Au pair help for a sailing family in Southampton, UK
Last activity
: 6 Jun 2025
Min stay requested: No minimum
Workawayers needed
Possibility that workawayers are needed
No availability
Details
Host ref number: 443715673714
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Feedback (12)
I stayed with Alistair for two weeks, and he and his family made a great home in Southampton. His mother-in-law, Olga was a very lovely person, taking care of the children and making meals for myself as well. Charlie and Abi are very lively and adorable kids, though they like to fight each other sometimes as all kids do. I really enjoyed being
… read more around them looking at their lovely, innocent faces. Darya cooked most dinners and they were all amazing food - I really enjoyed all the meals I had during the stay. Alistair loved having a beer or two at dinner sometimes and he always asked me if I wanted some as well when he did which was very kind of him. Overall, I really felt at home at his house and I was fed very well.
Workwise, I worked for around 5-6 hours in the afternoon doing different sorts of things that he asked. Mainly they were boat-related and house-building-related. Somedays I worked on his boat at the harbour - cleaning the deck with a pressure washer, helping set up a new sail and general maintenance job. Other days, I worked on his building project which mostly involved a lot of digging and breaking concrete etc. It did require some strength and skills but was easy to pick up. Alistair got a little frustrated at times when working but this was understandable knowing how much he cares about his boat. Working on these tasks was not difficult in general and even enjoyed doing some of them.
On the last weekend, Alistair took the whole family and myself on a sailing trip to Isle of Wight and this really was the highlight of the stay at his house. It was my first ever proper sailing experience and as a sea lover, my heart pounded just being in the middle of the sea and now I have a growing dream in me to go on a sailing trip on my own one day. I really thank him for such a great experience and I would totally recommend it to anyone whether they are or are not interested in sailing. Alistair also took me in to the city to give a little tour of Southampton which was lovely.
To this day, I still miss those lovely smiles of the kids and the stay at Alistair's ! I wish I could see them again in the future :)
Left by Workawayer (Jéssica) for host
I spent 1 month with Alistair, between october and november/2023. It was my first experience on workway and my first experience traveling alone abroad and it couldn't be better. When I arrived Alistair picked me up on bus station and explained everything about how to get there. It was very easy! When I arrived in his house, I med Daria, Olga, Abi
… read more and Charlie. I have no words to describe this family, Olga is amazing and even though she doesn't speak english we could talk, she is adorable. Daria is a great mother, very careful. She helped me a lot! Everything I needed she helped me!!
I sailed with Alistair twice and it was amazing! it was my first experience sailing. He's a great sailor, I learned many things about sailing and tried to help. We went to two different such beatiful places !!
About the job, it is very easy! I stayed with the kids, they are amazing, have so much energy but they are adorable! Sometimes I picked up Abigail at nursery and stayed with her at the playground until Daria left her job and we went to their house. It was so fun! I played together with Abi at playground and I stayed with Abi and Charlie playing in the house too. I loved playing with Charlie with his animals toys, I learned a lot about animals vocabulary with him, he is so adorable!! Besides that, I helped cleaning the boat and vacuumed the house and I helped cleaning the Alistair Mother's garage too.
The routine was very flexible! During the time I stayed there I went to centre of Southampton many times! I loved walking there, it is a great city, with many things to see and to do, I loved it! Near the house has many things too, I loved walking there.
I highly recommed! I really loved staying with this family! I miss you guys, I wish the best things for you and hope we can see again!! xxYou can only contact Workawayers who have an active membership.
Left by Workawayer (Leonardo) for host
I spent almost 3 weeks with Alistair, Darya, Olga, Charle and Abi working to buid a new house.
- The job was what I expected it to be. I learned how to use a flex tool for steel, and how to do the base of house);
- The family is friendly and welcoming and are interested in the volunteers' culture background and life (I had good interactions with
… read more all of them, great conversations with Alistair and Darya and some fun time with Abi and Charle, who are such smart and nice kids.They made me feel instantly welcomed to the family! The whole family is very polite and Olga really makes very good food (as written here before).
