How to live your sailing passion off-season?
How to live your sailing passion off-season?
Do you like sailing? Do you want to live your sailing passion off-season?
Fall is gradually settling in on the American continent and especially in the North: night is falling earlier and earlier, storms from the ocean are becoming more and more numerous, winds are blowing more and more frequently , and even your summer tan has disappeared… Does this mean you have to stop sailing and put your passion for sailing in your shorts and swimsuits in the closet?
Why is year-round membership of the Coboaters Club preferable for crew members?
We often receive this kind of message: “Thank you for cancelling my coboaters.com membership, I’ve found my boarding place and I’ll be back next summer…”. Why stay? Apart from the fact that the club operates all year round (and pay its employees and websites too!) to be fully operational during the summer months, we’re going to explain why fall and winter are very active seasons and why you can sail off season.
Reason 1: Take advantage of the winter break to plan your summer sailing trips!
Be the first to respond to the most attractive sailing projects and opportunities!
During the off sailing season in the North, from November to April, even though there are fewer ads, sailing enthusiasts are always there. It’s the ideal time for regatta enthusiasts and seasoned sailors preparing long-distance crossings to post their notices. The winter months are the ideal time to organize Atlantic and Pacific crossing and other sailing projects (involving crew changes in different countries), which require meticulous preparation and a motivated crew. Starting your search early will give you access to all the offers for the next summer.
Make sure you will have a great time sailing off-season!
Searching online as early as possible will give you the most sailing opportunities and guarantee you’ll have a great time on the water, as you ‘ ll be able to get to know the captain, meet them, or even sail with them for a few days before committing to a longer sailing trip!
What are the risks of waiting until the last minute to look for a sailboat?
Not finding anything, or finding a sailboat that doesn’t suit you!
As you’ve no doubt experienced on AirBnB or Booking.com, when you book your vacation at the last minute, you often end up in the most expensive or worst accommodation (and sometimes: the most expensive of the worst…) or finding nothing at all. The same risks exist on coboaters.com. The best sailing proposals don’t stay available for long!
Not getting replies to your messages!
Contacting owners while they’re sailing has never been a guarantee of a quick, positive response! Boat owners are less available to recruit new crew during the summer, as they are often at sea with difficult access to the Internet, and they like to use this sailing period as a “time out”! In fact, it’s more comfortable for them to have their crew in place before the start of the sailing season. Finally, some owners sail with their families during the summer and won’t be back on the coboaters.com site until the new school year! Don’t expect them to spend their sailing day watching for the slightest notification on their smartphone…
Paying more for transportation to and from the boat
And don’t forget that air traffic has seen a historic upsurge since the end of the COVID crisis! In the past (before COVID and just after the COVID crisis), it was possible to find a cheap “last minute” air ticket for a flight in the US, but this is no longer true… Anticipating your future sailing trips also means saving on your vacation budget.
2nd reason: Fabulous sailing opportunities are available all year round on Coboaters.com!
We’re often asked the following question: “I’ve finally got some time to myself (vacation, period of unemployment, professional break) but after the summer . Can I still sail in autumn and winter? ”
Even if there are fewer opportunities to sail than in the spring/summer season, the answer is YES!
Sail for a day or a weekend
Some owners offer short sailing trips (a few hours, a day or a weekend) all year round even in the winter! This doesn’t represent the majority of sailboat owners, but it does exist, and these owners aren’t overwhelmed by requests for crew in November, December, January, February and March! So don’t hesitate to respond to these notices, and make sure you’re well equipped to cope with the cold and damp, and you’ll discover the pleasures of off-season sailing! You’ll often be the only boat on the water! Tourists have gone home, ports are cheaper and marine mammals are back along our coasts!
Take part in winter training and regattas
The low season is traditionally used by regatta enthusiasts to practice, the famous frostbite races. The weather conditions are rough, but you’ll be doing a lot of maneuvering, making rapid progress and discovering the exciting rules of regattas and the excellent atmosphere.
Go sailing in the South and the Caribbeans!
As winter sets in for good in the North, the hurricane season in the South ends on November 1st, and the dry season begins! Dream sailings in the Bahamas, Antigua, USVI or the BVI’s are mainly available from December to the end of May. Think about it, if you want to sail during the winter. Sailing between the islands of Guadeloupe, Martinique, Dominica, Sint Maarten, Saint Barth, Bahamas, Puerto Rico and more
Long-distance and offshore sailing: ocean crossings, atlantic crossings
Finally, like a bird, it’s also possible to take advantage of fall and winter to sail a transatlantic or transpacific crossing! Read our article about transatlantic and transpacific opportunities. To find an outward transatlantic sailor, our advice is to apply a year in advance, during the winter preceding the transatlantic departure. If you haven’t found anything, you can always try in the last-minute crew exchange that opens up during the July/August to October/November departure period. For a west-East atlantic crossing transatlantic, there are fewer candidates, which will take place between April and June, so plan to apply from January onwards.
So many good reasons to remain a Coboaters Club member all year round!
If you already have a month-to-month membership, and would like to upgrade to an annual membership (which we recommend to get the most out of club services), contact us by clicking here.
