“Naturally the first thing that strikes anyone when meeting Graeme is that he is truly a larger than life character, oozing energy, fun and warmth. We spent a day with Graeme in the foulest of weather talking sailing theory and pontoon bashing when we also discovered his passion for sailing, his sincere love of people, a fantastic sense of humour along with a totally relaxed and pragmatic attitude towards life making him such a pleasure to be with.
Our next meeting was once again foul weather, blowing a steady Force 6 gusting a 7 to 8, so we went sailing! This to us was the ultimate test. We are not very experienced and felt a little apprehensive taking the boat out in this high wind. We can only say Graeme amazed us. His knowledge, skill and passion for sailing was evident to see, but most importantly to us his calm and relaxed attitude calmed us, so we had a ball!!
It is not enough to have the theoretical knowledge and a list of impressive qualifications on paper. To us it is essential that this can be communicated across so that we may learn and develop our own skills and confidence on the water, the skills of training / facilitating are absolute. Graeme has all of this!
To conclude, everyone who has now met him since he joined the company would regard him as the warmest, most sincere chap you could wish to find. He is the most confident and competent of sailing instructors, yet puts one at ease immediately. He makes sailing the fun it should be and yet at all times is reassuringly safe. We strongly believe SailTime have found in Graeme the ’round peg for the round hole’. Long may he stay!!!
We are really looking forward to attending lots of Graeme’s courses both on and off the water and feel so fortunate that he has joined the already fantastic team here in Lymington.”
Katy and Debbie Lemin-Stone
Owner-Members on Legolas, Beneteau 343
“A thorough, patient, and knowledgeable instructor who makes the learning exercise fun. There are no ’stupid’ questions for him as he takes time to explain and encourage those around him. Graeme inspires confidence and his enjoyment of sailing is infectious.”
Cliff & Karen Spooner
Member on Aragorn, Beneteau 323
“It has been a real treat to be taught by someone so knowledgeable and experienced. Do’s and Don’ts are easier to remember when told by someone who did and didn’t. Graeme has a relaxed and fun yet professional style and we would recommend his services wholeheartedly.”
Nick Drew
Member on Scramble, Beneteau 373
“We have had a number of days tuition with Graeme and could not have wished for a more knowledgeable, skilled and personable instructor. He has a special ability to remain calm and build confidence in every situation and has a wonderful, patient way of communicating information.
Graeme is an instantly likeable person and great company and has become not only a huge support in our relatively new sailing life, but also a good friend.
By the way, thank you for organizing such a wonderful event on Saturday — we all enjoyed it immensely.”
Annika Hatchwell
Owner-Member of Fat Lady, Beneteau 40
“Graeme’s approach to tuition is both thorough and fun with not a dull moment! From ‘pontoon bashing’ to MOB and reefing instruction, his guidance is both comprehensive and most importantly practical, with particular emphasis on the end user, as we intend to sail with our young boys of 7 and 4 years old!
Whilst my husband has sailed more frequently than I and completed his Day Skipper course, I was nervous that SailTime’s Instructor would be too impatient with a complete novice. Not so with Graeme, a joke for every tack and some great sailing tales make it the most pleasurable day’s tuition you could have! And having returned home on Monday from our second induction day when we had sunshine; no wind; rain; F3/4/5; heavy rain; thunder and lightning; and warm sun to finish the day, at no time was our day made to feel like a chore on ours or his part.
We cannot recommend Graeme highly enough, even if the weather and conditions are not right, we know we’ll learn something and have a good time along the way! Please pass on our thanks to Graeme and your team at SailTime.”
Pam and Steve Brown
Members on Hufflepuff, Beneteau 343
“Just wanted to let you know I really enjoyed yesterday’s workshop with Graeme, it was a very productive day and has increased my confidence considerably.
Thanks.”
Adam Brown
Member on Phoenix, Beneteau 343
“I went along to the Southampton boat show for years, but never imagined I could be driving one of those beautiful vessels myself one day.
Then a couple of years ago, someone showed me a SailTime leaflet. The more I found out about the scheme the better it seemed; and now I am the Owner-Member on a Bavaria 29 Sport.
