You’ve seen them and wondered whether you could actually sail on one.
Yes. You can sail a tall ship.
So how do I get on one?
They look magnificent, but you don’t know how to try a tall ship. It’s often assumed that the people aboard are professional sailors, cadet trainees or members of a sailing organisation. Not always so.
There is a simple way.
You book a voyage and join the ship. It really can be as easy as that.
You don’t need to own a boat, belong to a sailing club or have sailing qualifications. On most of the voyages we offer, you don’t need previous sailing experience either.
I first saw a tall ship when I was sixteen and had to wait until I was forty before I got the chance to sail one.
You don’t have to wait. You can choose a voyage today.
Then you walk up the gangway
This is where looking at tall ships ends and sailing one begins.
You arrive with your bag, meet the professional crew and the other people joining the voyage, find your berth and start exploring the ship.
Those masts that looked enormous from the quayside are now tower above you. The ropes you wondered about are all around you.
Soon enough, the ship is leaving harbour.
Haul the sails up
The professional crew show you which rope to use, where to stand, and how to haul. Several of you haul together and a sail starts climbing the mast.
Later, you will find yourself doing it again and everything will begin to slot into place.
Have a go at steering
Then there is the helm.
The ship is moving through the water, the deck is moving beneath your feet and somebody hands you control of the course. They will explain as you go.
A tall ship is a substantial object. Yet you turn the wheel and watch carefully for the ship to later course. The bigger the ship the slower the response.
Look ahead, steady your course and enjoy the rather extraordinary fact that you are actually steering hundreds of tons of tall ship.
Look up
On some ships there may be an opportunity to climb aloft.
You don’t have to.
But if you want to, and conditions and the ship’s procedures allow it, climbing the rig gives you an entirely different view of the ship and sea.
For others, standing on deck looking upwards or going out on the bowsprit is quite enough.
Either way, you are now seeing the ship from the inside rather than looking at her from the shore.
Arriving is achieving
And this is perhaps the best part.
The ship isn’t taking you out for a demonstration before returning to the same berth.
You’re always going to the next port, near or far.
Perhaps you’re sailing along a coastline, crossing to another country, visiting islands or heading out across an ocean.
You watch one coastline disappear and, eventually, another appear. When you finally enter harbour, arriving feels different. You haven’t simply been delivered there. You’ve helped sail the ship there.
The passage has become part of the achievement, and the tall ship has been your way of getting there.
Become part of life aboard
Between handling sails and steering, there is life aboard.
Meals together. Watches. Conversations on deck. Quiet periods watching the sea. Sudden calls for people to help with a sail.
You arrive amongst people you don’t know. By the time you leave, you’ve shared a voyage, worked together and probably made some new friends along the way.
Each day brings something different, and you are part of whatever happens next.
Tall ships are still working ships
The ships you can sail on aren’t simply museum pieces.
Sails still need setting. Courses need steering. Watches need keeping. Wind and weather still influence the voyage.
Tall ships come in many different forms, from schooners and brigs to brigantines and barques. If you’re curious about the terminology. Wikipedia’s guide to tall ships explains the different types and rigs.
You don’t need to know a brig from a barque before joining one. But if you want to understand more about your ship, the voyage or what to expect before you go, we can help you prepare.
Stop wondering what it would be like
That’s really the point.
You can keep looking at tall ships from the harbour wall. They’re certainly worth looking at.
Or you can walk up the gangway, help set the sails, take the helm and arrive somewhere knowing you’ve worked your passage to get there.
I waited 24 years for my first opportunity.
You don’t have to.
