Offshore sailboat voyaging is a lifestyle that endlessly challenges, exhilarates, stretches, intimidates, and fulfills us. Which is why John and I are committed to encouraging others to take up and remain in this lifestyle.
Through this website we have been privileged to encounter, either personally or via email, many aspiring cruisers. A large number are approaching their new lifestyle sensibly and cautiously, by going offshore with other experienced sailors or by slowly ratcheting up the sailing they do on their own boat.
However, we are also encountering a number of people who assume that they should be able to just buy a sailboat, put on the right electronics, and go offshore; sort of like buying a car, installing a GPS, and driving across the country.
A Sad Story
For example, we met a young couple who bought a sailboat, spent several years fixing it up, putting on all the gear, and reading all the sailing mags and sites. They then started down the waterway, without ever having gone offshore at all. So the first time they did go offshore alone on their own boat, they got overwhelmed, seasick, and scared. Sadly, this tricked out sailboat (and dream) is now up for sale and they’re buying a motorboat.
I wouldn’t be writing about this story if they had gone offshore with someone else first. They either would have overcome that initial “Oh, no, what have we got ourselves into?” stage and continued sailing or they would have realized, before they spent a ton of money and several years of their lives fixing up a sailboat, that they wanted to stay inshore on a motorboat—nothing wrong with that.
So What’s An Apprenticeship?
John started sailing as a child but, before he ever went offshore in his own boat as skipper, he had logged 10,000 miles as crew on other experienced offshore sailors’ boats. So that first time he went out as skipper on his own boat, when he got that “Oh, no, what am I doing out here?” feeling on the first night of the offshore passage, he knew it was going to get better. Because of his miles out there, and from watching and learning from those experienced sailors, he knew the difference between discomfort and danger, and then, when it really did get gnarly, he knew what to do.
It’s Way More Fun
We’re not saying that you have to log 10,000 miles with others before you go offshore voyaging in your own boat; in fact, a week with, for example, the Neals on Mahina Tiare is probably enough for you to get a feeling for what is involved in sailing offshore. But what we are saying is that taking the time to develop a sound basis from which to begin will not only make the whole experience that much safer, it will make it that much more enjoyable. And the chances are that much better that you’ll stick with this rewarding and challenging lifestyle.
What do you think? Did you sail with others before taking your own boat offshore? Or did you jump in at the deep end? Please leave a comment.
Chris April 21, 2011 at 7:26 pm
We raced long-distance/overnight offshore with others and campaigned our own boat offshore for three years before cruising there.
In a few races, we got caught in some hellacious situations brought on by the often evil twin commitments to start and to finish…’series points’ don’t ya know.
We learned we could not only survive those situations but thrive on the learning thereafter. Sometimes the lessons left bruises to deepen the learning.
The biggest lesson we learned was that many offshore sailors talk loudly and carry a small stick. It is vitally important to validate such a skipper or crew with people who don’t have a merely social connection to them. One of those highly titled and touted persons punked out in 50 kts and hail in the Gulf Stream and nearly drowned six of us.
Richard from York April 22, 2011 at 9:45 am
My wife and I are still working towards our offshore dream.
Firstly, I had the opportunity to crew on a yacht delivery from the UK to Gran Canaria. Crossing stormy Biscay in November in a 40 ft Beneteau was an eye opener and let me learn more about myself and the fact I can still work when cold, tired and scared. The onward ARC journey was good but not the same learning experience. The next was to ensure Jenny would enjoy it, so we arranged for her to crew a delivery from Antigua to the UK; she hit a whale, the steering broke and lots of equipment failures…
Secondly, we bought a small, old yacht in need of TLC. We learned how to change oil, fix the engine, repair rigging and generally mend and maintain a yacht.
We discovered several things: We both loved the experience of offshore sailing and we realised this was something we would love to do. We discovered that we are capable of repairing most things and how much work is involved in Yacht ownership. We found out that we should not underestimate the costs involved.
Most importantly we discovered that we are not ready to sell up and sail and compromises will have to be made.
Scott Kuhner April 22, 2011 at 11:42 am
I learned how to sail when I was 14 racing Cape Cods and Lightnings. Then when I was nineteen, I was a crew on a 42 ft ketch sailing from St Thomas to Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Haiti, the Bahamas and finally to Miami. Between Samana in the DR and Cap Haitian in Haiti, we encountered a gale and blew out the main; but, we made it through. In 1969 I bought a 23 ft O’Day Tempest, got married and took our honeymoon sailing from Westport, CT to Nantucket.
