SHIP ΤΟ SAIL

LET THE SHIP TAKE THE STRAIN TO MAXIMISE YOUR CRUISING TIME

- JANNEKE KUYSTERS AND HELEN FRETTER

At some point, perhaps in an anchorage far from home, every bluewater voyager is faced with a choice – do you sail on, or turn back and recross your wake? And if neither option appeals or is practical, then is it time to consider selling up, getting a delivery crew to bring your boat home, or shipping back? 

Planned in advance, shipping your yacht can help maximise your adventure time and open up new cruising areas that wouldn’t otherwise be accessible in a restricted time scale. Meanwhile, for cruisers facing an unexpected change of circumstances or shift in plans, shipping can keep the dream alive by bringing your yacht back to its home port, or moving it on to somewhere you can pick up the adventure in future.

We speak to industry experts, and sailors who’ve done it, for advice on how to use shipping routes to extend your sailing adventure.

HOW IT WORKS 

Yacht owners looking to find out more about shipping their yacht are likely to contact either a yacht transport company such as Sevenstar, or a logistics specialist (known as freight forwarders) such as Peters & May or GAC Pindar. Sevenstar is a yacht carrier, in other words they operate their own ships (they are part of Spliethoff, a large Dutch shipping company), running to their own timetable. Freight forwarders charter vessels, or part of vessels, so may have a wider choice of routes and timings, and work with a chain of suppliers to move your yacht.

Sailing yachts that are shipped with their mast up are transported via a lift-on/lift-off ship, which has its own crane that can load and discharge yachts at a wide range of ports, including while at anchor, unlike container vessels which have to go into port to use the onshore cargo cranes.