Sailing with a group of friends is a lot more affordable than most people think and is a wonderful activity holiday - one which David Sturrock Yachting can make come true, with top-specification yachts available now in Greece.

The company is absolutely delighted to have been chosen as the best Leisure Yacht Charter Business in Scotland by the UK Enterprise Awards 2024.

David said: "When we started operating in 2006 we always strived to offer the highest standards and best level of services so that our customers had a wonderful sailing experience. We have been very fortunate since then to be surrounded by some excellent teams to deliver this vision. We also have an extremely loyal customer base who return year after year to enjoy our yachts."

The Hanse 588 is available from Kos for fully crewed charter for six to eight guests or individual cabin charter for six guests (no sailing qualifications required) and lots of additional toys such as a Williams Jet drive tender, waterskiis, foil board, wakeboard and SUP’s all available.

The Moody 54 DS, a new, extremley well-equipped yacht based in Corfu - that is also available for fully crewed charter - as well as The Hanse 400, 458, 455 and 430 yachts are based at Kos Marina for summer charter, taking advantage of the fresh breezes and consistently glorious sailing conditions provided by the Aegean Sea. Jeanneau 479 is also now available from Rhodes Marina in 2025.

The Moody 54 DS and the Hanse 588 are almost exclusively available for skippered and crewed charters only.

The firm, which has been operating in Greece for 18 years, can provide, bareboat or skipper charter with hostess service and their attention to detail, high standards and constant care with yacht maintenance programme mean that you can really relax and enjoy your sailing holiday experience.

The Herald:

Allyacht’s are Greek registered and have the Greek charter licence which sets minimum safety standards of equipment on board. 

This includes appropriately sized liferafts with hydrostatic release, EPIRB’s, smoke & gas detection, deck fitted jackstays, integrated automatically inflating lifejackets/harnesses which amounts to a significantly higher standard of safety. All yachts are also fitted with solar panels , electric flush toilets and USB charging points in each cabin for your convenience.

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

The Herald:

David said: "I have been sailing since I was around 10 years old and I was fortunate enough to be taught by my father, Captain Bill Sturrock.

"I qualified as an RYA Dinghy Instructor before then gaining my RYA Yacht Master Offshore certificate and finally my YM Instructor award. I worked for a number of companies as a skipper or Instructor including the Outward Bound Trust and Sunsail.

"Two of the many highlights I have had in my sailing career would be the Atlantic crossings as skipper of my own Yachts while completing in the 2008 and 2012 ARC events. Then cruising in the Caribbean following arrival at St Lucia was the icing on the cake.

The Herald:

"I have been operating Yachts from Kos since 2006, the area had been recommended to me by another Greek Charter Company as an excellent sailing location.

"As Kos is based within the Dodecanese chain of islands there are many excellent cruising destinations within easy reach. The wind and weather patterns are excellent with the prevailing NW’ly breeze blowing at F4/5 and virtually no rain from May to October. So it’s possible to find a new beach or small island each time you return to the area.

"The majority of our customers are German as they really appreciate the Hanse model of Yachts we operate 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 on our website.

The Herald:

"We work with Istion Yachting who are a Greek owned Yacht Charter Company. Istion provide maintenance and yacht management services which are vital to allow charter operations to run smoothly.

"Istion (means sail in Greek) have an excellent reputation for providing customer service and this along with our own reputation for providing high specification Yachts has been very effective in the competitive yacht charter market.

The Herald:

"Although all our yachts are Hanse we will of course consider other manufacturers for charter management. All yachts have very high safety standards and full details are available on the website.