Yacht Swapping

[aldreds]

Hi Everyone,
We've just joined the cruisers forum and have a question regarding swapping sailing experiences around the world.

Currently, we are looking to purchase a Lagoon 410 or equivalent and after much research, it has become obvious to us that cruising around the world in your own boat can be expensive and contain significant risk, particularly if you are doing so short handed.

Once we have our boat we will be leaving work and cruising full-time around the Australian coastline, perhaps New Zealand as well.
We would like to offer sailing holidays to other cruising cat owners from around the world in return for an equivalent experience on their boat where they normally cruise. We believe that people who know their own coastline are best placed to share their experience.
We are not interested in chartering a cat alone and we would not offer that option either, but being able to relax while the master of the vessel shares their expertise does appeal.

My question to the forum is "How is the best way to organise this?"
Are these forums the best way, or is there a website with lots of boats to choose from. We would like our first experience to be in the Greek Islands--no real surprise there.

I'm keen to get your collective advice.

Best,

Scot.

[tomfl]

following

[Dave_S]

Almost the same idea.

I like the idea of boat swapping around the world
and I would participate. I searched a while back and found nothing. We intend to house swap why not boat swap too.

It is probably a business opportunity for someone. With all the talk of pirates etc it would be nice to swap boats and locations without travelling through the dodgy places.

You would save marina fee's which might cover travelling costs.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Dave_S

Almost the same idea.

I like the idea of boat swapping around the world
and I would participate. I searched a while back and found nothing. We intend to house swap why not boat swap too.

It is probably a business opportunity for someone. With all the talk of pirates etc it would be nice to swap boats and locations without travelling through the dodgy places.

You would save marina fee's which might cover travelling costs.

Dave, actual swapping, where each skipper becomes responsible for the other's boat is quite different from what I thought the OP was suggesting. I thought he meant that one would join the alternative boat as crew or sorta guests and do some cruising in the boat's home waters... and then reciprocate. I could be wrong in this interpretation! His plan is pretty low risk, whereas a true swap means putting your pride and joy boat into the hands of a stranger, one of unknown skills and practices. I'd be pretty dubious about that plan!

House swapping seems to work pretty well, but I've never heard of the house swapper running the house aground or onto a rock or..... well, you get the idea!

Maybe some additional clarification by the OP will follow.

Jim

[BRob]

Hi Scot,

Your post couldn't have been more timely - I was thinking of posting the exact same thing.

A few years back, I think an Australian outfit started www.boatsurfers.com, along the lines of couch surfing. It seemed like a good idea so I paid the annual membership for the first couple of years (and got the T-shirt) but it didn't reach the critical mass of members/boats so it became a free subscription and seems to have gone very quiet. I think there might be two dozen boats (in Oz an NZ) but many of them are kayaks, dinghies and powerboats - not the typical CF demographic.

Anyway, we have a Lagoon 440 and we'd like to cruise all the usual places but my wife's not keen on crossing oceans so we're coastal cruising the Med. for the next few years.

Our boat is in Preveza and I'll be launching it late August for a three month stint around the Greek Islands and the Adriatic.

My insurance policy requires me to be the skipper, and that's fine. I'd like to meet new people and make friends so I'm happy to "pay it forward" and invite other boat owners on board. If you can reciprocate with a trip aboard your future boat, that'd be great.

Send me a PM with your phone number/email address and we might be able to host you this year (September/October time frame). I'm in Melbourne, Oz and heading to Europe in August.

If anyone in the Caribbean (or elsewhere) wants to "swap" a few weeks, next year, let us know.

Cheers,

Bryan.

[anthonyp0808]

I would be interested in this sort of arrangement. i.e. reciprocal visitors

This year I am sailing Turkey and Greece, boat in Preveza for winter. I may have one or two cabins free from around 10th September, cruising Pelopenese and Ionian until lift on 17th October.

Next year is still WIP. Croatia, Montenegro, Spain, ARC ...

My wife and I are interested in sailing on comfortable catamarans in most places where the weather is warm and the winds fair (most of the time). Also happy to sail in the Australia coast - Kimberlies is on the bucket list, having done it land based.