What a sailing holiday is
(and what it isn’t!)
We wrote this page as a little disclaimer. The last thing that we want to do is to gloss over some of the less glamorous elements of boat life.
The truth is that, although we’re sure most of you will love what we do, sailing holidays are not for everyone.
That’s why it’s important for you to know exactly what you’re signing up for when you book a charter with us.
So for the avoidance of doubt, let’s explore what a sailing holiday is (and what it isn’t!)
Firstly, sailing holidays are not luxury.. or at least not for some people..
Luxury means something different to everyone - to salty sea dogs like ourselves, the vessels that we charter are very luxurious, and because we’re used to things like having to put toilet paper in bins, and not straight in the loo’s, sometimes it’s easy for us to forget that it’s not normal for landlubbers (with the exception of our Greek friends)
We don’t mean to paint a picture of squalor and hardship by any means - we offer modern, sleek and stylish vessels, and do our best to make our guests feel like they’re onboard their very own floating hotel, but there are ubiquitous elements of boat life that we would prefer all of our guests to know about before they board.
For example.. are you a super light sleeper? Well, you might find that the water pressure pumps are audible even inside your cabin.
Do you like to have ten minute showers? If you do, we’ll run out of fresh water in a couple of hours.
Do you have important Zoom meetings to attend during the week? Although rare, in certain locations it might be difficult/impossible to get cellular connection.
It’s not a perfect analogy, but we often encourage our guests to think of our holidays as a bit like “Glamping” - we’re not going to be eating cold baked beans from the tin whilst being rained on, but you are going to have to put your toilet paper in a little bin, instead of flushing it straight down the loo.
We think the best way to approach your charter with us is to embrace these little eccentricities, but we understand that everyone is different.
Secondly, we’d like to explain a little about the practicalities of sailing vessels, and what it’s actually like to be onboard.
We don’t presume to place an age requirement or limit on the guests who choose to sail with us, and we feel very strongly that it’s up to you to decide whether or not you think it’s safe for you or your loved ones to spend a week on a boat. But we mustn’t forget that we as sailors are entirely at the mercy of mother nature.
Although rare during the summer, we do sometimes experience bad weather - lightning storms, big waves, howling winds. These are things that we can never rule out, and we all need to be prepared for, just in case.
Your Skipper is experienced in harsh conditions like these, and will do their best to avoid them, as well as to prepare you for what’s coming and how to stay safe, but please consider who you are bringing with you, and whether or not you think it’s sensible, should we encounter bad weather.
When we Skipper a charter for you, we assume a sacred responsibility that we do not take lightly, and your safety is always our number one priority.
Thirdly - stuff breaks...
Anyone who has owned their own boat, or knows someone who does, will know how much ongoing maintenance seagoing vessels require.
We often spend many hours a week mending and tinkering with things that have been broken or aren’t working properly. At the end of the day, this is one of the reasons that you have a Skipper.
It is undoubtedly one of the more irritating, but unavoidable elements of boat life, one that we want to take care of, so you don’t have to!
Because we don’t own our own vessels, essentially what we’re doing is chartering the vessel on your behalf, and then running the charter for you, so please be patient with us and do let us know if something is broken, or not working properly.
Finally, we are here to ensure that you have an awesome week with us, and to accommodate your requests where possible, but we also have a job to do, and sometimes practical considerations must come first - occasionally plans must be changed, reservations must be rearranged, lunches must be eaten a little bit later than usual.
These things are all in the interest of your safety and comfort, but also your vessel’s limitations.
Anyway, we hope none of this has put you off spending a week on a sailing vessel with us, and we very much look forward to hosting you soon!
- Tom and the Odyssey team
