I had never sailed before the holiday, but now I really know my way around the boat and the key sailing terms. My whole family got the level 2 sailing certificate, which means we can take a boat out on our own with no instructor. I really enjoyed the sailing and the instructors were all really nice. The five of us were split between two boats and each had an instructor. We did some racing at the end of the week and because there were not many people in the boat, nobody got bored,and everyone had something to do. By day 2 we were sailing without the instructor doing much but give instructions and demonstrate a few manouvers. Everybody enjoyed it, and we are keen to do more sailing in the future.

Suzy’s team at Eastwood Whelpton boatyard are just the best on the Broads. This long established yard offers beautifully kept sailing yachts of all sizes and a fantastically welcoming and joyful approach to getting you sailing safely. If you haven’t sailed before, don’t be put off, as you’ll get an instructional session before taking over your boat. Sailing is SO much better than those plastic motor tubs you could choose elsewhere, and the perfect, low risk way to introduce children to a powerful experience that few get to have these days. Nothing compares to the magical moment when you kill the engine and move solely under sail power, with only the trickling sounds of the water beneath your keel. We’ve just returned from my tenth holiday with Eastwood Whelpton and it was our best yet, with two families, two boats, and six children (aged two to fifteen). With life jackets on, all of them were constantly jumping in and swimming at every opportunity and having the time of their lives. Eastwood Whelpton is also perfectly placed at the mid-point on The Broads to explore in any direction and cover as much of the water network as you like. If you still have a pulse and you want to inspire your children with skills and memories to last them a lifetime, we can’t recommend this holiday and the good people of this boatyard enough!

I cannot say enough nice things about Eastwood Whelpton, they are a truly first-class sailing company. Myself and three friends had a day sailing trip onboard Tornado, skippered by Andy. The procedure prior to boarding was very simple and no fuss at all, drinks being provided free of charge (I won a competition for a free day sail). We set off under engine power and cruised along through Acle and along the Bure towards Breydon, turning round at Ashtree Drainage Mill. We were then treated to an outstanding lunch, provided by Eastwood Whelpton - when we were told lunch was provided, the most we had expected was an M and S meal deal, so you can imagine our surprise and delight when we discovered a cheese board and a bottle of Canti had been laid on for us, amongst other delicious foods ;)

Coming back under sail, we slipped back along past Stracey Arms, and experienced fighting the flood tide as we tried to go through Stokesby. Andy's tutoring of the basics of sailing were first class, and after a few tries we were tacking back and forth with no problem. I will add that of the four of us, two had never sailed before and of the two that had, it had been six years for one and eleven years for the other, so the discovery of how simple sailing is once the basics were gotten down was a real eye-opener. We ended our voyage after six hours on the water, and I can safely say I will 100% be returning in future, thank you Andy and all at Eastwood for a wonderful day out on the Broads :)