Sailing with Visa-GB in 2025/26

Our 2025 sailing calendar has been a resounding success, and our two remaining events for the year are now fully booked. Please see our news page for reports on recent trips and how everyone enjoyed the fantastic experience of sailing with Visa GB ! We will be publishing our 2026 calendar very soon, however, to whet your appetite, plese see below for the events we are planning ! Notes will go out to our membership when we have firmed up dates and availability, so watch this space and check again for the latest news !

Trip Five: Solent Cruise (Fully booked).

Dates, Monday 8^th September to Sunday 14^th September. Cost £330. Location, Southampton or Cowes, please note that the boat is based in Cowes so this is the start point of the voyage. On previous trips the skipper has arranged to bring the boat to Town Quay, Southampton as transport links are very easy. Firm pick up arrangements will be made closer to the time depending on crew location. To get your name on the list please contact Dee Jones, membership@visa-gb.org.uk

Trip Six: Ionian Flotilla, Greece (Fully booked).

Dates, Sunday 28^th September to Sunday 05^th October. Cost £830. Location, Club Vounaki, Greece, this is our first overseas trip where we join a flotilla sailing around the sunny islands of the south Ionian sea in Greece. The cost includes flights and transfers, and is on a 40ft Dufour yacht operated by Neilson Active Holidays. There will be plenty of time to enjoy all that the region has to offer and soak up the lovely Greek culture – we’ll be dropping in to Ithaca, Kefalonia, and Lefkada, and on your last day you will be able to enjoy all the facilities at Neilson’s sailing base at Club Vounaki. To get your name on the list please contact Dee Jones, membership@visa-gb.org.uk

2026 Plans

Neilson Spring Flotilla Week, Greece, May
Solent Racing Prometheus Sailing, May
Milford Haven Coastal cruising, June
Cross Channel Explorer cruising, June
Largs Cruising Week Coastal cruising, July
Plymouth to Torquay Explorer cruising, July
Solent Sailing Week for 18 to 25s – Young adults training and introduction to sailing August
Solent to Weymouth Coastal cruising. September
Neilson Flotilla Week, Greece September
Solent Racing, Prometheus Sailing, Port Solent, October

You can contact us now to express your interest in any of these 2026 events, just get in touch with Dee Jones, membership@visa-gb.org.uk

How to book:

You’ll need to email membership@visa-gb.org.uk stating which trip, or trips, you are interested in please state your preference, e.g, first choice and second choice. If you want to talk to Dee, our membership secretary, Dee can be called on: 07920 144614.

Before you book please note the following:

All participants must be reasonably fit and able to climb stairs and get on and off the yachts, be able to walk unaided and be able to get to marina from their home and back again.
The sighted volunteer crew are there to help guide when you get to the marina and throughout the sailing trip but they are not trained to lift anyone nor are they a substitute for carers. So you must be able to dress, undress and wash yourself.
Participants must be able to wear a life jacket and to do this on the sailing yachts we use, must have a chest size of less than 135cm (53 inches).
Participants are responsible for their own travel arrangements and costs from home to and from the marina or point of departure.
To secure your place you will need to pay a deposit. All participants must have travel insurance that includes medical and cancellation cover to ensure that if you cancel you are not out of pocket. We will only refund monies in certain circumstances. See our Booking and Cancellation Policy here. Our Aims | Visually Impaired Sailing Association of GB | VISA
If bad weather is forecast we will not sail but there are plenty of things to do around the boat and we are often moored near places we can visit.
Please ensure you bring waterproofs and suitable non slip footwear such as non marking trainers or deck shoes. If you don’t have any you may be able to hire from the yacht provider but there is no guarantee of this.
All participants must read our Code of Conduct Code of Conduct – VISA-GB and behave accordingly.
All our trips rely on us having suitably qualified volunteers. In the unlikely event that there are not enough volunteers available the trip may have to be cancelled. We will let you know as soon as practicable. If the trip is cancelled you would receive a full refund but we would not be able to refund any cost of travel.
All our volunteers give their time free of charge and we are grateful to them for helping us make our sailing possible.

Kit List:

If you are sailing in the UK you need to prepare for all types of weather, so make sure you bring the following:

Waterproof jacket & trousers, warm hat & sun hat, a good base layer, a fleece or other warm second layer, a ‘necker’ warmth around the neck, deck shoes, or non marking trainers, and warm socks, if you are doing a lot of sailing a good pair of sea boots is a wise investment. A spare pair of non-marking shoes in case one pair gets wet.

Visa GB offer some branded sailing clothing and merchandise at very competitive prices through our partner, and you can find details of these and buy here: VISA GB Clothing visagb

The sun does shine so make sure you bring sun tan lotions, dark glasses, a sun hat or cap, a
long-sleeved t-shirt and shorts.

Sleeping, a sleeping bag & pillow. Wash kit and towel. Shore side clothes and a few changes of clothes but don’t go mad as we need to keep luggage to a minimum. If you have a soft bag with wheels rather than a suitcase it’s best as storage is at a premium. Please bring a tea towel and a couple of clothes pegs, there are never enough onboard! Any questions about the kit please ask your skipper or our membership secretary can bee emailed at membership@visa-gb.org.uk

Do you need experience?

Yes & No! First of all, we need to know if you do have any experience of sailing, maybe in dinghies or yachts, if you have great if you haven’t then no problem. We’ll make sure that there is always a good mix of people on the boat so the experienced sailors can help those who just want to have a go. Visa-gb will make sure that we get you on the right trip, a gentle cruise with regular stops is better for the least experienced while the ones who’ve done it before might go cross-channel or do a bit of racing. Don’t worry if you’ve never set foot on a boat before as every sailor takes great pride in helping someone new to this wonderful pastime.

What does it Cost?

We aim to make every trip good value for money, we can’t give you an exact figure but so you can budget you should reckon on between £55 & £75 per day, racing can be more expensive due to extra boat costs, this depends on sponsorship, cost of the yachts etc. The self-funded trips abroad will cost more as we do not subsidise these trips.
Remember that includes all your food and soft drink but not your travel to and from the yacht.
Our trips are great value and we hope you agree. Just so you know we are not in this to make money and every penny goes on the trip and no one gets paid!
To help spread the cost and make it easier to budget we are happy to receive three equal payments, first a deposit to secure your place, one payment 8 weeks before the trip and the final four weeks before your trip. Please see our booking, cancellation and insurance policy [insert link]

BOOKING, CANCELLATION AND INSURANCE POLICY

Our policy for booking, cancellations and insurance can be found here, and should be read by participants before booking: Our Aims | Visually Impaired Sailing Association of GB | VISA

Updated September 2025