Rubicon 3 Adventure Sailing

Name: Rubicon 3 Adventure Sailing
Address: Unit 8A, Fairlie Quay Marina, Fairlie, Largs, KA290AS, GB
Telephone: +442030867245
Price range: ££

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Rubicon 3 Adventure Sailing

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www.rubicon3adventure.com - Sail and explore adventure holidays

Join Rubicon 3 and be part of a major expedition, crewing a specialised 60ft expedition yacht toward Russia, Scandinavia and the Arctic Circle. Throughout, there are carefully crafted lessons in sailing and navigation giving you new skills that you will constantly be putting into practice as we head towards our next destination. then at every deserted anchorage or amazing city we visit, you can get out the kayaks, bikes and tents and start exploring

16/10/2026

In 13 years, I don't think we have ever had better weather for our Bay of Biscay Crossing! 20kn NE in October is something else! Bluejay and Hummingbird racing south to warmer weather and early dreams of cocktails in the Caribbean in a couple of months!

07/10/2026

The boats are heading down the Irish sea in 30kn in some glorious autumn weather on the first leg of what will be near 5000 nautical mile journey to the Caribbean

30/09/2026

Our main engines are 20 hp Suzuki but on the very rare occasion one of them has a problem we need a spare. Another petrol outboard is often not the answer as sitting there unused makes them unreliable so Rubicon 3 Adventure Sailing have now invested in the all electric Torqeedo to be our spare outboards after a very successful testing session today in Scotland.

27/09/2026

Hummingbird’s rather huge refit continues. A brand new Bruntons Propellers propellor, a vicious rope chopper from Darglow Marine Propeller Manufacturers a new generator from Fischer Panda GmbH and a whole new nav station from 360 Boat Services Services. And that’s just this week!

15/09/2026

𝗧𝗪𝗢 𝗖𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗖𝗘𝗦 – 𝗕𝗔𝗬 𝗢𝗙 𝗕𝗜𝗦𝗖𝗔𝗬

This trip was completely full. A couple have unfortunately had to cancel, which means two places have suddenly become available.

They are reselling them for just £2,000 each, making this a pretty exceptional opportunity to join one of our best Passage Making Masterclasses.

England to Spain | 11–23 October 2026

This is proper offshore training. A 600nm Bay of Biscay crossing, real passage planning, weather, heavy weather sailing, watchkeeping, navigation and decision making – learning the skills that actually matter when you head offshore.

We also have Simon Rowell, meteorologist to the British Olympic Sailing Team, joining us for the shore based weather training before departure.

If you have been thinking about stepping up from coastal sailing into proper offshore passage making, this is about as good an opportunity as you will get. The average age is around 52, most people join on their own, and rusty sailors are very welcome. You do not need to arrive as some slick, highly experienced offshore sailor. The whole point is to learn, refresh rusty skills and become much more capable and confident.

Only two places. £2,000 each (£500 saving). Once they’re gone, they’re gone.

https://www.rubicon3adventure.com/product/bay-of-biscay/

10/09/2026

AN INSIGHT INTO REFIT

Hummingbird has returned from her adventures in Greenland and is now up on the hard in Scotland having her annual refit.

Each refit is a massive planning exercise that starts 4-5 months beforehand, involved 12-13 different companies and suppliers all being coordinated and a big logistics operation in place to ensure everything is where it needs to be at the right time. On top of that we have to account for tides, wind and weather and the always unexpected issues that arise.

Our yachts have a very detailed maintenance regime, where some equipment can be run to failure and repalced on board, while other equipment is replaced after a set period of time, even though it appears to be perfect. It's (very) expensive and often a bit frustrating, but is central to the huge improvements in reliability we've made in the last few years.

So over the month, the last remaining metal through hulls and seacocks are being removed and replaced with the excellent hard plastic Tru Design models that we have been so impressed with. We also pull the shaft and fit new stern tube and P-bracket bearings, a new shaft seal and a brand new Bruntons propellor and rope cutter.

All the fresh and grey water pipework will be replaced end to end. Various hatches are being replaced. There's new exhaust pipework, a new generator, and the steering box is currently off the boat being powder coated.

