OFFSHORE SAILING SCHOOLS – A FAST TRACK TO GETTING OFFSHORE EXPERIENCE
Considering the time and cost to outfit a bluewater boat, an offshore sailing class may be the quickest and cheapest way to get offshore sailing experience. Guest blogger, TJ of Savvy Salt, shares a list of offshore sailing schools and tips for choosing the right one.
CHOOSING THE RIGHT OFFSHORE SAILING SCHOOL FOR YOU
Welcome to the rarified air! Only a small percentage of sailing schools run an offshore sailing program. Skippers that manage to charge for offshore passage opportunities are often famous and extremely accomplished sailors.
Whether you want to sail in the British Virgin Islands or Alaska, you can choose from worldwide destinations for your passage. It’s also possible to experience famous offshore race courses, like the Newport Bermuda race or even the Clipper Round the World Race. You’ll be learning a lot on your voyage; your education is the trip’s primary purpose.
You can be very picky about which offshore sailing academy and passage you choose. They cost a lot of money and time so you should make sure the passage is the best one based on your goals.
Perhaps start by defining your goals.
- Are there sailing skills you want to develop (e.g., offshore racing, celestial navigation)?
- Are there certain regions you want to get experience sailing (e.g. high latitude sailing)?
- Do you want to learn to sail on a certain size or type of boat (e.g., experience offshore cruising on a catamaran)?
- Are there certain boat systems or onboard equipment you need experience with (e.g., radar, AIS, windvane)?
- Are you hoping to earn a certification or build up sea miles for a captain’s license?
- Do you just want to learn what it’s like to live aboard?
How much does offshore sailing school cost?
Offshore sailing schools may charge by day, trip, and even circumnavigation. In general, you can expect to pay between $400-500 USD per person per day. This price usually does not include flights, onshore meals and accommodations, and satellite phone and internet use.
LIST OF BLUE WATER SAILING SCHOOLS AND PAY-TO-PLAY OFFSHORE PASSAGE OPPORTUNITIES
Once you’ve got your goals nailed down, it’s time to read up on the blue water sailing courses you might be interested in. These can be tough to find so here are nine blue water sailing schools and offshore passage opportunities to look into.
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At the time of writing there were 18 schools that offer American Sailing Association’s (ASA) Offshore Passagemaking course. ASA has plenty of other great sailing certifications if you’re still working your way up to offshore passage making.
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US Sailing has a list of schools and if you send them a message they can help you find an offshore program suited to your needs.
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John Kretschmer Offshore Passages: John Kretschmer is a successful sailing author with hundreds of thousands of sea miles. You can get a sense of what sailing with John would be like as well as learn a lot by reading his book, Sailing a Serious Ocean.
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Skip Novak’s Expeditions: Another prolific offshore sailor who spun his sailing and skippering career into a business running sailing expeditions in the southern ocean.
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Rubicon 3 Expeditions: Go on a voyage aboard a 57’ or 60’ ocean going yacht in the North Atlantic. Just gain experience or work toward your RYA credentials.
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- 59 North: Experience offshore passage making with some very experienced high latitude cruisers. That combined with the tenor of their site has me interested. For this price, I’m surprised that they don’t offer steps toward any sailing certifications.
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Mahina Expeditions: Mahina expeditions comes highly recommended in the cruising community; you get the opportunity to join a world cruising couple for a part of their journey.
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Ocean Racers: If you’d like to sail faster you can apply to join Ocean Racers for a race or an ocean passage. The accommodations are going to be more spartan and they definitely have a younger vibe. Ocean racers have the most affordable pay to play opportunities I could find (less than $1000!).
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- Clipper Round the World Race: the Clipper Round the World Race is definitely the veteran of paid offshore racing opportunities. You pay for a crew spot on one ($6,000) to all of ($60,000) the legs of a circumnavigation via the southern ocean. The Clipper race is expensive but they’re the only pay-to-play circumnavigation.
ASK A LOT OF QUESTIONS
Take your time and come up with a short list of offshore sailing schools that meet your goals. Once you’ve got your short list of sailing schools, you should reach out to the skipper or organizer and ask any specific questions your have.
Be picky, you have options and you’ll be paying a lot so make sure you’re getting what you need. You can probably talk to the skipper of your specific trip directly if you’re willing to wait till they are not at sea. Some offshore sailing school instructors will even work out semi-custom arrangements with students.
One of the best things about pay-to-play offshore opportunities is that you don’t have to spend much time considering the safety of the voyage: these opportunities are built around setting a good safety example for sailors just like you and if they were unsafe they would quickly become notorious within the sailing community.
These are the only types of opportunities where a google search can act as the primary resource for your safety evaluation.
If a pay to play offshore passage opportunities seems like a good fit for you then go forth and conquer; if you’re headed for one of the high latitudes expeditions I’m quite jealous and would love to hear about your experience! If pay to play doesn’t seem like a good fit you can look into these other offshore opportunities.
Good luck! And see you out there.
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Bruce
Friday 26th of May 2017
Having sailed with them on their Swan 48 Isbjorn I'd highly recommend Andy and Mia at 59 North. They are young, experienced and enthusiastic. Andy also had a great podcast about offshore sailing at the same site.
Fiona
Monday 29th of May 2017
Thanks for the recommendation Bruce!