RYA-tips #35 – Blue water sailing – return as deck cargo
Zeilen is een combinatie van wetenschap en kunst. En voor wie daar meer over wilt weten schrijft Albert De Nijs, instructeur bij de De Zeezeilers van Marken wekelijks een rubriek met tips&trics van de Royal Yachting Association.
The outbreak of the Corona pandemic meant a sudden stop for the 2020 (Caribbean) cruising season. Islands went into lock-down, flights were suspended and the whole world grinded to a halt. The last crews had to leave in a hurry. Some companies managed to bring their yacht back to Europe before the airports closed. Many boats were moored at hurricane moorings. Great as a temporarily solution, but June 1 the official hurricane season started, and looks like 2020 will be an active storm season. You want your yacht closer to the equator, safely in a hurricane pit or (a lot) further North.
Another option to bring the yacht back safely is using the services of yacht transport. Yachts are transported all over the world as deck cargo on large cargo vessels. It is a great option when short on time, or when you don’t fancy another Atlantic crossing. This year it proved a viable alternative for yachts stranded abroad.
Instead of a challenging ocean crossing (see article 33. Blue water sailing – bringing the boat home) there were a lot of calls to make arranging transport to Europe. But at least the boat is on its way back home!
Albert de Nijs, Dutch Offshore Sailing Academy
