Couple with No Sailing Experience Buying Catamaran and In Need of Insurance Advice

[Snyper]

You can also find captains from meny sources or ask at sailing schools they have long lists of people wanting to sail and teach you with tons recommendations to help you to go anywhere and teach you anything you want to know most are very very experienced

[AndrewA2]

Originally Posted by Snyper

You can also find captains from meny sources or ask at sailing schools they have long lists of people wanting to sail and teach you with tons recommendations to help you to go anywhere and teach you anything you want to know most are very very experienced

Curious if this is something you have done previously ?
And any tips on those talks and vetting of crew or anything else for that matter?

[SV Blown Away]

Originally Posted by QD.

Great to hear of your sailing plans. Cruisers forum is a double edged sword as far as advice goes, but I have been in a similar situation so I hope this helps.

After an injury changing my outlook on life I decided to go sailing instead! We moved to an active sailing community here in Australia and myself and daughters joined the local yacht club and crewed as often as we could over 2 seasons. We hired a trawler for a week to see if we liked staying aboard without the hassle of dealing with sails and rig, we all loved it. I then did my RYA day skipper, over 6 days and nights on a monohull. This along with theory nav was excellent. The more I learnt the more I realised I didn’t know...

In August last year I bought a trimaran in Pensacola and over 3 months sailed to the Bahamas with my family and had a great time. The one thing that made it doable was help from the seller at every step of the way, and going through all the systems on the boat with him after the purchase. He and family have become great friends but I’m not sure I could have made it through the many problems I encountered without his help!
However I’m now stuck at home in Australia and we are heading towards eradication of coved 19. But I fear I won’t be allowed to travel back and forth to USA for a very long time given the rates of infection there. I expect borders may be shut for a long time in some countries and some will open then close again. I would not plan on travelling freely on a sailboat over international borders for at least the rest of this year.
Florida and the Caribbean are great cruising grounds, my first suggestion would be buy a boat in your home country in these uncertain times. My boat is now stuck in the Bahamas approaching hurricane season. Get the experience you need now, go sailing as much as you can, things will go wrong that’s part of sailing and you will be learning forever!

As far as insurers go it took a while to find one but they (northern reef) have now gone belly up, our brokers managed to find another insurer but it can be tough.

Most of all don’t give up on your dreams..

QD, thanks for sharing your heartfelt story! The L450 in the Med fell through and we are now looking at a Leopard 46 in Ft. Lauderdale and we hopefully can come to terms with the seller. Yes, considering the uncertainty of the pandemic, being in home ports will be much better to take our lessons on our own boat and to make upgrades in the US where it will be easier, especially in Ft. Lauderdale. Thanks again and I hope you are able to get back to your boat soon. Happy sailing!

[SV Blown Away]

Originally Posted by AndrewA2

Curious if this is something you have done previously ?
And any tips on those talks and vetting of crew or anything else for that matter?

Hi Andrew A2! No, I have not vetted crew but will be soon after we buy our boat so I do not have a lot of experience. I am hoping my boat brokers or the sailing school can help recommend someone good and it being off season in Ft. Lauderdale should help. Please check back later and I will share whatever experience I have . . . hopefully, it will be a good one : )

[SV Blown Away]

Originally Posted by Snyper

You can also find captains from meny sources or ask at sailing schools they have long lists of people wanting to sail and teach you with tons recommendations to help you to go anywhere and teach you anything you want to know most are very very experienced

Thanks Snyper! That's GREAT advice! I really appreciate that! : )

[SV Blown Away]

Originally Posted by 369thegoose

Do the RYA coastal course, theory online and 5 days practical on boat.

Thanks 369thegoose! Will do. Good advice! : )

[CaptainMarkS]

Originally Posted by Anton Dahlmann

My wife and I did exactly the same thing and are happy that we did,We bought a Lagoon 40.We have done the RYA Day skippers course on line with a company called Navathome.com as we live in Botswana with no access to the Ocean during Covid Times. My wife and I both passed our theory, which to be honest taught us a lot about what will be needed to sail. We have then hired a skipper from the USA to meet us at our boat in France and he will spend 3 weeks with us teaching us the ropes so to speak, on our own vessel. I found the cost to do this would have been similar to doing it through a registered sailing school however I will have the benefit of individual tuition and learning my own vessel.
Also my wife will become as qualified as myself and hopefully this will give us the confidence to start out on our own.As for insurance I was able to get this with little problem at all.

May I ask for the contact details of your insurer? My partner and I are in the same boat, so to speak! Thanks.

[CaptainMarkS]

Originally Posted by SV Blown Away

Vahalla360, thanks for posting and for your concern. We are not rich but have invested well and if we had a total loss on the boat, we could survive it and go back to work as we are age 50 and 56 right now. Not something I would want to do, but we could. I am curious what the odds are of a worst-case total loss scenario, but OUCH if it happens to you. Anyway, we only have one life to live and I really want to LIVE these last ten or twenty "go go" years before we get to the "so go" and "no go" ones. Hope to see you out there. Happy sailing!

What a fantastic attitude! I just had to respond to this post. My partner and I (ages 54 and 52) are in exactly the same situation, struggling to find insurance for an Antares 44. I can't wait to finish reading this thread and find out your insurance solution. Alas, I read books cover to cover and seldom skip to the end...

[Anton Dahlmann]

Hi Reading through the policy i think you have to be a South African Citizen or permanent resident to ensure with them. But herewith details. Lelani Labuscagne <lelani@clubmarinesa.com> I am sure if you email Lelani she can assist you.

[CaptainMarkS]

Originally Posted by RicardoFarinha

Hi SV Blown Away,

I can help with the insurance part, send me an email and I can start getting the better quotation for you guys.

I have a Cat myself.

Safe winds!

rf@fiducs.com

Hi Ricardo, I sent you an email. Thanks!

[double u]

https://preuss-yachtversicherungen.de/home.htm -
good Krauts, quite likely speaking English, try them.

[BuoyCall]

Great thread, while dreaming of becoming live aboard our selves I saw the insurance process being a huge obstacle which is why I entered this niche market and to use this as my remote job after law enforcement retirement in a few months. Our time frame is about 4 years to shove off but have been offering yacht insurance the past year. Def learned a lot about boating and the insurance process. Experience, experience....experience!!

[gsuescum]

Originally Posted by SV Blown Away

QD, thanks for sharing your heartfelt story! The L450 in the Med fell through and we are now looking at a Leopard 46 in Ft. Lauderdale and we hopefully can come to terms with the seller. Yes, considering the uncertainty of the pandemic, being in home ports will be much better to take our lessons on our own boat and to make upgrades in the US where it will be easier, especially in Ft. Lauderdale. Thanks again and I hope you are able to get back to your boat soon. Happy sailing!

---------

How did the story end? I hope you got your boat and are happily cruising!!!


P.S. The quote is from the novel Dune by Frank Herbert. Musk is definitely a sci-fi fan. It was first used in the novel by Paul Atreides.

“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”

Frank Herbert, Dune