There are many reasons that boat owners hire delivery crews. New-to-owner relocation, seasonal cruising grounds, sailboat regatta, incoming storms, undesirable longer passages, no matter what the reason, the owner either doesn’t have enough time or desire to move the boat.

Again there can be many reasons for this; often the owner simply isn’t comfortable making longer passages on their vessel yet, or may just need another experienced crew member. It may be that the owner’s insurance company requires the owner to have a licensed captain on board during transit. Regardless of the reason, in this situation the owner has agreed to help the captain get his vessel to the intended destination; unless otherwise agreed upon, the owner is handing the ultimate control and responsibility over to the captain, and the owner is expected to follow the captain’s instructions. In this scenario the owner of the vessel is expected to have at least some previous boating experience, otherwise an extra crewmember may be required, depending on size and complexity of vessel.

Common reasons for this scenario are new-to-owner vessel, the vessel needs to be moved, and the owner wants to get some time with an experienced captain to learn the intricacies of the vessel, and techniques to control it. Often the owner’s insurance will require the owner to get training on the vessel, before they will be covered underway. The training focus may be navigation, basic to intermediate sailing or motor vessel instruction, anchoring, rules of the road, docking, vessel maintenance, or all of the above. Depending on the training required, it is likely that it will require training aids, books, additional focus and time by the captain, and thus will have charges attached based on need.  This will require further discussion. This is a great way to kill two birds with one stone.

New to boating, new-to-you boat, want to learn to sail, brush up on anchoring, docking, navigation, night sailing, weather planning, passage planning… Whatever training or coaching you desire, please reach out and we will discuss, come up with a plan, and help you acquire the skills you desire.