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.”
WEEKLY SAILS Saturday 12th October 2019
***SPECIAL SAILING Saturday 12th October – One-way sail Wells to Great Yarmouth (timings TBC)
Rendezvous with Galliant, (New Dawn Traders and Blue Schooner Co. initiative) olive oil under sail
Salford £120 per person – contact 07484 736283 explore@coastalexploration.co.uk to book
Sunday 13th October – depart Wells 0530 arrive Cley 0930
Join us on this one way sailing down the coast to Cley Next The Sea tying up at its iconic windmill
Crab boat max 6 persons – exclusive charter £495 or £95 per person
Monday 14th October – depart Cley 0630 arrive Wells 1000
Set sail from Cley at dawn slowly making our way back to Wells with coast and marsh views en route
Crab boat max 6 persons – exclusive charter £495 or £95 per person
*** SPECIAL SAILING Monday 14th October – One-way sail Great Yarmouth - Wells (timings TBC)
Be part of our cargo under sail collaboration and help bring Portuguese olive oil to North Norfolk
Salford £120 per person – contact 07484 736283 explore@coastalexploration.co.uk to book
Tuesday 15th October – depart Wells 0700 return 1030
Sail slowly with us through Stiffkey Marsh watching wildlife exploring this unique saltmarsh habitat
Whelk boat max 10 persons – exclusive charter £695 or £95 per person
Wednesday 16th October – depart Wells 0730 return Wells 1100
Enjoy exploring the creeks and channels of Wells before heading out over the harbour to East Hills
Crab boat max 6 persons – exclusive charter £495 or £90 per person
Thursday 17th October – depart Wells 0800 return 1130
Come with us on this coastal breakfast sail passing Morston the shingle spit of Blakeney Point and Cley
Whelk boat max 10 persons – exclusive charter £695 or £95 per person
Friday 18th October – depart Wells 0830 return 1200
Adventure through saltmarsh crossing Wells harbour and experiencing the wilderness that is East Hills
Mussel Flat max 4 persons – exclusive charter £295 or £85 per person
Saturday 19th October – depart Wells 0930 return 1300
Enjoy a leisurely slow sail aboard our engineless (wind/water power) mussel flat watching for wildlife
Mussel Flat max 4 persons – exclusive charter £295 or £85 per person
Sunday 20th October – depart Wells 1000 arrive Cley 1330
Warsham Marsh is our destination today our shallow draft enabling us to discover creeks and channels
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.
Each Wilderness Concert is a world-class experience aboard our beautiful wooden boats in the heart of the salt marshes. Locally sourced artisan food, roaring wood burning stove, remote anchorages set the scene.
Immerse yourself in the cry of wading birds, wide skies, the trickle of the tide and a concert experience that will become a lifetime memory.
Concert Programme -
The Age of Discovery
26th October 1630 - 1900 James Laing Countertenor and James Boyd Guitar
"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
“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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