Sailing together
Organising a trip
Mostly I sail because I love it. Occasionally I also organise private trips for others: a family, a group of friends, colleagues, or simply people who would like to try sailing. It does not happen often or to order, but when the timing works and the chemistry is right.
Who it suits
- Families
Short legs, lots of swim stops, a harbour with ice cream in the evening. Children love life on board, and I make sure it stays relaxed for everyone.
- Friends
A week together in a small space, cooking together, laughing together. A sailing trip bonds people like little else.
- Groups
Colleagues, a club or regulars from the pub: with one or two yachts an outing becomes a real experience.
- Beginners
Never been on a sailing boat? Even better. I explain everything calmly; nobody needs to know anything.
What I contribute
- I suggest a cruising area and a route that suit you: calm and family-friendly, or with a bit more wind.
- I help find a suitable yacht with my experience. Who signs the charter contract, we agree together beforehand.
- Under way I am in charge of the boat: safety briefing on day one, navigation, weather and manoeuvres. Everyone on board sails along and lends a hand.
- Beforehand you get a packing list and all the details on travel and schedule.
How it works
- You write to me: who you are, how many, roughly when and what matters to you.
- We talk on the phone and see whether and how it fits.
- We fix area, boat and dates together and work out the expected costs openly.
- Then it is lines off.
Costs: private and shared
- I am not a tour operator and make nothing from the trip. The actual costs are shared fairly: charter, harbour fees, diesel and the kitty.
- As is usual on private trips, the crew generally covers the skipper: my share of the charter and kitty is paid by the crew. There is no fee.
- You arrange your own travel.
- What exactly is shared and when it is paid, we put in a short joint agreement before the trip.
Contract, insurance and liability
- Who signs the charter contract and puts down the deposit, we agree together before every trip.
- Which insurance makes sense, for example deposit insurance, skipper liability insurance or trip cancellation insurance, we discuss openly beforehand.
- Costs are settled on actual expenses, with no mark-up and transparent for everyone.
- We put all of this in a short written agreement before anyone pays anything.
On board
- Safety first: in strong winds we stay in port, and there are life jackets for everyone.
- Everyone pitches in with mooring, cooking and tidying. That is part of the fun.
- No alcohol under way, but a glass of wine at anchor in the evening is welcome.
Whether and when a trip happens depends on my time and on the weather. There are no fixed dates to book, always a personal arrangement.