Great Escape Sailing School and Yacht Charter

Fantastic experience sailing with Great Escape. Julie was a wonderful teacher, and the boat we hired was well equiped and comfortable. Look forward to another trip.
Apr 29th, 2023

My partner and I recently did the 'Six-day learn-to-sail then sail-yourself adventure' and we were absolutely blown away by this epic experience! Our exposure to sailing prior to the course was very minimal, but we both now feel far more confident in our knowledge and understanding of the general principles of sailing and would happily charter a boat of a similar size in the future. The boat we stayed on was a Noelex 25 which had everything that we needed for our adventure and was incredibly comfortable for the two of us. All of the learning material we were provided on the course was incredibly helpful and was a great point of reference whenever we weren't sure on something. Our instructor, Martin, came from an extensive sailing background and was an incredibly friendly and supportive teacher. The two night solo sail was an unforgettable experience, especially in the beautiful Bay of Islands, where there are so many stunning beaches and bays to explore. It also really cemented all of the skills that we had been taught during the first three days of the course with our instructor. The owners, Julie and Bill, were both incredibly friendly and organised professionals and made you feel very supported throughout the experience. This is a great foundational beginner's sailing course and we highly recommend it to anyone who wants to dip their toes in. We will definitely go back again ourselves in the future to extend our learning or just for another epic charter adventure :)
Mar 22nd, 2023

This is an amazing sailing school and sailing boat charter business located in one of the nicest places in the North Island! The owners are super nice and welcoming, the boats are neat and tidy, and the prices are affordable. We'd been through the 6-day sailing/go on your own course in 2022, and it'd been so awesome, we came back again. This year (2023) we had to shift our original booking due to the stormy weather and our request was accommodated and we have had another amazing holiday on a charter boat from the Great Escape. I highly recommend this place! Thanks Julie and Bill! PS we rented the Davidson 20 boat and though some other reviewers found it to be slightly underperforming in sailing to their taste, we found it to be perfectly fine and there was nothing major to make us unhappy about it. Possibly the more experienced sailors should consider the bigger/better equipped boats the GE team has on offer, but for the beginners, the boat we rented was just spot on.
Mar 19th, 2023

Our second trip with Great Escape. Took out a larger boat and had a great time. Josh was on deck to help us out with a few issues we had but was great to deal with. Great friendly people to deal with who go the extra mile to make sure you have a great time. Highly recommend!
Mar 17th, 2023

We have no experience with the sailing school, but if you are looking to rent a sailing boat in the Bay of Islands (bareboat), find yourself another company. The Great Escape sailing boats are absolutely not up to standard to ensure a happy and above all safe sailing holiday. These Noalex boats are somewhere between 30 and 40 years old and have been used very intensely as sailing school vessels. They are worn and maintenance is minimal (painting the deck without using any anti-slip which creates ultra slippery surfaces, changing the mattress covers and not the mattresses themselves) or when things actually break (winches totally worn, slipping sheet clamps). If you are an experienced sailor, the technical state of these boats will make you cry. Again, learning to sail might be great fun at Great Escape, but these vessels are far from up to standard if you are considering a nice sailing holiday. I will not go into detail but we rented a Noalex 25 to go sailing for a week and after one day we found so many things wrong that we decided to go back. The good reaction of Great Escape was to give us our money back. The bad part was that they refused to see the real state of their boats, so I do not foresee any positive changes for the near future.
Mar 9th, 2023