Coastal sailing and offshore sailing are two completely different ways of travelling by sailboat. On a coastal trip you drop anchor in a quiet bay, go for a swim or a hike, and step ashore whenever you like. Offshore, you sail out of sight of land, through the night and over long distances, and once you have left there is no stepping off. But then you really reach far away wild places, or even a new country. If you want to sail as crew, knowing the difference helps you choose your trip, and the right boat to experience it on.
Our founder Suzanne explains it in this video:
What coastal sailing is like
Coastal sailing is the more leisurely way to sail. You explore bays and islands, anchor in remote places, swim off the boat, hike on shore and come back on board when you feel like it. You can join a regatta, go for a day sail, or sign up for a trip of several days along a coast.
There is another thing that makes coastal sailing a good first step: if it turns out you don’t get along with the people on board, you can leave the boat.
“I remember in the beginning I already found sleeping on the boat a huge experience in itself,” Suzanne says. So if you are new to all of this, a shorter coastal trip is a great way to start, and there are so many beautiful places to discover. (Wondering whether you need experience at all? We wrote about that in Do you need experience to sail across the Atlantic?)
What offshore sailing is like
Offshore sailing means you leave sight of the coast, sail through the night and cover longer distances. It is a whole different way of going about the day. Together with your crew you run the boat around the clock: you sail, you cook, you keep watches, and there is usually a schedule that everyone follows (more on that in our post on watch keeping when sailing offshore). And unless the wind drops completely, there is no swimming in the ocean.
Suzanne calls it another magical experience, and it also asks more of you, because you cannot just leave the boat. Sailing boats are slow, so if you don’t get along with the people on board, it is going to be a very long ride. An offshore passage is a big investment of your time, and you want to spend that time with people you trust. As Suzanne puts it: “You want to be able to share the fun, right? Not just the ride.”
What you learn on each
On a coastal trip you usually change the sails more often, and you get plenty of practice anchoring, lifting the anchor and getting in and out of marinas.
Offshore, days can go by without anyone touching the sails, and the boat may be steering on autopilot. But you learn more about seamanship, about preparing a boat and crew for a long passage, and often about fixing things along the way.
Why we recommend a test sail first
Even if your heart is set on offshore sailing, or you want to sail across the Atlantic one day, we still recommend going coastal sailing first, ideally on the boat you are planning to cross with. Sailing a few days with the captain and crew you want to spend weeks at sea with is the best way to get to know them.
Suzanne learned this on the first boat she planned to cross the Atlantic with. “I thankfully did that on the first boat I was planning to sail the Atlantic with. And it was the best decision I ever made. During the test sail between the islands, I realized this was not the right boat for me. I did not feel safe.”
Once you sail away on an offshore passage, there is no way back. You owe it to yourself, your captain and your fellow crew to feel confident and happy before you go.
What should you look at during a test sail? Our free Crew Checklist and Offshore Checklist take you through it step by step, from the first contact with a captain to preparing for a longer passage, and our Zero to Ocean Nomad course goes deeper into assessing a boat and captain and the agreements to make before you sail.
Coastal or offshore, come sail with us
At Ocean Nomads we sail both: coastal trips for a first taste of life on board, and offshore passages for when you are ready to sail through the night, up to a full ocean crossing.
See where we are sailing next
Coastal trips and offshore passages on trusted vessels, with crew we curate.
Looking for your own boat to sail on? Our community is where crew and captains meet, share opportunities and help each other find boats they can trust.
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Come sail with us. 💙
Ocean Nomads is a community of sailors who cross oceans. Written from the collective experience of our members, captains, and our founder Suzanne van der Veeken, a Yachtmaster Offshore who has crossed the Atlantic five times.