- The city of Southampton is quiet. THe city is a good place if you want to go on a day trip to London. The house is on the same street as the university and this is great for those who want to study. Alistair also introduced me to many cool places, close to Southampton, like: New Forest National Park, Cowes and Stonehenge.
-Sailboat trips are incredible! All marinas are an area unlike anywhere I've been and I really enjoyed it. Through boat trips I met Henrique (Alistair’s oldest son) who also helped me with English ("release!" "release!"). During the time I stayed with them, they helped me a lot with English.
I hope to see them again and check on their progress building the house!! Wish them good luck with all their exciting ambitions (Including on upcoming sailing trips) and also may all their dreams come true. My rating is five stars!!! Thank you for everything!
Léo.You can only contact Workawayers who have an active membership.
Feedback
These are extra optional ratings when members leave feedback. The average rating left for each option is displayed.
Accuracy of profile:
(4.9)
I stayed with Alistair for two weeks, and he and his family made a great home in Southampton. His mother-in-law, Olga was a very lovely person, taking care of the children and making meals for myself as well. Charlie and Abi are very lively and adorable kids, though they like to fight each other sometimes as all kids do. I really enjoyed being
… read more around them looking at their lovely, innocent faces. Darya cooked most dinners and they were all amazing food - I really enjoyed all the meals I had during the stay. Alistair loved having a beer or two at dinner sometimes and he always asked me if I wanted some as well when he did which was very kind of him. Overall, I really felt at home at his house and I was fed very well.
Workwise, I worked for around 5-6 hours in the afternoon doing different sorts of things that he asked. Mainly they were boat-related and house-building-related. Somedays I worked on his boat at the harbour - cleaning the deck with a pressure washer, helping set up a new sail and general maintenance job. Other days, I worked on his building project which mostly involved a lot of digging and breaking concrete etc. It did require some strength and skills but was easy to pick up. Alistair got a little frustrated at times when working but this was understandable knowing how much he cares about his boat. Working on these tasks was not difficult in general and even enjoyed doing some of them.
On the last weekend, Alistair took the whole family and myself on a sailing trip to Isle of Wight and this really was the highlight of the stay at his house. It was my first ever proper sailing experience and as a sea lover, my heart pounded just being in the middle of the sea and now I have a growing dream in me to go on a sailing trip on my own one day. I really thank him for such a great experience and I would totally recommend it to anyone whether they are or are not interested in sailing. Alistair also took me in to the city to give a little tour of Southampton which was lovely.
To this day, I still miss those lovely smiles of the kids and the stay at Alistair's ! I wish I could see them again in the future :)
Left by Workawayer (Jéssica) for host
I spent 1 month with Alistair, between october and november/2023. It was my first experience on workway and my first experience traveling alone abroad and it couldn't be better. When I arrived Alistair picked me up on bus station and explained everything about how to get there. It was very easy! When I arrived in his house, I med Daria, Olga, Abi
… read more and Charlie. I have no words to describe this family, Olga is amazing and even though she doesn't speak english we could talk, she is adorable. Daria is a great mother, very careful. She helped me a lot! Everything I needed she helped me!!
I sailed with Alistair twice and it was amazing! it was my first experience sailing. He's a great sailor, I learned many things about sailing and tried to help. We went to two different such beatiful places !!
About the job, it is very easy! I stayed with the kids, they are amazing, have so much energy but they are adorable! Sometimes I picked up Abigail at nursery and stayed with her at the playground until Daria left her job and we went to their house. It was so fun! I played together with Abi at playground and I stayed with Abi and Charlie playing in the house too. I loved playing with Charlie with his animals toys, I learned a lot about animals vocabulary with him, he is so adorable!! Besides that, I helped cleaning the boat and vacuumed the house and I helped cleaning the Alistair Mother's garage too.
The routine was very flexible! During the time I stayed there I went to centre of Southampton many times! I loved walking there, it is a great city, with many things to see and to do, I loved it! Near the house has many things too, I loved walking there.
I highly recommed! I really loved staying with this family! I miss you guys, I wish the best things for you and hope we can see again!! xxYou can only contact Workawayers who have an active membership.
