DELIVERY TRIPS

[irishmark]

thinking about building sea miles with a sailing school i persume another way to do it would be on a delivery trip, i.e from Uk/Ireland to Canaries etc, can anyone point me in the right direction, I have got one or two pointers already but it would be great to find out more...was also thing long distance on the ARC or such like but would i gain more experience doing something different??

thanks for all the replys to my post on sailing schools btw.

mark

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[Jeremy_W]

Mark,
You must know the story from your own beautiful country. A tourist is lost in Kerry so he hails a local "How do I get to Tralee"? The Kerryman replies "If I was going to Tralee I wouldn't start from here"! So where are you and where do you wish to be?

You're a Day Skipper: Two routes present themselves: Skipper or crew. If you want to be a "supercrew" get the widest variety you can of all crewing experiences:-

Racing round the cans - various schools (Hamble, BOSS, UKSA...) do a race training course, or just join your local club. Howth, Crosshaven, Dun L are meccas for racing. If you are West Coast-based I know of a club where the Sigma 33 racing is pretty keen.
Offshore racing - schools do a "Fastnet" package in odd-numbered years.
Coastal cruising - try Crewseekers/ Club Crewit/ wtach this BB!
Ocean cruising (when you can scan 360 degrees of the horizon and see no land for days on end) - Crewseekers &c, ARC, Rally Portugal crew lists
Big Boats - Clipper and The Challenge Business do courses. Stick "Creightons Naturally" "Whitbread Heritage" (aka GBII), "Maiden" etc. into Google. You may be a cog in a machine grinding winches on an ex-Whitbread maxi, but it's quite some machine.
Traditional sail - e.g. Brixham Trawler "Lorne Leader"
Square riggers - in the UK: Jubilee Sailing Trust ("Lord Nelson", "Tenacious") or Sail Training Association ("Prince William" "Stavros Niarchos"). What's "Asgard II" doing these days?

If your focus is skippering and passing the Coastal Skipper and Advanced Coastal Skipper (AKA Yachtmaster) exams then any time afloat that is neither coastal nor skippering is wasted. Charter whatever you can wherever you can! The less experience your crew have, the better!

In terms of progress towards Coastal Skipper You'll progress more by recruiting a couple of mates from work to potter round the Clyde for week or crewing across the Channel, than by crewing a transatlanic. I adore steering an ex-Whitbread racer by the stars hundreds of miles from the nearest land, but in terms of progrssing towards Coastal Skipper it's wasted time.

Regards,
Jeremy

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[irishmark]

jeremy

thanks for the post....u sound like you know what u are saying...

where do i want to go..well i know where i want to end up, is that any good?? i want to end up been a good competant sailor that can go anywhere i want with the confidence and ability to do so, wheither that is island hopping in the med or trans-atlantic....

i know i could do my costal skips at a school in 5/9 days and pass everything the exam requires, but i supose what i want is the experience, that will stand me in good-stead when i need it...know what i mean??

i supose what i had in my head would be say something like a delivery trip that involved bringing a boat say up the coast of france then to ireland etc so i got a verity of expoeriences etc...coastal and cross channel etc...what do u think??

on a total different note i saw the "Stavros Niarchos??" when i was saying off tortola in the bvi this year, and i didn't feel envious of the sailors on it at all, i supose i prefer a boat where you are master of your own fate so to speak....sound crazy??

mark

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[pragmatist]

If you can afford it (and they can come pretty cheap - our first cruising boat was £700 !) buy a boat. There's nothing like doing it week in week out and making your own cock-ups. The distance and glam stuff is better based on familiarity - join the I do it my way lot wherever you may be. Finally got round to taking an RYA course in the W Country and was stunned to realise that I was the only one who took running aground as par for the course - but then if you've been an E Coast sailor a cuppa on a rising tide is just a normal weekend.

Whatever you do I hope you enjoy it ! Value judgements on running aground!


<hr width=100% size=1>a pragmatist is an optimist with a boat in the UK

 

[charles_reed]

Building mileage

I suspect Mark's interest in the best route to learning is pretty small - all he's interested in is getting up his sea-miles to qualify for one of the more advanced (than Coastal) tickets.

I agree with your inferred criticism, that this is contrary to the spirit of the Yachtmaster exams and that the mileage building on delivery voyages will do little to improve seamanship and experience.

The fact that a number of charter firms exploit eager novices by getting them to contribute to the costs of a delivery from say the Med to W Indies is well known, and when fatalities occur as the result of these practices, the furore is short-lived and changes little.

I would support Jeremy's opinion, but in more blunt terms.

Mark - you run the risk of being exploited and will learn a very limited amount by paying to get onto delivery voyages, though much depends on the generosity of the skipper and his experience.

It's rather like these 2-week Yachtmaster courses.

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[irishmark]

Re: Building mileage

thanks for the replys...i really do want the so called "best route to learning" its just that i'm not quite sure what it is, i've chatted to a few people about it, one or two ym instructors i met along the way and they tended to say go for the delivery trips....i have been offered several courses that do some theory, practical and then the costal exam in 9 days or so. I'm not sure this is the best way (but maybe it is?)....as per relying on the generosity of the skipper whilst doing delivery trips, i do realise that this is very true....

so in short i could spend two weeks at a sea school get my coastal, but then what??or i could spend time say bringing a boat somewhere with a recognised sea school where i would get a verity of conditions but as you say be very dependant on the skipper.

