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Supporting Your Passion For Sailing

bareboat yacht charter solent

Bareboat Yacht Charter

Charter a yacht in the Solent , a fantastic cruising area. Gleaming, well maintained yachts and a friendly shoreside team. We are a leading UK boat charter operator.

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Skippered Yacht Charter Southampton

Skippered Yacht Charter

Charter a yacht with one of our expert skippers or instructors on board. Learn as much or as little as you like. Get fully involved or enjoy the luxury of watching the world go by whilst the skipper takes care of everything.

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First Away Yacht Charter Fleet

Our Yachts

Choose from a perfect variety of sailing yachts . All lovingly maintained and kept spotlessly clean by our shoreside crew.

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Firstaway Yacht Charters Southampton

Firstaway Yacht Charters offers a range of loved and well maintained boats for bareboat and skippered yacht charter from the Solent.

Based in Shamrock Quay Marina in Southampton, with yachts here, and in Town Quay Marina in Southampton and on the River Hamble we are perfectly placed for South Coast and Solent sailing.  Visit places such as Beaulieu in the New Forest, Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight, Cowes - also on the Isle of Wight and perhaps the yachting capital of the World (?), Newtown Creek, Portsmouth Harbour, Bembridge, Wooton Creek plus others.   For cruising further afield there is the West Country, France or the Channel Islands.

In addition to bareboat and skipper charter we team building activities and corporate sailing events, for all levels of sailing experience.

We also have options to book individual berths on boats in yachting races like Round the Island Race and the Rolex Fastnet Race.

We have very close ties with First Class Sailing, an RYA sailing school, so if you want to brush up on things like boat handling skills or you just want to get some more miles as skipper or as crew before your Solent yacht charter then we can help.

More Than Just Solent Yacht Charter

From Sailing Adventures in Norway and racing across the Atlantic, to Boat Handling weekends and Yacht Management. In addition to bareboat charter and skippered charter we have lots of other options to offer on a wide variety of boats.

Sailing Courses

If you need to brush up on your boat handling skills, want to get more sailing experience and miles in under the helpful eye of an instructor, need a VHF license or just want to take a sailing course, be it theory or practical, then our sister company First Class Sailing Ltd is the perfect choice to help build your skills and confidence for sailing yachts.

Also based in Shamrock Quay, Southampton they are an RYA Recognised Training Centre.  They run the full range of RYA sailing courses including the shorebased theory courses - Day Skipper Theory Course, Coastal Skipper & Yachtmaster Theory Course and Ocean Yachtmaster Theory course; all the practical courses - Competent Crew, Day Skipper, Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster Prep; and the full range of 1 day supplementary courses - VHF Radio, Sea Survival, Diesel Engine Maintenance and First Aid.

First Class Sailing RYA Training Centre

Solent Sailing

The Solent is a fantastic place to sail.  One could say the Solent stretches from Portsmouth and the forts just south of Portsmouth to the start of the Needles Channel.  Within this area there are numerous places to pull into port and explore, each with something different to offer.  Two big ports, charming market towns, the bustling Hamble River, the beautiful Bucklers Hard up the Beaulieu River in the heart of the New Forest, anchorages positioned to let you watch the world go by.  They are all within a stone's throw (short sail) of each other meaning you can visit several South Coast locations during your charter, making it popular for a day, a yacht weekend or a week.
Due to the popularity of sailing on the Solent, many people are searching online for terms such as yacht hire Solent , yacht rental Solent , boat hire Solent , boat rental Solent , and, if you're local, yacht charter near me .
There is also a huge variety of craft in the Solent.  It is not uncommon to see high performance racing yachts in Cowes, oil tankers, fishing boats, day boats, sailing school boats, round the world luxury cruising yachts, round the world racing yachts, old gaffers, classic keel boats, kite surfers, windsurfers, big expensive power boats, smaller expensive power boats, sailing dinghies in Gosport, ribs of all shapes and sizes, cruise ships, a hoover craft and high speed ferries.  All within a day.  Yet the Solent does still offer peaceful hideaways to get away from it all.
There are few real physical obstructions to boats within the Solent.  There is the odd ledge There is the Bramble Bank just to the north and east of Cowes but that is about it.  There is a shipping channel one must be aware off and local bylaws that one needs to adhere to.
Solent tides are interesting, and it is necessary to have a good awareness of what the tide is doing at all times.  Due to the shape of the land and the Isle of Wight the Solent gets 'double highs'.
Just beyond the Solent on the South coast there is Poole and Weymouth to the west, Bembridge, Langstone and Chichester Harbours to the East.

Solent map

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Customer Testimonials

Brilliant Day on the Water

Fantastic days sailing with friends on a wonderful boat. It certainly helped that we had 3 very experienced sailors with us, would highly recommend Firstaway sailing if you want a day on the water in the Solent. - Clive B

Firstaway Yacht Charters

Thanks Sally and Eric for great service and a brilliant day with Firstaway Yacht Charters. Excellent first experience of sailing. Skipper Eric was great and let us all take a turn at the helm. A great way to celebrate special occasions. Boat was clean and well maintained with good facilities too. Would recommend Firstaway to anyone wanting to take a trip sailing. - R & A Jenner

May Bank Holiday Charter of Cascadeur

We were 7 onboard this Jeanneau 12.5 m and while there wasn't much wind, with what little there was we managed 7 kts. Cascadeur is a great charter boat - roomy, clean, well equipped. Eric and Sally were very helpful and clearly know their stuff. - Peter R

Highly recommended

Wonderful people. Sally in particular couldn't have been more helpful. The skippers were professional and experienced, but also good fun and made the whole experience very enjoyable. Thanks all! - Sam N

Day trip with great skipper

Excellent company, with a very well appointed boat (Zara). Nothing was a problem to them, despite me chopping and changing a lot. Our skipper - Gavin - was fantastic. Knowledgable, friendly and great company. I would certainly use this company again.- ASQC

Amazing Trip. Highly Recommended!

I arrived with no expectations and ended up having an amazing time on "Elissa" The Skipper was super friendly and got us involved with the sailing. Overall was a phenomenal experience and I highly recommend to anyone considering!! 5 STARS - Virginia Water

Fantastic Service, Again, Thank You!

Firstaway run a great charter business: their yachts are in very good condition, always well prepared, properly cleaned; nothing is too much trouble; friendly and professional. I have been chartering from Firstaway for nearly 20 years and would always recommend them and never look elsewhere! - Mackeaj

Great experience in Solent with Firstaway

I chartered with Firstaway 3 days a Gib'Sea 37ft yatch. Very well kept and clean. excellent service and assistance, very easy checkin-checkout process. we did some 60 miles chilling around the Solent, Yarmouth harbour was also an excellent experience. highly recommended. - Tommaso M

An exciting day

A beautiful day on the water around the Solent... I was slightly anxious as I don’t have webbed feet but Eric and Sally were great hosts and competent sailors... now looking forward to my next seafaring adventure. - Karen

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Endeavour Building, Shamrock Quay,
William Street, Southampton, SO14 5QL

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