Left by Workawayer (Leonardo) for host
I spent almost 3 weeks with Alistair, Darya, Olga, Charle and Abi working to buid a new house.
- The job was what I expected it to be. I learned how to use a flex tool for steel, and how to do the base of house);
- The family is friendly and welcoming and are interested in the volunteers' culture background and life (I had good interactions with
… read more all of them, great conversations with Alistair and Darya and some fun time with Abi and Charle, who are such smart and nice kids.They made me feel instantly welcomed to the family! The whole family is very polite and Olga really makes very good food (as written here before).
- The city of Southampton is quiet. THe city is a good place if you want to go on a day trip to London. The house is on the same street as the university and this is great for those who want to study. Alistair also introduced me to many cool places, close to Southampton, like: New Forest National Park, Cowes and Stonehenge.
-Sailboat trips are incredible! All marinas are an area unlike anywhere I've been and I really enjoyed it. Through boat trips I met Henrique (Alistair’s oldest son) who also helped me with English ("release!" "release!"). During the time I stayed with them, they helped me a lot with English.
I hope to see them again and check on their progress building the house!! Wish them good luck with all their exciting ambitions (Including on upcoming sailing trips) and also may all their dreams come true. My rating is five stars!!! Thank you for everything!
Léo.You can only contact Workawayers who have an active membership.
Left by Workawayer (Priscylla) for host
Volunteering at their house was amazing, as the whole family is very nice.
Alistair picked me up from the bus station and introduced me to the talkative Charlie... Then I met Grandma Olga, who only speaks Russian, but we managed to communicate well and she was always very welcoming and prepared delicious lunches for me.
The work was simple, I
… read more helped to clean the boat and then we went sailing around the islands near Southampton (where I learnt a lot about sailing) together with Daria his polite wife and the cute Abigail and I helped au pair her in the afternoons and we spent the day playing... for her I was Priscylla Princess.
I also helped in the garden and with some of the housework, such as hoovering and cleaning the bathroom.
I recommend volunteering with this wonderful family to everyone.You can only contact Workawayers who have an active membership.
Thanks to Alistair and his family for being my first Workaway hosts. It was a real pleasure to help with light work around the house and in the garage, to help prepare the Boat and a lot of fun learning new words British, Russian and them Learn from me Always Spanish "Ayyyy Porr Dioos" and help with the children at home, in the pub, in the park,
… read more on short walks. They definitely made me part of the family, I became Charlie's Super Girl, our favorite game, "Are you ready super Girl, let's go, i catch you" With little Abigail I learned to watch Pepa Pig and my conversation improved a lot in English with the children and it became my best series to study and practice English, Also I learned to say all Time "this is mine", "look at this" and "again", Abi learns from me to wipe her nose and while she was doing it, she said, "Ohh por Dios, Mocos Mocos."
Thank you very much for taking me sailing, for teaching me to tie ropes.
I had the opportunity to be with this wonderful family for 6 weeks or so and it was all over the moon, definitely as we would say in Medellin Colombia "Amo Mal O sea 1000/10".
The jobs I've been given have been fairly easy. There is always something to do in the house, around or on the boat, so I can recommend them as hosts for any type of person, every job or activity of the day with them was a new learning experience.
Also, the food that Darya and her Mother served me was delicious.
My favorite part of volunteering was sharing with the children, they are incredibly sweet, polite and funny and Charlie is an expert teacher to teach you English or Russian. So I recommend everyone to live this experience with them as I have lived it, and I thank you again for everything you have given and taught me!
Thank you so much ! I miss you so much!
We will see each other again, strong hugs.
Elizabeth was a joy to host she is a ray of sunshine the kids love her and she worked really and nothing was too much trouble. She was brill on the boat. Great sense of humor fun loving and a good work etic and Highly recommended!!!
Left by host for Workawayer (Peter)
Peter is one of the nicest people you could wish to meet. He is really smart, witty and extremely capable.
He is extremely knowledgeable especially when is comes to building work but I would have thought he could turn his hand to most things.
He is the sort of person who you can give a task to and it just gets done. No mess or fuss just done.
