Sailing Options

Shareboat

It can be hard enough getting a group of friends to agree on a date for dinner - let alone plan a vacation together! And sometimes it's good to get away totally - new places, new faces. Joining a sailboat is a perfect way to do this - it's a very informal, cosy atmosphere where the usual social "barriers" disappear quickly. Within a couple of days, you feel like you've known your crewmates for weeks!

"But who knows what kind of weirdos we might end up sailing with?" . . . is a concern many potential sailors have expressed. Indeed so - a 50' yacht might be big in sailboat terms, but it's a real small space if you don't get on with your crewmates!

Well, we're as concerned about that as you are, as we're "in the same boat" - literally! We're out there ourselves, living and sailing with our guests, so we know exactly how important group dynamics are. We always do our matchmaking best to put groups together with similar vacation goals and ideas. For example, we wouldn't put a bunch of young singles out to party all night on the same boat as, say, a 50yr old couple expecting a romantic anniversary trip!

You can join in with the group as much as you like - or go off on your own whenever you please. We typically spend around 3-4hrs a day out sailing, so there's lots of time to go explore the islands too when you get there. There's other people around if you want company - but also plenty of space if you want time alone.

Besides our own pro-active efforts to match up crews, there is also a very effective "self-selection" factor. By their very nature, vacations like ours tend to attract adventurous, gregarious and open-minded people, who revel in the chance to escape the usual tourist track, the opportunity to get to know the locals, and perhaps learn new, fun skills. Birds of a feather do tend to flock towards similar vacations !

This is one of the reasons why you're now wading through these very extensive web notes! . . . we want to make quite sure that no-one has any misconceptions about our trips. We're very down-to-earth in making sure everyone understands that a sailboat is NOT some "Get me a cocktail, waiter!" type cruise ship. It's a very active, participatory environment where everyone pitches in, everyone has a say in what we do, where we go.

As one previous participant described it - it's like "camping on the water". Very up-market camping to be sure, but if this sort of concept appeals to you - you'll have a ball ! The cool thing is that everyone else on board must also think our casual, get-involved approach sounds like fun - else they would be on that cruise ship!

 

The net result of all this is many, many wonderfully FUN shareboat groups - and friendships that have lasted years beyond tying the final dock lines at the end of the trip.