Hiring a Captain? Voyage with Family...Ideas on Getting Started

[uneven_sailor]

Hey All,

My wife and I are very much still in the save money + learn skills + research phase of our cruising careers as we are both working 40+ hr weeks in the city.

Has anyone had experience with diving straight into the deep end by purchasing a cruising boat with relatively little cruising experience but then hiring a captain for the initial weeks/months of the journey in order to get underway?

If so, how did that go? Also how much would it cost, and how would you find someone?

I would be interested to hear about any/all experiences/situations, advice etc.

We're gaining our own experience as fast as we can in the meantime, sailing with a local club on keelboats, and trying to meet folks to get out to go cruising locally, and to learn skills.

This is something I have wondered about as a possible way to safely and rapidly jump into cruising on your own boat, assuming you have the $$.

[chrisr]

it may help us to help you if you tell us where you are ? this is a global forum and members are scattered all over the world

wages and terms of employment are very different in different places

cheers,

[goboatingnow]

Many people here in Greece do exactly as you say as it’s often treated as a beginners sailing ground and the supports structures are everywhere.

You risk nothing trying it only money and it will demonstrate to your family what this life style is all about

And yes I’ve met 6 families that just dived in straight over the 2 years. Some successes shone failures it friends.

[s/v Moondancer]

I am available in South Florida and the Bahamas.

Florida is a good place to buy a boat and start cruising…hurricane preparedness included in the lessons!

[skipmac]

If you caught the sailing bug and like me, had no experience or background from not growing up around boats then yes it is possible. However I recommend that prior to hiring a captain start with gaining some basic knowledge.

Read and study everything you can about boats, boating, sailing, navigation, maintenance, etc. Initially much of it will be about as clear as muddy water but then, when you do go out with a captain you will have a huge head start and all this stuff you read will start making sense.

You will gain much more from the experience this way and progress much faster.

[Snore]

Originally Posted by uneven_sailor

Hey All,

My wife and I are very much still in the save money + learn skills + research phase of our cruising careers as we are both working 40+ hr weeks in the city.

Has anyone had experience with diving straight into the deep end by purchasing a cruising boat with relatively little cruising experience but then hiring a captain for the initial weeks/months of the journey in order to get underway?

If so, how did that go? Also how much would it cost, and how would you find someone?

I would be interested to hear about any/all experiences/situations, advice etc.

We're gaining our own experience as fast as we can in the meantime, sailing with a local club on keelboats, and trying to meet folks to get out to go cruising locally, and to learn skills.

This is something I have wondered about as a possible way to safely and rapidly jump into cruising on your own boat, assuming you have the $$.

My suggestion to newbies is READ anything you can on the theory of sailing, my favorite is ArveL Gentry see Gentry Sailing | Theory and Practice. If you don't know how a boat works, it is hard to learn or to know a good/poor design.

Concurrently 1) Take ASA 101, 2) then do some day charters- most charter capts are happy to let the guests run the boat. 3) Then take ASA 103, 4) do some day charters.... At the end of this process you will better understand the theory of sailing than most and be a better sailor than many with a few years of experience. You will also have sailed on 3 or 4 different boats and start to know what you like and don't like on a boat.

THEN start looking at boats. At the same time, start talking to delivery captains to work with you for periods of time. Why delivery guys? We are on more different types of boats than 99% of the other folks. Because the real sea trial happens during the delivery---- We also have seen more stuff break than 99% of the others. Finally, we are really good at learning to run different boats short-handed.

Why just have the Capt aboard for periods of time? As you start owning a boat, thinkof the captain as a mentor. You work with him for 3-4 days while you move the boat to a destination. Then while you hangout on some island, (s)he is flown home. Much cheaper than paying them to sit at anchor, and most of us HATE sitting at anchor. It also lets you day sail the boat on your own. You would then fly the Capt back for a long hop.

Back to shopping----As you begin to settle on a boat, engage the delivery captain in the process. A good delivery captain will act as the 'owner's rep' on a sea trials. A good delivery captain can often save you more than his fee for the sea trial. Yes there will be a surveyor aboard, but having an 'owner's rep' aboard gives you a set of competent eyes. Especially of they know they have to take the boat out and teach you on it.

Finally, when boat shopping remember when buying a used boat, "You buy original build quality, as well as the quality of each owners modifications and use.

[jordanbigel]

"... with diving straight into the deep end by purchasing a cruising boat with relatively little cruising experience..."

I guess a lot comes down to what is the definition of "relatively little" in this context.

In my view, the quickest way to get there - ie. the minimum amount of experience required, how I would define "relative little cruising experience" - is to get some ocean experience on a bareboat charter.

First, get a small open boat (under 15') and practice sailing a lot on a lake or inland bay or something. Preferably when it's cold and windy out. If you still want to do this, proceed to the next step.

Take whatever courses are needed to qualify to charter a bareboat (different locales have different rules and requirements).

Next, charter a bareboat for a week somewhere easy, like British Virgins. This will give you a basic taste of living aboard for a period while sailing from one anchorage to another, in a fairly calm, protected relatively safe environment. It is important that this step not be skipped.

Now, the next year a more challenging charter would be a one-way bareboat, for example, from Guadalupe to St. Martin - the point is to get experience in small ocean passages between islands. For best results, do this 2 years in a row to be sure the first time was not a fluke and you still enjoy it.

If you can complete these steps and still feel like this is for you, now you have a little cruising experience, you could be ready to buy an ocean capable cruising boat. Only you will know if you are ready.

You could probably do all this in 2 1/2 years, more likely 3 or 4.

I would not suggest buying a cruising yacht before you have actually skippered a similar style of boat on a real ocean passage, even if its only 40 or 50 miles.

