FAQs

HOW CAN YOU BE SURE THAT I'LL GET ALONG WITH THE REST OF THE CREW?

In short, you have to ;) That’s the beauty of ocean sailing on a small boat. One of the challenges is being open-minded enough to get along with the rest of the crew regardless of background, politics, personalities, etc. Everyone’s gotta work towards the goal of a successful passage. After 25,000 miles and over 100 crew, we’ve yet to have an issue. Our crew are AWESOME!

ARE THERE ANY TRAITS CONSISTENT AMONG THE CREW WHO DO THE BEST ON THE BOAT?

Yes! Go to 59-north.com/testimonials to get an idea of who sails with us and to read some personal testimonials from our crew past and present.

HOW MUCH EXPERIENCE IS REQUIRED TO SIGN ON FOR A PASSAGE?

The short answer? NONE! We have had several crew who have never even set foot on a sailboat before, but they have the dream, and that’s what’s important. Our crew, John M., always dreamed of seeing the ‘stars down to the horizon,’ yet he’d never been sailing. He changed that with us, and has since been as far as South Africa to complete a coastal nav. course and sails regularly on Lake Ontario in his free time. You’ll of course understand more of what’s going on the more experience you have, but it’s not in fact required.

That said, we DO require a certain level of physical fitness to join us offshore. Regardless of how much we emphasize it, most people still underestimate how difficult it is simply to LIVE on the boat offshore, even on a nice day.

Passage on FALKEN from Antigua to Bermuda, spring 2023. Photo credit: Nick Croken / redlinephoto.ca


WHAT TYPE OF PERSON MAKES FOR GOOD CREW OFFSHORE?

Quite simply, the folks who get along with others in confined spaces will do best onboard. There is no privacy on the boat except for in the head (and trust me, you don’t want to be there long!). Sailing skills are far down the list of things we look for. More importantly, potential crew should be open-minded, willing to work as a team, content with limited resources, know their limits (and when to wake the captain) and happy living simply.

Crew also need to have a minimum level of fitness and a clean bill of health. If you’re active in your daily life and have a solid exercise routine, you’ll do great offshore. If you don’t, we should discuss the realities of ocean sailing, which are far more rigorous physically than any other kind. If you’re unsure about this, please don’t hesitate to email us on holdfast@59-north.com.

WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO PREPARE MYSELF FOR GOING OFFSHORE?

Everybody who’s not been offshore, even the experienced coastal or inshore sailors, underestimates the physical toll just living on the boat at sea takes. Everybody. The boat is constantly in motion, even on the nice days. Things like brushing teeth, going to the bathroom, just putting on socks take time and physical effort. To make it more difficult, you’ll be sleep-deprived during most of it, especially before you fully adjust to the rhythm. Offshore sailing is closer to living like an astronaut than coastal sailing where you get to stop and anchor for the night! Bottom line, the fitter you are to begin with, the easier time you’ll have at sea. Eat right and exercise!

WHAT AMENITIES ARE THERE ABOARD ISBJØRN & FALKEN?

Not too many! Both boats offer a very simple offshore sailing platform. Both boats have hot water, but the only shower is in the cockpit, so it's bikini and board shorts for showering time (unless your really adventurous...or Finnish). Beds are proper sea bunks, and we provide sheets, 'Turkish towels' and pillows. You'll need a sleeping bag on colder trips. ISBJØRN and FALKEN have heat, making colder passages a lot more enjoyable.

HOW DO COUPLES FIT IN WITH THE CREW?

We often have couples join us, who might have plans of their own to sail over the horizon together. Onboard, we usually give couples the choice of whether they want to stand watch together or separately. Some people like to be split up in the watch schedule, to get independent experience sailing the boat. If you will sail double-handed in the future, you won’t be on watch together then either, so might as well get used to it! Other times, couples want to stand watch together, depending on their goals. 

WHAT ARE THE DUTIES ABOARD?

Check out our What to Expect page.

HOW LONG ARE THE WATCHES?

Our watch schedule is flexible and ultimately up to the skipper and depends on the conditions / weather and the crew.  Our default watch schedule is normally a two-watch system, standing 6 hours on in the daytime, 4 hours on overnight. This naturally cycles the watches as well so crew are not always on at the same time of day each day. On FALKEN, there will be 3-4 people on watch at the same time, and on ISBJØRN 2-3 people on watch. You will never be alone on watch, and either the skipper or mate is awake at all times.

The skipper and mate stand a different watch schedule than the crew, so that one of them is always awake and supporting the crew. Their schedule allows them to spend time sailing with all the crew. On an ocean race, where all crew is given specific roles, a ‘watch captain’ would ultimately be in charge of decisions on their watch. However, given the range of experience of the crew, we do not assign watch captains - rather, if there is discussion among the crew as to what to do, then the captain is woken up to settle the debate!

WILL I BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH FRIENDS OR FAMILY DURING THE PASSAGE?

Yes! We partner with YB Tracking to offer text and email services via the Iridium satellite network, even when offshore! Crew download the ‘YB Connect’ app prior to joining the boat, setup an account (at their expense - normal text-based messages cost 1 YB ‘credit’ per 50 characters). Once aboard, they can Bluetooth connect to our built-in YB Tracker to send and receive messages.

WHAT CLOTHES AND GEAR SHOULD I BRING?

A specific Packing List for your selected passage will be sent out to crew along with Newsletter #2 (about 4 month prior to the passage). If you have questions, you can always send us an email.

The crew are instructed to pack a 70L or 90 L duffel with their personal gear, no hard sides and wheels.

MANAGING MENSTRUAL PERIODS DURING AN OFFSHORE PASSAGE

As for having your period onboard, it is quite similar to having it at home except that we have fewer opportunities to shower. We have trash bins in the bathroom for easy disposal of hygiene products. We do not stock the boats with pads and tampons for everyone, you need to bring your own. We recommend disposable period products on our trips, as it is harder to wash reusable products onboard. We do recommend that all people bring baby wipes with them to help with hygiene, as we do not shower much on these trips.

HOW DO WE MAKE TRAVEL PLANS GIVEN THE UNCERTAIN NATURE OF OCEAN SAILING?

Our passages are scheduled based on the average speed of each boat. For example, we use 5.5 kts VMG (that’s ‘velocity made good.’) when planning ISBJØRN’s trips. This is a very conservative estimate for ISBJØRN, as we are usually averaging over 6.5 knots VMG. The conservative estimate ensures that we’ll get to our destination with time to spare before the last day of the trip. We still encourage crew not to book return air travel until we know for sure when we’re departing (some passages are easier to predict weather-wise than others, in the Trades in the Caribbean for example). Normally, if you book ahead, booking a ticket out on the final scheduled day of the passage will ensure you make your flight. Crew normally book a few days later and spend some time ashore before they depart.

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO GET TRAVEL AND TRIP CANCELLATION INSURANCE?

That said, anything can - and does - happen offshore. We recommend CSA Travel Protection for travel insurance, just in case. They’re on csatravelprotection.com or 1-800-348-9505.

WHERE CAN I GET FURTHER INFORMATION ON OCEAN SAILING, IN THE STYLE THAT 59° NORTH PROMOTES?

The best way is to join us on The QUARTERDECK!

ISBJORN in Norway, on the way to Svalbard. Summer 2022