10 tips for shorthanded sailing

Practical advice from professional charter skipper Tom Fletcher

“It’s our first time sailing as a couple without: an instructor / the family / our more experienced friends” (delete as appropriate)… Sound familiar? Everyone is nervous sailing shorthanded for the first time. Whether you have just passed your Day Skipper, or always been part of a larger group, there will come a time when you have to head to sea without the crew you usually rely on. As a charter skipper at Sail Ionian, I am asked if I have advice about shorthanded sailing all the time. So, here are my top 10 practical considerations to make life easy for yourself on a shorthanded holiday charter…

1. Preparation – Ensuring you are well prepared is the most important thing you can do. Always take things slowly, talk through whatever you are doing, and get the boat ready in advance. From raising a sail to mooring, if you have everything neatly prepared you will cut out a lot of stress.

2. Yacht choice - If possible, choose a type of yacht you have sailed on before. At the very least make sure it has a GPS on deck, and an autopilot, and that you know how to use them before you leave the quay. In-mast furling for the mainsail will also make life easier. Some yachts in Sail Ionian's charter fleet are specifically rigged for shorthanded sailing, with all running rigging led back to winches, which are accessible from the helm.

3. Familiarity with the area - If this is your first shorthanded charter, pick an area you have been to before and are familiar with.

4. Take advantage of your charter company

- Don’t be afraid to get some help, and book a skipper for your first day or two. At Sail Ionian our Assisted Programme offers support to anyone who needs it, whether it’s stern-to mooring or shorthanded sailing. Take full advantage of the Route Plan and Boat Brief too. Asking for route suggestions that avoid the busier harbours will save you a lot of stress. Our route plans can also suggest harbours where we can arrange assistance or bays where you can anchor easily rather than having to long-line.

5. Be early - Plan to get into harbours a little early for the first few days. You’ll beat the rush (and the afternoon winds), and that makes mooring much easier. Balance it out by getting up earlier so you can still enjoy a full day on the water.

6. Sailing - Keep one reef in the mainsail on your first day or two - there’s nothing like an overpowered yacht to scare a shorthanded crew! Use only the genoa when going downwind; it’s so much easier and cuts the risk of a crash gybe. Practice heaving-to, so you know you can both stop the boat if you need to. When rounding headlands, wind direction and strength can change quickly, keeping an eye on the yachts sailing ahead of you gives you some advance warning of the conditions you will soon encounter.

7. Mooring - Choose your spot in the harbour carefully, look for sheltered areas, or where the wind is on the bow or stern, to make reversing easier. Are there people nearby to help catch a line? Preparation is key with mooring; set the boat up well outside the harbour. Don’t underestimate the importance of a well flaked line if you are going to have to helm and hurl a line to shore. There are various techniques that a day with a skipper on our Assisted Programme can teach too, such as using a fender and bucket to position your long lines in the water (this enables both people to be back on the yacht while reversing and dropping the anchor).

8. Knowledge - As shorthanded sailors it’s very important that the sole crew has some knowledge of sailing, at least to Competent Crew standard. If they don’t, make time to do the course before the charter.

9. Communication - Talk through manoeuvres before you do them. Make sure you both understand the process and the order of things. It’s also a very good idea to talk through your passage plan before you set off, and to make sure both people know roughly where the yacht is at all times, just in case of an emergency. When stern-to mooring, a simple system of hand signals cuts the need to shout at each other.

10. Finally, be safe - With only two people on board, don’t take any risks. Take it easy and go slow. You’ll enjoy the holiday and the charter much more without stress, even if that does mean sailing a bit slower!

Tom Fletcher has been a charter skipper for Sail Ionian the past 12 years. He has sailed extensively in the area and likes nothing more than taking a yacht off the beaten track. Read more at sailionian.com/blog