Oban’s Dave sailing high with charter business abroad

Oban man Dave Sturrock is probably better known in his home town for his allegiance to Oban Lorne Rugby Club of which is he past president, captain and player.

However, Dave is also a keen yachtsman.

Sailing has been in his blood from his earliest years. His father, the late Captain Bill Sturrock, encouraged and taught him and the rest of the family everything they wanted to know about boats and sailing.

Bill founded the Firth of Lorn Sea School in Oban, setting up both a highly successful training and yacht charter business, through which Dave became a qualified RYA Dinghy instructor, Yachtmaster Offshore and a Yachtmaster Instructor. He worked for a number of companies as a skipper or instructor, including the Outward Bound Trust and Sunsail.

Following in his father’s footsteps or more appropriately his helm, Dave established a highly-successful yacht charter business based in Kos, Greece in 2006 for summer sailing and now also offers chartering in the Caribbean as a winter destination.

David Sturrock Yachting (DSY) offers a range of Hanse yachts – the 588, 505, 470, 455, 430 and 400e yachts for Mediterranean and Caribbean charter. All are UK flagged and coded to MCA area 2 (60nm offshore). They all hold the Greek charter licence which means excellent standards of safety.

The yachts are based at Kos Marina for summer charter, taking advantage of the fresh breezes and consistently great sailing conditions provided by the Eastern Mediterranean. As Kos is based within the Dodecanese chain of islands there are many excellent cruising destinations within easy reach. Winter charter is available out of Grenada – the perfect base to explore the Caribbean.

David said: ‘It’s been a gradually evolving business starting with the first Hanse 400 which was commissioned at Dunstaffnage and delivered with Oban boys John Payne, the late Donald MacDonald and Sandy Rokitta.

‘We continue to see very high demand for our yachts. This is a reflection of the quality of our Hanse’s and the excellent level of customer service provided by Istion Yachting. The majority of our customers are German as they really appreciate our Hanse model of yachts which are built in Germany.

‘Our aim from the outset was to offer sailing yachts with real performance and comfort onboard that would appeal to genuine sailors. This strategy has been effective, with great comments and reviews.’

Dave added he would like to extend the net to see more customers from Scotland and his home town: ‘Already a number of folks from Oban have chartered and it would be good to see more come and enjoy this amazing sailing experience. Our first charter from Kos left on April 6 and we are excited about the new season!’

One of these clients from Oban, Colin Davren, said: ‘Seven years ago Dave Sturrock took me on my very first sailing trip to a Greek island travelling on a luxurious sailing boat skippered by him.

‘Dave is a very responsible and knowledgeable skipper. We visited amazing islands, bays and swam in beautiful clear blue water. The experience was second to none. I have now sailed with Dave every year since and this, together with Dave’s enthusiasm, encouraged me to achieve my day skipper qualification. So this year I have chartered one of Dave’s yachts and will be setting sail around the Mediterranean. It’s an experience to be recommended to anyone.’

New equipment has been fitted to the fleet for 2019, and for those who don’t feel comfortable ‘bare boat’ chartering, a skipper and even a cook can be hired for the duration of the cruise. Local knowledge from a skippered charter can ensure you enjoy the sailing holiday of a lifetime. And from €1,200 a week for a boat sleeping six in low season, a sailing holiday offers excellent value.

Dave continued: ‘All vessels are designed to give a cracking sailing performance, with high quality interior accommodation. These characteristics, along with top level equipment, make them a delight to charter and live aboard. A great deal of thought has gone into making it a memorable experience for everyone onboard.

‘We have added solar panels, electric flush toilets, USB charging points and comfort mattresses onboard each yacht. They all also have teak decks. We believe attention to detail is highly important, enabling a great sailing experience.’

With his experience built up over the last 13 years of chartering, Dave is now adding yacht management consultancy to services on offer and is able to advise on a range of interests, including partnership ownership.

Two of the many highlights in Dave’s sailing career were the Atlantic crossings as skipper of his own boats while competing in the 2008 and 2012 Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC).

He said: ‘The icing on the cake after arriving in St Lucia was the Caribbean cruising. This spurred me on to offer the area as a winter sailing destination.’

Dave has also extended his interest to supporting worthwhile causes and will continue support for Autism on the Water 2019 and also The Outward Bound Trust.

He said: ‘Murray MacDonald, who hails from Oban, has done an excellent job in raising awareness of the benefits of sailing to Autism sufferers while campaigning his Hunter 707 last year and we will support this season.’

Dave Sturrock Yachting is again sponsoring two students to attend the Skills for Life Award training course at Loch Eil Outward Bound.

Dave said: ‘I set this up in my Dad’s name since this is an organisation we very much admire for their work in developing young people and helping them reach their potential.’

Dave added: ‘We have many exciting sailing trips and projects lined up for 2019 so look forward to seeing these come to fruition.’