Sailing the Ocean as a Novice? Absolutely!

Dreaming of crossing oceans with little or no experience?
Good news: it’s entirely possible 🙂

My complete guide and blog posts on sailing are coming soon. But first:

1  Ask Yourself: Is This for Me?

Short answer: probably yes—unless you hate learning, people, water, or boats 🙂
Long answer: you’re ready if you are…

• Flexible and adaptable — these will be your true lifelines.
• Curious and eager to learn — the perfect recipe for steady improvement.
• Not afraid to make decisions — some will be great, some less so, and some will be bad. Embrace it.
• Able to take criticism — captains can be… well, very captainy.

 

2  Find a Boat – Be Patient!

Sell yourself — a solid, engaging sailing CV goes a long way – highlight any strengths: cook? Handy? Good with spreadsheets? Spreadsheets are surprisingly sexy at sea!

Where to Look

• forums, groups, local marina gossip, Coworking cafés near harbour, ask every single sailor-looking person you meet – someone always knows a guy who knows a guy who has a boat.
• Crew websites (findacrew, workaway, crewseekers, crewbay).

Meet in person — Because you’ll be stuck with these people for 3 weeks in a floating shoe box. Trust your gut. If your gut says “this person might murder me,” believe it!

The Agreement — An e-mail confirmation is usually enough, as long as the discussed details are written clearly:

• Watch schedule
• Cooking responsibilities
• Expenses
• Departure window
• Destination
• Expectations (very important!)

Stay visible — Tell friends/family your boat name, captain’s name (I even took photos of their ID cards), MMSI, planned route, departure date – this scares off dodgy skippers.

3  Prepare Well

• Learn about sailing and get certified — knowledge definitely builds confidence, but it’s not essential. I was a complete novice. Ok, I know how to swim. Also, try to learn how to tie knots that don’t immediately untie themselves. Five is enough. Some plus are “Right of way” rules and what the VHF radio does. Online videos come handy here.
• Have backup plans — Plan A, B, and C will save you stress later.
• Sort out your finances — crossings can be unpredictable and ocean life sometimes means unexpected costs. Some captains ask for a daily contribution. You’ll need money for: groceries, a headlamp, seasickness pills and dried ginger.
• Understand immigration rules — it’s the captain’s responsibility to ensure you leave the arrival country legally – You will usually need an outbound ticket or sufficient funds to officially leave the ship in the destination country. He handles exit as well as official entry.

4 Take care of your health

• Travel insurance that covers sailing (read the fine print!) – premium bank cards might also work, online travel insurance and any necessary documents
• Any medications you might need for at least one extra month.