… read more He will stop to ask questions if there are options to decide on though. His great strength and quick reactions saved the day at least once with my building project. We all miss him and my children keep asking after him.
On the boat even though he had never been sailing before he was a natural. Good luck with your travels Peter and when you are next in this neck of the woods come sailing you will always be welcome!!!
Left by Workawayer (Peter) for host
Thanks to Alistair and his family for being my first Workaway hosts. It was a real pleasure and a lot of fun. Although I stayed in my campervan, the house was clean and tidy, nothing to complain about. Also the food I was served by Daria and her mum was delicious. A big thank you for taking me sailing and helping me make up my mind about buying a
… read more sailboat in the future :) . The jobs I have been given where fairly easy. There is always something to do in the house, around it or on the boat so I can recommend them as hosts for any type of person or couple. And of course there is always the pleasure of sailing on the Solent or having a BBQ in the garden!
A big thanks to all of you and hope to see you again!
Regards,
PeteYou can only contact Workawayers who have an active membership.
Left by host for Workawayer (Gonzalo)
It was a pleasure to meet and host Gonzalo, I personallly felt a real connection with him and we were sad to see him go. He is a real engineer and when it comes to engines his professional trainig and approach are clear to see and this means that he can work on engines like a true pro. He was very good art communictaing ansd so we never had issues
… read more of being on different wavelengths re the work. He was alsways keen and willing to muckin and we got alot done in the short time he was with us. Thanks for all your hard work and good luck for the rest of your trip hopefully you will come by agian to go sailing agian before you go. You are welcome anytime!!!
Left by Workawayer (Gonzalo) for host
It was a fantastic stay!. I really enjoy fixing the spare engine of the yatch and with the restoration of his racing yatch. But mostly, the best experience I had was the trip to Isle of Wight. It was spectacular. I learned a lot about marine sailing. Besides Southampton, I visited Plymouth and Portsmouth. We ate several times delicious sea food.
… read more So it was an experience full of marine things hehe.You can only contact Workawayers who have an active membership.
Left by host for Workawayer (Trina)
It was such a pleasure hosting Trina and we had so much fun. She instantly became part of the family and her sense of humour and funloving natuure were inffections. She had a total can do attitude nothing was too much trouble and everything she did she did with 110%. She is the sort of person you can trust do things that are complicated and
… read more diffcult safe in the knowledge that she will figure it out or if she runs into an issue will stop and check and as to how to proceesd. We can't reccomend her highly enough. Charlie still hasn't got over her leaving!!! Good luck with everything Trina and pop in when ever you are down this way you will always be welcome!!
Left by host for Workawayer (Joséphine & Romain)
Josephine and Roman are a lovely couple and we really enjoyed hosting them. They are really positive and funloving guys with a real 'c'an do' attitude. they did their tasks well with good results . Amongts other things we now have lovely freshly painted doors thougout our house!! Thery were great with our 2 year old son and will miss them and
… read more Charlie, our son, also misses them. Good luck with your travels! and send us pictures of Brazil!!
Left by Workawayer (Joséphine & Romain) for host
A truly unforgettable experience!
We stayed 1 month with Alistair and his family. Nothing to say, we were greeted with open arms. We had the good fortune to go by boat several times to visit the English coast, it was wonderful and exciting days. The work was very interesting, the food delicious and the game nights just memorable.
The room is
… read more spacious and comfortable! The house is in a great location, we have visited several cities like Winchester or Portsmouth so it’s perfect for travelers!
We were lucky to meet little Charlie who is just an incredibly sweet and funny kid. I so recommend everyone to live the month we have lived, and I thank them again for all they have given us!
Thank you very much ! We will miss you very much!
Romain and JoséphineYou can only contact Workawayers who have an active membership.
Left by host for Workawayer (Fanzir)
Fanzir and Gulnaz Stayed with us for 3 weeks and in that time we really came to like them very much and they really felt part of the family. They worked really hard and and really were comitted to get the tasks done even though there were the ususal problems and unexpected issues but they really wanted to do a good job. and took pride in what they
… read more did. We had lots of fun tallking and playing backgammon and doithg thigs together and Charlie really misses them and we wish then every success on life's journey which thay are taking together. Lovely people really reccommneded and we feel iike we have made some good friends!! This what workaway is about lots of interesting and enjoyable experiences, a lots of jobs done well and so a very positive outcome for everyone.