In 1970, we realized that we loved being on the ocean so much we bought a 30 ft Seawind Ketch, spent the winter fixing it up and taking celestial navigation lessons at the Hayden Planetarium. That summer of 1971 we took a shakedown cruise to Maine and again loved it. Then, in the fall, we quit our jobs and set sail for points south and west. The trip from Cape Fear to St Thomas was the first time we had been offshore together. 10 days later we made it to St Thomas, and decided to keep sailing west into the Pacific.
We were successful because I was never in doubt that the boat would make it which gave Kitty the confidence she needed to keep going.
Scott Kuhner April 22, 2011 at 11:53 am
I should have added to my last post that when we left on our 30 ft Seawind Ketch, we had NO electronics not even a depth sounder. We used a sextant, a taffrail log and a lead line. We learned that we could sail across an ocean without any fancy electronic gear so didn’t have to rely on anything except the integrity of the boat. Now when we are crossing oceans we realize that if any of our fancy electronics stops working we have the ability to keep going on our own. However, I will say that all our new gear does make it easier to navigate the seven seas.
We ended up spending four years sailing all the way around the world (we realized that it was easier to keep going west than trying to come back from New Zealand against the trades).
Beth Anderson April 22, 2011 at 1:37 pm
Great post. I had a rocky apprenticeship for my first offshore sail (although I had done a lot of coastal sailing) but what helped me was that my sailing partner (now husband) was very experienced. As long as I could look over at him and see that he was totally comfortable, I was able to calm down as well. But I still struggle to “trust the boat” the way he does.
On the other hand, we got a great deal on our sailboat because the previous owners probably were the type you described – it was 5 years old but had only been sailed for one season!
Viv and Mireille April 22, 2011 at 2:15 pm
Great stories from all:
Long distance sailing is not for everyone but it is something never to forget. Being in the middle of an ocean at night surrounded by stars you would never be able to see on land and watching the luminescence flow past the bow is magic. Yes there is the bad weather, the fear and cold but that passes and another dawn comes and you chalk up lessons learned and your skills grow.
But best of all is pulling into a harbour and having a cold beer in the cockpit as you look back on the journey just made, and think of the next one to come…Keep on sailing!
Chris April 23, 2011 at 3:38 pm
In a reply above, I referenced a hellacious apprenticeship experience. In cleaning out prior to moving, I found the magazine article I wrote about it in 1980. I’ve reprinted it at http://brilliantstarcruises.net/2011/04/23/the-sea-taught-me/
C
Phyllis April 23, 2011 at 7:08 pm
Thanks to all for the great comments.
We would second Chris’ sound advice that newcomers make sure that anyone they go sailing with has the experience and qualifications to be a good mentor. Which is why we recommend the Neals on “Mahine Tiare” for those who don’t have the good fortune to have an experienced partner (like Beth, Kitty and I do) or someone they know to mentor them who is very experienced and competent (like John did).
Also thank you Richard for pointing out the lessons you and Jenny learned from your apprenticeship. Much better to realize these things before you sell the house rather than afterward!
Kettlewell April 23, 2011 at 10:58 pm
I agree with your post 100%. I started out dinghy sailing on lakes, and eventually answered a classified ad for someone looking for a college crew to accompany him to Labrador and back from Maine. That was my first offshore experience, other than some weekends on Lake Michigan, which can be as rough or rougher than the ocean. When I eventually got my own boats after college I started out small and worked my way up from one old boat to the next, learning how to fix everything along the way. Actually, that’s one of my frequent pieces of advice to newcomers. Start with something small, old, and very affordable, but capable of modest passages. Practice on it in coastal waters, with maybe a vacation trip up to Maine, to the Chesapeake, or to the Bahamas, for a few years. You will learn so much more about what your wants and needs are for the larger boat you will get later. I will say that I think a lot of folks are missing a lot by not reading the oldies these days, like the Hiscocks, Roths, Pardeys, Smeeton, etc. Before I could sail on the ocean I read everything I could get my hands on constantly for years, so I had a pretty good idea what it was all about, and I still frequently refer back mentally to many of those books.
RDE April 24, 2011 at 11:06 am
I can’t emphasize enough the necessity of thoroughly vetting the captain and boat you select for an offshore passage, especially if it is to be your first experience and will determine whether you choose sailing as a life style. I recently fell into that trap myself, in spite of having done numerous passages on various boats, owning my own boat, and living aboard for a number of years. I signed on to sail a custom 59′ performance cruiser from Panama for a passage through the western Caribbean to Cuba and then down to Trinidad, largely because we would visit places I have always wanted to go to and will not be in a position to sail to in my own boat for several years.
