with you forever.
''the soaring countertenor of James Laing…”
The Daily Telegraph
''sublime counter-tenor''
Evening Standard
''Counter-tenor James Laing was heart-stopping''
The Guardian
“Countertenor James Laing sings immaculately, even when suspended above the stage in a tutu.”
Sunday Express
“FOLLOW THE WITHIES,” advises Henry, as I tug on the wooden tiller of his clinker-built, 1950s crab boat My Girls with trepidation, watching the narrow, marshy creek zig-zag before her prow.
“Swallows and Amazons, remember? Secret Water? Withies are the sticks that mark the channel, so you know where it is at high tide,” he explains. I spot them, a reassuring line of thin willows, standing upright above swirling eddies of muddy water, steadfastly marking deep water and our safe passage.
Top 10 Norfolk and Suffolk experiences
Learn to sail with the RYA-accredited Norfolk etc (01263 740704; norfolketc.co.uk) or book a sailing expedition in a traditional Norfolk fishing boat through the newly launched Coastal Exploration Company for an adventurous trip along the coast and along the atmospheric creeks and backwaters between Thornham and Cley in North Norfolk. Spot wildlife, catch mackerel, learn about navigation and enjoy delicious homemade food.
We’re sailing across a sandy-coloured sea. Seals pop up around our little crab boat and then vanish, like a game of Whac-A-Mole. Further ahead, a group lie motionless on the water, as if levitating. It takes me a moment to realise that the sea is so shallow they are resting on a submerged sand bank.
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