Left by Workawayer (Fanzir) for host
Hello everyone! I want to tell you that we spend incredible and amazing time with Alistair, Darya and little and cute Charlie!😸 It’s the best place we have ever been for us! We’ve got so much fun time, basic experience on sailing and motoring, having fantastic time with Alistair friends and been on Isle of Wight! Alistair and Darya are very nice
… read more people that you can speak with with any topics and they always help us as much as possible! Alistair is a cheerful, we always were laughing at his jokes and many stuff as well, especially we loved the way how he solve any tasks or problems! You do not need to watch any comedies to learn new funny speeches or phrases- just listen to him and remember it! 😂 We come to England to learn language and he helped us pretty much! 😌We feel relax and calm when we talk with him, he always listen to you carefully and he’s very polite, he is very patient when he explain something and he does it clearly for us. When you do sailing or something else just listen to him carefully and do it in proper way cause when you’re on a board you have to listen the Skipper to get best results on sailing and so on. 🎲Alistair introduced me with Henry, they are both very nice to talk with any topics, we played backgammon and they taught me how to play that game and we had fun time playing that game And listening different songs and so on. Darya is a clever and very good woman, she helped us with the best for us advices and many many other stuff.🥳 She explained and introduced to us Southampton, it was very interesting and get useful information about city life was very important us before we go to Russia. She helped us to get profits and benefits on many stuff so we are happy and thankful for her effort as well. 😌
Lovely boat 🌞is a real boat for real sailors with huge amount of ropes that makes you a strong and great sailor from the first sailing! I love complicated sorts of vehicles and I loved that boat, that boat makes you a high responsible and a strong man! 💪🏻 The boat showed who is who - who is a reliable and who is not ready for difficult times. We loved it pretty much!
We had fantastic and exciting time with them and we so happy that are friends now!
We highly recommend to visit them and have great time with!You can only contact Workawayers who have an active membership.
Georg is a nice guy who is inteligent and hard working. He is not a natural communicator and at times was doing things that that I was unaware of. He was a bit messesy at times and on one occasion his carelessness caused some damage to my boat although he did try to fix it but of course a his repair could not resotre the damage. --text
… read more redacted--Over all a nice guy with a good heart
I stayed with Alistair for 3 weeks on his boat, a 10.5m long sailing yacht.
The task was to get the boat ready for sailing and then sail it up north, to Southampton, England.
It was planned to take about the whole August, and we were a group of five: Alistair and four workawayers… Dan, Martin and my girlfriend Anni and me.
The difficulty was
… read more that the current and the wind would be against us and to be able to sail, we would have to head off quite far offshore, maybe spending over a week in the Atlantic.
We stayed on the boatyard in Faro (Portugal) for about 1.5 weeks until we were able for departure and spent most of those hot days working and hanging around on the boat and slept/cooked also on its limited space. We met some really nice elderly residents on the boatyard, and we had a lovely barbecue there with them.
The trip didn’t work out as planned. Once our offshore sailing was stopped through an engine causing problems (dirty fuel tank) and additionally one crew member couldn’t get rid of his seasickness (I was also seasick for a whole day). I think none of the crew, apart from Alistair, looked really forward anymore to spend a big amount of days offshore, after the unpleasant events on the first days, but it was necessary for the sailing.
We carried on to Lisbon from where we plant to start a longer offshore trip to the north. But on the way to Lisbon, we suddenly realized that water was coming through the floor from the bow. During the rest of the cruise we had to get rid of the water, to the abundance it mixed also with some diesel from the engine room. It turned out, that water got into a chamber which was not closed properly. After we arrived in Lisbon, all crew members decided not to continue any longer. For me it was the previous events (e.g. Problems with the signal lights, leaking fresh water tank) combined with Alistair’s way of managing the appearing problems/stressful situations and the fact, that much more days offshore were about to come, which made me not feel comfortable enough to continue. I was sorry for this disappointing decision considering our trip, but I hope it’s understandable, it was too much for us “first timers”.
