'Desert Star' Sailing Yacht Charter & Courses in Dublin

Why choose us….? ✓ We are Ireland’s Largest Yacht Training Centre …. All we do is Yacht Sailing! ✓ RYA and ISA Certified Practical Sailing Courses ✓ Comfortable, Purpose built Offshore Sailing Yachts….. Yachts you can live onboard! ✓ Highly Experienced Yachtmaster Instructors dedicate to providing top class training ✓ Friendly, Relaxed and Welcoming Atmosphere Our Yacht - Jeanneau Sunfast 37 – Desert Star Yacht Specs • Lying: Dun Laoghaire • Year: 2002 • Engines: 27 hp yanmar shaft drive with 2 blade prop • Sail Area: Mylar Mainsail: 36.4sqm • Furling No.3 Dacron Headsail: 18.0sqm • Spinnaker: 88sqm • Draft: 2.1 m • Cabins: 4 • Sleeps: max 9 • WC: 1 Equipment GPS/Chart plotter, autopilot, Windspeed and Direction, AIS transceiver, Webasto 4kw diesel heater, Mylar Main, Dacron No.3 Jib, Spinnaker, Spray hood. Desert Star, is a Jeanneau Sunfast 37, a 37-foot ocean going vessel built in France in 2002. She is a luxurious vessel with three double cabins and a main saloon. At full capacity can sleep nine people, though she is never operated with more than a 5:1 student to instructor ratio while on courses. Her deep fin keel of 2.1 metres gives her reassuring sturdiness in a strong blow. Her tall mast and huge mainsail makes her a very performant racing yacht and has an IRC handicap of .950, speed lovers will enjoy getting the most out of this fast machine; yet at the same time she is a very forgiving boat, she lets you know if she’s not being sailed correctly, but will not punish you for it! She has a large comfortable cockpit with plenty of space for the crew to work halyards and winches without trampling on each other. She has a large wheel so that you can really feel the yacht respond to windshifts, this makes her a very pleasurable boat to sail for both the novice and expert alike. She has a large accessible chart table for the instructor to assist in navigation exercises; in fact the Sunfast 37 was designed with the consultancy of instructors specifically as a training school yacht, with a high racing performance. Updated Content. Since purchasing the yacht in early 2011, €15,000 of equipment has been installed on the vessel. A powerful diesel heater, keeps the yacht toasty warm even on the coldest days. State of the art Raymarine autopilot and the new C90 chartplotter have been installed on the yacht along with an AIS (automatic identification system) transceiver. The usual impeccable safety equipment required by an ocean going commercially operated vessel are all installed including a Solas B liferaft serviced annually along with an emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB), a water activated emergency device which sends a signals to authorities and pin points our location in the event of an emergency. Desert Star is one of the most high tech examples of a commercially operated offshore sailing vessel in the country, and is quite simply a pleasure to sail! CHARTER RATES • Daily Rate (0900 – 1930) - €750 per day • Weekend Rate (Fri 1800 – Sun 1600) - €1,400 • Weekly Rate (Mon 0900 – Fri 1600) - €2,800 SKIPPERED RACE CHARTER RATES • Daily Rate (0900 – 1930) - €750 per day • Weekend Rate (Fri 1800 – Sun 1600) - €1,500 • Weekly Rate (Mon 0900 – Fri 1600 ) - €3,000 PRACTICAL YACHT COURSES • Start Yachting This course is run over a weekend and is really designed to give you a taste as to what sailing on a yacht is all about. No previous sailing experience is required. The course introduces the student to the fun, relaxed elements of sailing on a yacht, and you will learn how to start the engine, steer the yacht, hoist and work the sails, learn the principle of how sailing works and learn a few knots too. By the end of a weekend on a Start Yachting Course you will no longer feel like just a “passenger” on a sailing yacht. Course Costs: 1 weekend (Sat 0900 – Sun 1600) - €300 • Competent Crew The course is ideal for dinghy sailors new to sailing on a yacht, or those who have crewed on a yacht before but would like to learn the right way. Some of the most fundamentally important elements of sailing are taught on this course. It aims to build beginner sailors into confident competent members of any crew. The course is designed to provide as much fun and enjoyment as possible in a safe an reassuring environment. Course Costs: 5 day Course - €710 (5 days of training) 2 Weekends - €710 (one is a long weekend) • Dayskipper The dayskipper course is designed to teach you how to “take charge” in a safe and confident manner on a sailing yacht. Skippering for the first time can be a daunting yet exhilarating experience. The course involves much more than practical navigation and pilotage. The aspiring skipper is responsible for the safety and wellbeing of both the yacht and the crew onboard. You will learn about weather forecasting, passage planning, routine engine maintenance, how to take charge and recover a man overboard. You will also learn how to park a yacht in a marina or on a mooring with confidence, and especially what to do if the engine breaks down. Course Costs: 5 days - €710 2 Weekends - €710 (one is a long weekend) • Dayskipper All in One The dayskipper all-in-one course combines the dayskipper theory followed immediately by the dayskipper practical. It is a challenging intensive course. But it is one of the best ways to learn. The dayskipper theory is covered first in the classroom across four days. You then get straight on the water and go and put everything you have learned into practice. From the point of view of consolidating your knowledge it is the best way to approach this course, and though tiring, it is incredible the progress you will make from start to finish. Course Costs: 9 days €990 (9 days of training, 5 days needed off work) *Special reduced Price! • Coastal Skipper The coastal skipper course is designed to take an experienced dayskipper to a new level of confidence in experiencing the joy of longer passages. Longer passages demand a wide variety of skills from the aspiring skipper such as leadership, crew management and problem solving, when it comes to adverse weather and engine problems. Skippering a yacht on coastal and offshore passages demands strong navigation, seamanship and leadership skills. Course Costs: 5 days - €690 2 Weekends - €690 (one is a long weekend) • Yachtmaster Prep For many sailors it is a very prestigious achievement to be awarded the Yachtmaster Offshore Certificate. It is not easily achieved and is recognized worldwide. It is a ticket which is awarded to candidates who have the ability to skipper a sailing vessel offshore in often arduous conditions for extended periods of time.This is an intensive practical course designed to prepare candidates to take the RYA or ISA Yachtmaster Offshore Practical Exam at the end of the course. The exam itself is conducted by an RYA Yachtmaster Examiner for which a separate exam fee is payable. Course Costs: 6–7 days - €780 + (£205 RYA Exam Fee)Includes charter of the yacht for the examExaminer’s travel expenses are also required to be covered varies €60 – €100 per student, depending on examiner and number of students on exam. If you have any questions, we can answer those through GetMyBoat’s messaging platform before you pay. Just hit, “Request to Book” and send us an inquiry for a custom offer.