Oh, and finally, the famous Hummingbird wrap is finally coming off. Such an iconic design known and loved the world over - but it really was knackered! We're working on a new one that will keep all the charm of the original but will update it to the 2020s. In the meantime, she'll have a season of being bare hulled!

None of this is particularly exciting in itself but it is exactly why we can put a crew on a Rubicon 3 Clipper 60 and take her thousands of miles offshore and into some very remote places with absolute confidence. Does it mean nothing ever breaks or goes wrong? Not a chance (sadly) but it does mean what does go wrong is nearly always not mission critical and that a rapid repair or fix is doable.

We're always learning, always improving and we're super proud of what we do. It's just this bit's not the most glamorous!!

See you all soon

09/09/2026

Very few yachts ever get to Jan Mayen, let alone escorted by whales and with the sky alive with the northern lights.

Bluejay just became one of them.

We left Longyearbyen, Svalbard, eight days ago, bound for Iceland via Jan Mayen, that tiny Norwegian island sitting on its own in the Greenland Sea.

The first couple of days made us work for it. Beating into wind and swell, a few of the crew seasick, but everyone settling into the watch system well.

Then, of all things, the watermaker packed up. We carry hundreds of litres spare, so it was no emergency, but it did mean using hand sanitiser instead of washing hands, salt water for the washing up with a quick fresh water rinse, and some fairly impressive rationing. It turns out 200ml of fresh water will wash an entire breakfast’s worth of plates if you really mean it!

Then the weather window opened, the sailing was magnificent and the snowy peak of Jan Mayen appeared.

We anchored at Kvalrossbukta and got a few precious hours ashore. The station commander came down to meet us, told us the history of this extraordinary island and, rather importantly by then, gave us 150 litres of fresh water.

Then we wandered along a beach covered in whale bones, in a place almost nobody else will set foot on this year.

The sail south to Iceland had a few more tricks up its sleeve. A whale following the boat. And northern lights on every single watch.

Not a quick flash and gone. Proper curtains of them, hour after hour. Some of the best displays we have ever seen. People were setting alarms so nobody slept through their turn on deck.

We came into Iceland in the small hours this morning. Tired, salty, one watermaker down, but utterly exhilarated.

Svalbard. Jan Mayen. Iceland – wow, what an adventure!

Want to join us? We’re not back in Svalbard until 2028, but the boats are already nearly half full. And our next Chasing the Northern Lights trip, Iceland to Scotland in 2027, is already around half full too.

Both are here. If you want one, get your place reserved. These really are adventures of a lifetime.

https://www.rubicon3adventure.com/product-category/adventure-sailing-holidays/norway-iceland-the-arctic/

(Northern Lights photos courtesy of crewmember David Chandler, drone by crew member Michal Wroblewski)

05/09/2026

Hummingbird is out of the water at Largs Yacht Haven for the next month or so for some TLC before heading on south towards Las Palmas for the ARC Atlantic Rally for Cruisers !

23/08/2026

𝗣𝗿𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝘃𝗮𝗹𝗯𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟴

How's your Sunday? Another stunning weekend in Svalbard - undoubtedly one of the most beautiful, awe inspiring places we sail to in the world. Although we are not back here in 2027 as we rotate the schedule, we will be back in 2028. We wish we could do more availability but are limited to the following expeditions: from Norway to Svalbard (July 18-29 2028) two west coast Svalbard expeditions (August 01-11 and August15-25) and the expedition back to Iceland, via Jan Mayan (August 29-September 09) (all dates approximate but will be very close).

Due to huge demand we are now opening pre registration. Email us at 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼@𝗿𝘂𝗯𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗻𝟯𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲.𝗰𝗼𝗺 stating which expedition you would like to be on for a link to reserve your place. Bring a friend, bring a group - but this will have to be a strictly first come first served process

See you in Svalbard in 2028!

The Rubicon 3 Team

Address

Unit 8A, Fairlie Quay Marina, Fairlie
Largs
KA290AS

Telephone

+442030867245

Website

http://www.rubicon3adventure.com/

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