There are still times, when we’re cruising down the Solent on a sunny evening with the wind in our hair, that I can hardly believe it’s real!”
Andrew Foster
Owner-Member of Sirius, Bavaria 29 Sports Power Boat
“I joined SailTime Hamble as a power boat member in the autumn, and was able to complete my Day Skipper training over the winter, which was in itself enjoyable & interesting.
Since then I’ve been able to enjoy using the boat several times a month, in particular often taking advantage of short term vacancies on the scheduler to use the boat effectively ‘free’.
In the past I’ve always been sceptical of any ‘time-sharing’ type arrangements for anything, but have been really pleased with the way SailTime works. I get to use the boat for a reasonable amount of time, and it’s really cost-effective — giving me the use of a new boat for less than the cost of just a marina berth.
The scheduler software is very easy to use and intuitive.
I find SailTime Hamble very professional, and above all this is clearly a company run by boating enthusiasts for boating enthusiasts. The best aspect is that everything is looked after for me — I don’t have any of the hassles or costs of ownership, but am free to enjoy the boat several times a month for a relatively modest cost.
My friends & family all love trips out on Sirius and joining SailTime has certainly given my social life a big boost!”
Paul Scott
Member on Sirius, Bavaria 29 Sports Power Boat
“SailTime has given us a simple, efficient way to enjoy big boat sailing whilst rapidly building up experience and sea miles. The boats are in good condition, the system works well and the organisation impeccable.”
Graham and Carole Plant
Members on Scramble, Beneteau 373
“We have been SailTime members for 2 years. We are busy with our children and running our business. For us SailTime is ideal. We have easy access to our boat to make maximum use of our limited leisure time, the online scheduler works well. Richard and Sue keep the boat in A1 condition. For us that means more time sailing, less time dealing with boat problems”
James Wiles
Member on Nemo, Beneteau 323
“Having sailed many times whilst on holiday, I had for some time been keen on owning a yacht of my own. However, the prospect of only being able to use it once or twice a month due to the many other calls on my recreation time meant it would be an expensive option that didn’t seem to offer value for money. The only other alternative was to charter, but as I hadn’t achieved Day skipper this was not possible. SailTime provided the ideal solution. I could sail a new yacht without any of the hassle of marina fees, maintenance or depreciation. What’s more, having signed up I could take my Day Skipper practical on my own boat.
As it happened both my son and I took Day Skipper and because there were just the two of us I believe we got much more from the Yachtmaster with us than would have been the case with 6 or so on board a training school boat. Our experience with SailTime has been excellent. They do just what it says in the PR material. The boats are excellent, the scheduler works well and gives everyone a fair allocation, so I can safely say there are no catches.
With spring around the corner I am really looking forward to getting lots of use out of the boat and continuing the relationship with all of the SailTime team.”
Robin Chillman
Member on Nemo, Beneteau 323
“We joined SailTime at the novice stage of our sailing career. For us SailTime has been a brilliant way to get sailing and to gain experience. We obviously have only been able to sail with an experienced qualified friend, but it has been great fun and a terrific way to get started. It has prompted us to go ahead and qualify and we are doing our Day Skipper.”
Sarah and Tim Dommett
Members on Nemo, Beneteau 323
“I like the convenience of being able to use a well maintained and high spec boat at times which suit me, and at a known fixed monthly cost. By using the same boat each time (as opposed to charter) I can build up my skills and get a little more out of the boat each time I go out.”
Nigel Jones
Member on Hufflepuff, Beneteau 343
“SailTime membership is an excellent way to experience the joys of sailing without the cost and responsibility of owning my own boat. For a fixed monthly fee, I have the opportunity to enjoy my sailing hobby whilst leaving all the organisational headaches to the friendly and efficient SailTime team.”
Graham Petersen
Member on Hufflepuff, Beneteau 343
“The forecast looks good, shall we sail this weekend? Point & Click. Phoenix is available, lets go down to Port Hamble and we are off! No delays, no work to be done. Shall we sail to Cowes or Lymington for lunch? Decisions, decisions! Sailing without the hassle, that’s SailTime!”
Ian Mcclelland
Owner-Member on Phoenix, Beneteau 343