I supose where i see myself going is perhaps investing ina small boat in the next year or so but i want to build up my confidence and abilities first...what do u think??



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[Jeremy_W]

>>I suppose what i had in my head would be say something like a delivery trip that involved bringing a boat say up the coast of france then to ireland etc so i got a variety of experiences etc...coastal and cross channel etc...what do u think??

I think you have a rose-tinted view of delivery sailing. Delivery sailing is about getting the job done quickly: Skippers are paid by the mile not the day so there's no incentive to hang about: A delivery skipper is as likely to go coast hopping via Dunmore East, Wicklow and Malahide as a car transporter is likely to take B Roads and unpack a Harrods hamper for lunch.

With fair winds on a delivery from the Biscay coast of France to, say, Howth you would do it in one hop and not see land for most of the time. You'd have four waypoints: 1) well clear of the Raz de Seine 2) well clear of Lands End 3) The gap in the Arklow Bank 4) Howth Fairway

>>>on a total different note i saw the "Stavros Niarchos??" when i was saying off tortola in the bvi this year, and i didn't feel envious of the sailors on it at all, i supose i prefer a boat where you are master of your own fate so to speak....sound crazy??
Sounds very sensible. The STA apparently give their crew numbers rather than use names. Not my scene at all.

A milebuilder course sounds like what you're after rather than a delivery.

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[irishmark]

good point on delivery trips...a mile builder is prob better, however i want to learn not just build miles..as someone pointed out to me you can cross the atlantic on same tack for a week..not sure how much i'd learn, but i would build plenty of miles.......ohh what to do......i'm sure lot sof people have had to make the same decision as me before....i wonder what hindsight would have taught them??

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[Laurin]

Depends on how much you are restricted on cost, I found the best way to rack up miles and good experience was a mixture of regular local racing (improves sail trim etc.), offshore racing (I did JOG cross channel races to build miles) and charter and courses off season when it's cheap in a variety of places. I was also very lucky and got lent a Van der Staat 36 for a season. With this mix, sailing pretty much every other weekend (more in summer, less in winter) I passed my coastal skipper 18 months after Day skipper and YM 6 months later. I still feel a very "new" YM with lots to learn. I had about 5000miles going into YM exam and wouldn't have wanted to take it any earlier, however I guess if i had done more skippering in that time I might have been more confident earlier.

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[Gunfleet]

Re: Building mileage

ouch! but true

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[DeeGee]

Hi Jeremy, I'd have thought a delivery trip or two would be quite the thing for this requirement? Tough, no-messing, no confusion with socialising, just getting on with the job. If the weather gets up, OK, we reef and pump if necessary. If the engine breaks down, we get on with it. At least, that is the way I read delivery?

Cruising with some gentle soul like me will mean he avoids the worst weather - passage delayed with preference for good food and wine alternative - and general wimpish behaviour!

;-))

<hr width=100% size=1>Black Sugar - the sweetest of all

 

[charles_reed]

First find your skipper

It can be done effectively but requires careful preparation

Get a list from one of the yacht delivery companies
Get to meet the skippers
Choose the one you think knows it and is prepared to help you learn
Tell him you're happy to be on call

I assure you, if he thinks you're any good, he'll be glad to call on you.
Reliable crew are few and far between and jealously guarded by professional delivery skippers.
Only trouble - there's a lot of people, with the commercial endorsement who haven't the sea-miles to know what to do themselves, never mind teaching others.

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[Twister_Ken]

Running aground

I do it occasionally to check that the echo sounder hasn't lost calibration. Or that's what I tell my crew.

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.writeforweb.com/twister1>Let's Twist Again</A>

 

[BrendanChandler]

Re: Learning through DELIVERY TRIPS

Hi Irish Mark,

The best way to become a proficient sailor is to buy a boat and sail it. If you can do that when you are about 11 you will learn even faster.

If that is not possible and if you decide that you want to try crewing on a delivery, send me your CV. I undertake deliveries as skipper and like to have a crew of mixed ability on board. See my website.

I think that ocean sailing is an excellent way to learn about the sea. Even in sailing in the safest season, offshore sailors often experience gales, sometimes more. I think that sailing through heavy weather does teach one a lot about sailing.

It is also fun to spend time getting the best drom a set of sails. If you are likely to be on a tack for a week, it is worth spending time playing with two genoas and a home made 'twissle rig'

I do not put to sea in gales but have experienced a few. Crew who stand their watch and help the boat arrive safely learn a lot about sailing, the sea and more than a little about themselves. It also removes some of the dread that sailors who have not had to contend with heavy weather feel, just in case they are caught out. It teaches respect for the sea, the value of proper passage planning and adjusting the plan to match actual circumstances experienced. It is good to see a nervous inexperienced crew member leave at the end of a trip with a spring in his step and a little more confidence and some experience under his belt that he might never have gained inshore.

I can see that if you have a poor skipper you will learn little, but that applies to all sailing. On long distance sailing there is time to teach and learn. Racing around the cans is also very useful, as is making landfall in different ports in different weathers, often at night. All experience in boats is good.

Here endith the lesson for today.

That is my experience but make allowance for my being Irish!!

Brendan




Irish Brendan

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