The boat was a joy to sail, certainly the fastest cruising boat I have ever sailed. The owner had a long history of successful race campaigns on boats he had commissioned, and all the crew were very competent sailors.
Paper qualifications are of little consequence when the skipper gets falling-down drunk every night and spends hours ranting with little consciousness of other people surrounding him. Needless to say I jumped ship at the first airport!
Shifting to the topic of commercially available offshore training, there are few opportunities for the week of offshore experience you mention in connection with Mahina Tiare. Almost all of their expeditions last two to three weeks and cost $5,00-6,000. With air fare to the South Pacific, the cost for a couple will run to $16,000— which certainly pushes the boundary of “Attainable Cruising.” The fact that the Neals are booked a year in advance certainly testifies to the reputation they have built up over many years. If that cost breaks the bank, one might consider joining John Kretschmer for a week Bahama Bash out of Ft. Lauderdale which he offers for less than $2,000.
Phyllis April 24, 2011 at 4:21 pm
You are absolutely right about the cost of going with the Neals and the barrier to entry that would pose for many. We mention Mahina Tiare because they are the only training sailboat that we know of personally. I’m sure, with due diligence and great tips like yours about John Kretschmer, cheaper options with equally competent skippers can be found. However, I assume that the couple I mentioned lost a lot more than $16,000 in the transfer between the sailboat and all the work they did to it and the motorboat they ended up buying. For them, the cost of a few weeks with the Neals would have been a bargain!
Lee Ann Avery April 28, 2011 at 3:49 pm
A very good organization that I have used to get offshore experience is Offshore Passage Opportunities at http://www.sailopo.com
PO Box 2600
Halesite NY, 06880
Telephone: 631-423-4988
FAX: 631-423-9009
Hank Schmitt brings together captains, owners and crews for short or longer offshore trips. Many of the trips are free except for your transportation to and from the boat. Hank vets many of the requests (and tells you when he doesn’t) as well as providing an interview questionnaire for you to use to vet the captain/owner yourself if Hank does not know them. Many professional captains get their crews here. The club also owns a Swan which Hank brings back and forth to the Caribbean each year and sails during several of the race weeks.
I have taken three Newport to St. Martin trips with this group. The first was through a Force 10 gale a day off Bermuda with a wonderful captain, Patrick Childress, who has inspired my Ph.D. research, married one of my fellow crew and is off sailing around the world again – the first time was a solo trip when he was 28 in a 27′ Catalina. My second trip, a month later, was with a millionaire skipper who taught sailing for pleasure and was a fascinating and excellent skipper of our Swan 57. The third trip I was first mate on an Amel 53 where I was put by Hank to ensure the owner stayed on track.
I also believe it is very important to know when to get off a boat when you are not comfortable. My friend Rebecca (now Patrick’s wife) volunteered us to help a new boat owner go from Jacksonville to the Bahamas. He supposedly needed our help since he had no experience. However, he wouldn’t listen to our advice – when to reef, when to go in out of the weather, how to anchor for a storm, how to navigate the ICW, etc. So, after steering north instead of south after I reefed the sail, almost burning up his engine and hitting a bridge in St Augustine because he didn’t check the through hulls after being asked, running hard aground on a sand bar in West Palm Beach, and then laying us up against pilings and million dollar fishing vessels while trying to dock the boat with the wind and ICW current lined up directly behind him – we rented a car and went home!!
Phyllis April 30, 2011 at 9:54 am
Hi, Lee Ann; Thank you very much for the information on Offshore Passage Opportunities. We will definitely pass that on to anyone that asks us about how to get offshore experience. The interview questionnaire that Hank provides sounds like a great resource. Thanks again.
Graham Hughes May 6, 2011 at 11:06 am
With regards to apprenticeships, I spent 12 weeks in 2009 circumnavigating the British Isles in a 46-foot Bavaria, working towards the Yachtmaster qualification. We were three “students” with varied experience and learned from instructors who cycled through every two or three weeks. I didn’t take the final exam thanks to a badly injured left arm — ironically, I was tossed across the saloon while doing up my inflatable’s crotch strap. However, in 2,500 sea miles, and with still a lot to learn, I did gain the experience to be able to realistically look at some extended cruising beginning in spring 2012 on my 30-footer. There are a few organizations offering this kind of program; check the web. It’s not real cheap, but a worthwhile investment.