Just to be clear, I love the suggestions from other members who posted before me, things like day charters, joining a sailing club in your area, crewing on deliveries (amazing idea) - I would definitely suggest doing as many of those things as possible, but I think my post addresses the question what is the "bare minimum" that would qualify as "relatively little cruising experience". More experience is always better though.

[JC Reefer]

Originally Posted by uneven_sailor

Hey All,



My wife and I are very much still in the save money + learn skills + research phase of our cruising careers as we are both working 40+ hr weeks in the city.



Has anyone had experience with diving straight into the deep end by purchasing a cruising boat with relatively little cruising experience but then hiring a captain for the initial weeks/months of the journey in order to get underway?



If so, how did that go? Also how much would it cost, and how would you find someone?

To some degree I think most people dive right in…

If you are not working on yachts for a living then it’s going to be a steep learning curve.

There is this documentary about a family that does exactly what you are talking about. They get into a sailboat without much experience and hire a Captain to run the boat and teach the family along the way. I recommend a close study as there are lots of golden nuggets to learn from. You can find it online, it’s called Captain Ron.

Just remember, if it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen out there…

[Snore]

Originally Posted by JC Reefer

To some degree I think most people dive right in…

——

Just remember, if it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen out there…

I really don’t want to have a p-match. But there is a thread about a rescue off Hatteras. The vessel appears to be stable and sailable. The conjecture is that people were sea sick, there were systems failures, etc.

One has to wonder how much training those folks had.

I will assume your comparison of competent pros like myself to Captain Ron was a failed attempt at humor

[chubby]

Originally Posted by uneven_sailor

Hey All,

My wife and I are very much still in the save money + learn skills + research phase of our cruising careers as we are both working 40+ hr weeks in the city.

Has anyone had experience with diving straight into the deep end by purchasing a cruising boat with relatively little cruising experience but then hiring a captain for the initial weeks/months of the journey in order to get underway?

If so, how did that go? Also how much would it cost, and how would you find someone?

I would be interested to hear about any/all experiences/situations, advice etc.

We're gaining our own experience as fast as we can in the meantime, sailing with a local club on keelboats, and trying to meet folks to get out to go cruising locally, and to learn skills.

This is something I have wondered about as a possible way to safely and rapidly jump into cruising on your own boat, assuming you have the $$.

i did more or less the same.


i read everything i could find.. but my experiences was limited to helping once on a coastal delivery(in college)



..when i purchased my 1st boat (40+ ft condomaran) i had the previous owner and then the guy that taught him (local french sailing guru) spend a week onboard to help me learn the boat. (all to get a start on learning all the things i didnt even know that i didnt know)
that "cost" part was of my offer price...and it was not negotiable to me..
i would have walked otherwise.






for me, it would be a requirement to have someone that knows the boat well.. come and spend time teaching me what they know about your my new boat.
(double important if experience in sailing is lacking)


same thing with your 1st offshore passage..
i'd also pay to have a delivery captain come aboard to crew.. just to have that reservoir of experience handy

[CrispyCringle]

Assuming you have some experience sailing, personally I wouldn't want to cruise around for any extended period of time with an instructor/Capt. First, its very expensive, and two, the odds of this person being someone I want to hang out with 24/7 for an extended period of time is slim. But that just me.

If you plan on insuring your boat, depending on the size of it, the insurer will probably require you to be signed off by a licensed Captain. They represent the insurance company and they want to make sure they aren't backing a obvious insurance hazard, and to make sure you have some semblance of how things are done. If properly done, you will hire a instructor/captain for a few days or a week to to go over a ton of stuff. Topics from basic navigation, chart plotting, rights of way, day shapes/lights, weather, knowledge of all the emergency equipment on board, etc, etc. Then you go out and actually sail, dock, maneuver around, etc. This can be instructional, but your expected to pretty much know this stuff and be able to do everything "unassisted", by the end of it. Makes sense. What is very helpful is their assistance in handling the boat for the very first time. That can be one of the biggest obstacles- going from a boat maybe less than 2000 lbs, to 10-20+ tons. Driving a house feels a lot different.

That being said, read, read , read. Consider taking some ASA courses. Especially some of the more advanced topics if you have no experience in those areas. In my opinion, the sailing part is the easy part. If you can sail a dinghy you can sail a large boat, once you learn what lines do what. It's everything else that takes time to learn. Taking some ASA courses will jumpstart that knowledge.

[goboatingnow]

Why purchase anything , charter hire a captain , check out the situation then proceed. Don’t run walk

[Fore and Aft]

Uneven Sailor some of my clients do exactly that. Even to the point where the hired captain shadows me during the survey so they know the vessels issues. For some of my clients the adjustment to cruising is to much and usually within a year they sell the boat. The quickest was 3 days before my clients realised that they had made a big mistake.
I am with Crispy regarding finding someone to hang out with 24/7 even for a short period. For me the joy of cruising is the privacy and connection with my family.
Cheers

[CrispyCringle]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Why purchase anything , charter hire a captain , check out the situation then proceed. Don’t run walk

This is a good idea as well. Before we actually purchased an ocean going boat, I hired a one week charter in the caribbean just to make sure my wife really wanted to do this as much as she said she did. She had never lived on a sailboat before, except for a week on lake Huron on our small "camper" boat. Worst case, you have a nice vacation. Or you find that living on the water isn't for you guys, which will save you a ton of hassle and cost.

[DEAN2140]

As someone said before, what do you mean by "relatively little". My advice would be for you and your wife to sign up some sailing courses with the entry level based on your experience. There are courses that take you to offshore and overnight sailing. If you and your wife are still game, take a bareboat vacation in the Virgin Islands, where the winds are reliable and the water smooth. After all that, you will be in a good position to judge your competence and determine what other skills you need to accomplish your dream.