Our Story | Snark | Sailing Retreat

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17 hours ago
1 min

Summer cruising

We have just got back from a wonderful cruise along the SW coast. While the wind gods were less than helpful we did manage to fit in; bre...

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Aug 5
7 min

The Appliance of Science

A few weeks ago, I promised to give the technical slant on the story of Snark. It is a bit involved and lengthy, but I will try to get it...

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Aug 4
1 min

Escape to the Coast

or the Staycation of a Lifetime Our ‘bubble buddy’ cruises are designed to help you escape from the stresses of the current crisis and en...

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Jun 11
3 min

Search and rescue mission

Chapter 4 Fast forward to 2015 and Qiao and Paul, are looking for somewhere to live and run their architectural practice from. Whether i...

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May 28
1 min

A Star is Born

So, the Speights now needed to find a lucrative use for the putative Thames barge that was sitting in splendour in their back garden and ...

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May 16
1 min

Snark was not built in a day...

Chapter 2 So, having settled on a design, sourced some finance and found a build site, in 1997 the Speights; father David and son Nigel, ...

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May 6
2 min

In the beginning....

The story of how Snark came about is an intriguing one and not at all obvious. In the beginning a father and son , David and Nigel Speigh...

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Apr 28
1 min

boats and more boats...

Boats are an enduring theme in art from the very earliest civilisations to the present day. From bronze age Sweden and Ireland to Ancient...

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Apr 28
2 min

our daily bread..

I think I mentioned before that we make all of our bread on board. Our flours comes from Shipton Mill who make a fantastic range of flour...

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Apr 10
1 min

Last Easter....

The sun is shining here in Devon and we are sitting in our boatyard berth with fond memories of last Easter when we cruised around Tor Ba...

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Apr 2
1 min

....messing about in boats....

"Is it so nice as all that?" asked the mole, shyly... "Nice? It's the only thing," said the Water Rat solemnly, as he leaned forward for ...

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Apr 1
2 min

Covid responses....

Looking at our blogs of just three weeks ago makes me realise the speed at which the impact of the Covid-19 virus has hit us and many oth...

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Mar 28
2 min

All change.....

Wow, what a train crash this year is turning into. Brexit chaos followed by Covid-19 then who knows what but certainly difficult economic...

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Mar 26
1 min

culinary adventures

Forced seclusion has given us the opportunity to learn how to cook more adventurous cuisine on board. A diverse order from Sous Chef and...

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Mar 14
2 min

A few last minute bits and pieces....

Our first event of the season is planned for next weekend, a preview yoga retreat for friends, family and hopefully the press. At the mo...

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Mar 8
2 min

With a extra little care....

The news is full of stories and dire warnings about the Covid-19 virus and we thought you would like to know our plans should the infecti...

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Mar 3
1 min

A hint of spring and the painting can start in earnest

Its been so wet and windy recently that our winter painting has been delayed by weeks. However the sun has finally come out to play for ...

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Feb 28
1 min

The view

Dartmouth is a beautiful place, the combination of the steep wooded valleys, the historic town with its ancient buildings and the gateway...

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Feb 24
1 min

February Blues

I have spent today down below hiding from the gale that isn't Storm Ellen. It has been pretty miserable for the past few weeks, the storm...

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Feb 22
1 min

We think this is pretty cool

Our latest promotional video is just finished. Please share as much as you can, the more people see it the better our ratings and ratings...

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Feb 21
2 min

Check out our B&B

When we aren't on the high seas or chilling on retreat, we offer B&B on board as well as pop up events. If you wonder what that might be ...

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Feb 15
1 min

Pop up jazz cafe

We are setting up Snark as a pop up jazz cafe during the Dartmouth Music Festival on 15th 16th and 17th May on the Town Pontoon and/or S ...

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Feb 9
2 min

Meet the crew

Paul Jenkins and Qiao Feng set about building their new coastal sailing barge Snark from a bare steel shell four years ago. They carved ...

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Feb 9
1 min

Stormy weather

We are safe and snug in our winter berth up a sheltered creek off the River Dart. Storm Ciara is blasting the hill tops and every now and...

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