Nevertheless, I experienced Alistair as a generous guy, very passionate about sailing and he invited all of us for a big dinner once and he covered the food during the time we prepared the boat on the yard and I really enjoyed the magical moments we had, e.g. the dolphins playing with the boat and the sunsets/sunrises on the beautiful empty blue ocean and to get to know a complete new world for me, the world of sailing.
In total we sailed/motored 4 days and spent the rest in harbors or on the yard, I am very grateful that I was able to experience sailing/living on a yacht for the very first time.
Thank you Alistair
Left by Workawayer (Anni) for host
I volunteered at Alistair’s sailboat from 28th of July until 18th of August with my boyfriend and two other workawayers. We started in Faro by preparing the boat for 1,5 weeks. During this time, we fixed the essentials, organized the equipment and lived on the boatyard which was quite an experience! I’m very grateful for all the laughs we shared
… read more and that I got to meet so many interesting people, especially our team of 5.
This was my first time sailing in the ocean and I was excited and eager to learn. I was aware that the conditions wouldn’t be in our favour and we did experience a variety of weathers everything from fog to rain to sunshine. Thanks to Alistair’s excellent raingear I never felt cold though. We motored most of our way first from Faro to Lagos and then to Sines and finally Lisbon. I’m happy that I still learned some sailing, including knots and other important skills thanks to especially Martin and Alistair, who were both happy to share their knowledge.
In Lisbon our ways unfortunately separated. We had had many unlucky events, including the engine failure, saltwater getting into the freshwater tank, anchor chamber leak that caused the bow being filled with water and seasickness in some of the crewmembers. This eventually caused the fact that the two other volunteers decided that they were not going to continue any further from Lisbon. They were really valuable asset for the team because of their knowledge of engines and electrics (they had been solving a lot of the problems since we left, and they brought calm energy to the boat even when we were facing difficulties). This made us reconsider our joining as well and after thinking about it thoroughly we didn’t feel safe enough to continue to England.
Alistair is a generous, funny and friendly man and I truly did enjoy the conversations and good times we had. I’m relieved that at the end he understood our concerns and saw the situation as it was. We felt sad that we couldn’t finish our mission but I’m sure that the boat will eventually get home.
Thank you, Alistair for everything and all the best for the future!You can only contact Workawayers who have an active membership.
Left by Workawayer (Will) for host
Alistair is a good-humoured and generous guy with a real passion for sailing. The 3 weeks I spent with him were great fun, despite the frustrations and setbacks which the endeavour to fix a boat (in Spain) was liable to throw at us!
We spent about 2 weeks working on the boat, before spending just under a week sailing it from Malaga to Cadiz in
… read more Spain. Though we ended up spending more time fixing the boat than we anticipated, I nevertheless appreciated the experience, as I learned a lot about what it takes to own and maintain a boat, which is ultimately what I was looking for. Indeed, it made it all the more satisfying when we finally got it in the water and left the boatyard behind us!
Alistair was very appreciative of the help, and was always willing to offer pointers and advice - both around the boat, and life more generally. It was a great few weeks that I won't forget - thanks Alistair! :)You can only contact Workawayers who have an active membership.
Left by host for Workawayer (Jeremy)
Jay stayed with us for just over a week and it was a pleasure to meet him. He worked very hard and we had fun too. I would recommend him as he is a very nice guy who is trusworthy and knowledgable mechanically.
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Please note due to the UK leaving the EU, freedom of movement from the EU to the UK ended on 1st Jan 2021. If you are not a UK citizen, Irish citizen, settled status holder, Commonwealth citizen with the right to abode in the UK, BNO passport holder with valid visa or have a Tier 5 Youth Mobility Scheme (working holiday) visa and you are entering the UK to work or study you may be refused entry to the UK after Jan 1st 2021 unless you have the correct visas and permits in place. To find out more information about visas and work permits for your nationality you need to contact the embassy in your home country BEFORE travelling.
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