How to get the most out of your sailing experience

Whether you want to create a decent yachting resume or just get hands-on experience, getting as many miles as possible is key. You can sail all day on summer charters and never master cruise yachting, where creativity and savvy at sea lead to self-sufficiency and mastery of rigging and sailing.

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Sailing school Interparus Yachting

For full-fledged practice, the transitions should not be long, but exits to the sea should include night hours and, preferably, pass at a distance from the coast in different weather conditions. All of this is difficult to learn on a charter, where you usually go from anchorage to anchorage, although there are more challenging regions and charter routes. If there is a desire to learn yachting, charter is also real. You can "find" in the charter a high enough level to go further.

But the experience does not have to be solely related to sailing either. Cruise lifestyle consists of approximately 20 percent yachting and 80 percent of everything elseincluding repairing diesel engines, autopilots, refrigerators, radars and other things if you own your own boat. It's also about efficiently organizing food, navigating and maintaining healthy optimism on board, because nothing is as uncomfortable as traveling on a boat with an incompatible crew.

So, if you feel like weekend day cruises or annual charter vacations are not giving you the cruising experience you want and you are not growing as a yachtsman, try one of the options below and you will see how much you can learn in a matter of seconds. days on board the yacht. Some of these options can be inexpensive or even free, so if you are seriously considering becoming an experienced skipper or valuable crew member, you will be interested to know about them:

How to get the most out of your sailing experience

Cruise rallies

A huge part of cruisers around the world takes an active part in various rallywhere private sailing boats, both monohulls and multihulls, gather and travel together under the guidance of the organizer. Since rallies are often associated with significant distances, owners usually require additional crew.

Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) is one of the prime examples. Boats going to Las Palmas in the Canary Islands and Mindelo in Cape Verde are often looking for additional crew to sail to Saint Lucia. 11 different yachting events take place on both sides of the Atlantic ARC and even one of them, WorldARC, which involves traveling around the world. The crew is usually recruited for one stage, and if all goes well, you may be offered to stay on the team for a longer time. Boats from all over the world are participating and of course language skills are required as most of the participants speak English.

More detailed information can be obtained on the website ARC... Please note that participation can be free or paid - it depends on the captain / owner of the yacht, conditions of participation and your experience.

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ARC Rally / World ARC

How to get the most out of your sailing experience

Participants in larger rallies often plan their trip ahead of time, so if you want to select good boats and skippers, start your search well in advance of the event being advertised. Nevertheless, many persistent sailors roam the marinas from which participating yachts leave and literally beg to be taken on board.

When participating in rallies like this, your experience will differ from boat to boat, so look for a reliable yacht and an experienced captain, because traveling to paradise can be your worst nightmare when equipment or crew problems arise. Be sure to list as many relevant skills as you can, stay positive and flexible, and make it your goal to find in each of them what you want to learn.

Crew services

Rallying is not the only way to find opportunities for crewing... Many organizations and communities also offer development opportunities in yachting. For example, the skipper pays all shipping costs, including food, while the crew only pays for flights to and from the boat. For more experienced skippers, there are paid services where you can get experience of participating in regattas and racing weeks around the world.

How to get the most out of yachting experience

Transfer of charter boats / private boats

This is a good option for the most experienced skipperswho wants to work more hours at sea. When you know what you are doing and are confident as a skipper, you have the opportunity to cooperate with charter companieswho need a crew to ferry charter boats from one base to another. Some of the trails can be brutal and long, but there are many interesting trails that can be a wonderful two-week getaway rather than a job. This can also include ferrying private boats, from shipyards, or from the region of purchase of the yacht, to the region of navigation of their new owners.

The skipper usually pays for insurance, fuel and food. But, whatever goes wrong along the route is his own responsibility, as the help of the charter company is usually not available. But this is unconditional the best way to get hands-on experience as a captain, on a boat that has been yours for a long time, and you learn to be self-sufficient on board the yacht.

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