With the wind in our hair and regular tea breaks the annual Retail Assist sailing event was a great day out for both Retail Assist team members and customers. We set sail from Hamble Yacht Services in Hampshire for a full day of sailing adventures. As in other years we sailed with the Blue Box Sailing Company on their 64ft yacht, and believe you me we definitely had to do our bit as crew members.
The yacht we sailed on was the Whitbread 60 Blueprint, formerly known as the Intrum Justitia and was built in 1992 for the 1993/4 Whitbread Around the World Race. As you can imagine we were all very excited to get aboard such a legendary boat.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a complete novice (like myself) or an experienced sailor, you can try your hand at steering, hoisting and trimming the sails and leading the ropes. It was a very hands on day – and we loved it!
We met our customers at the Marina and headed on to the yacht. After a talk from the crew in regards to safety and a tour of the boat, including how to use the rather scary looking toilet, we slipped lines and motored out of the River Hamble to the famous waters of the Solent where the real fun began. With all hands on deck we had to take turns in grinding (it’s tough work) to hoist the main sail, wind up ropes and get to grips with the steering.
The route for the day consisted of sailing through the forts in the Eastern Solent into the English Channel and sailing round the Nab tower lighthouse and back. Obviously the exact course is decided on the day as it is weather dependent but we were lucky enough with the weather to stick with the predetermined route.
Once lunch had been eaten and more tea had been drunk we made a U-turn and proceeded home. With a day of sailing and boat manoeuvres under our belts, we arrived back outside the River Hamble and dropped the sails before motoring back up the River to the Marina.
Once we had said a massive thank you to the crew from Blue Box who really helped to make our day memorable, and of course said goodbye to the yacht we headed back to the hotel, the Botleigh Grange Hotel and Spa, where we all enjoyed a well-earned drink. After freshening up and sitting down to dinner we all proceeded to chat about the day’s adventure and enjoy a relaxed evening meal.
The sailing event provides a great way to socialise with our customers, developing relations away from the working environment. The 2014 sailing trip was a great success and we look forward to ‘setting sail’ again very soon.
If you would like to see a video from one of our previous sailing events, please click here to access our Retail Assist YouTube channel, and if you would like to see the yacht…
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