What’s it like to experience an open ocean sailing passage? The preparation and first couple of days of sailing are hard work but after that, it’s usually easy-going, relaxing, and non-eventful. Our longest open sailing passage was from Gran Canaria, off the west side of Africa, to St Lucian in the Caribbean. Crossing the Atlantic[Read More]
Passage Planning
Long Sailing Passage Preparation Checklist
In this Long Sailing Passage Preparation Checklist, you’ll find action items for safety and medical, communications, passage plans, provisioning, crew briefing/watch schedules/duties, and last-minute preparations. What is a long sailing passage? If you’re going in the open ocean and won’t be close to land I consider that a long passage even if it’s a few[Read More]
Overnight Sailing Trip
One of the initial worries that new sailing cruisers have is tackling their first overnight sailing trip. Our recommendation is to either sign up for a few night sailing experiences or, if you already have a boat, hire a professional skipper that can join you on a long voyage or two. Sailing at night can[Read More]
How to get a B1 B2 visa for sailors in and around America
About the B1 B2 visa for sailors…If you’re like me and you’re an American, you don’t need a visa to sail to America. But, if you’re like my husband (Simon), who holds only a British passport, or like our crew member (Eve), who holds a New Zealand passport, you will need to sort out a[Read More]
Sailing To A New Country
Sailing to a new country can be daunting for the first few times. It’s best to understand the process and learn tips and tricks before you go. So, what’s the procedure to book in? How about booking out? What information to do you need to supply? Where can things go terribly wrong? Are there any tips to make the process easier, faster and less painful? What about spear guns, real guns, and pets? What about booking into the US of A?! That’s a big topic in its own right. Watch the video and then read below for a checklist on what we bring with us every time we enter and leave a country.
Passage Planning – 7 Steps Checklist
What do you need to consider when passage planning? What websites, software, and apps are available to plot a sailing voyage from point A to B? Read the steps that Simon, Captain of Britican, uses before we set sail for our next destination. And then watch our Passage Planning video to get a behind-the-scenes snapshot[Read More]
12 Non-Essentials for Long Passage Sailing
With our 2800+ mile Atlantic long passage sailing expedition fresh in my mind, let me list the items that made a difference to the journey. Some items made life easier, others made the trip more comfortable and many helped make the 18-day adventure more fun. Spending days at sea can be an excellent experience but[Read More]
Sailing through the night – is it scary, exhilarating or boring?
Many new cruisers are often scared of sailing through the night. They plan passages from one place to the next only sailing by day. Sailing at night is actually far easier and even more calming than it is during the day. Read on as I related an experience we had during a night sail. At[Read More]
A lesson on using common sense rather than relying on a plotter
This story is somewhat embarrassing to admit but it demonstrates a very important lesson; with so much technology available today it’s easy to ignore the obvious! It also highlights that if a moron like me can set sail around the world, anyone can do it! First let me set the scene in regards to relying[Read More]
