In a previous article, we revealed to you how to prepare your holiday rental in this period of health crisis the world is going through. In addition to these health recommendations, there are a number of other essentials inherent to every cruise to make the most of your trip. Olivier Albahary, manager of GlobeSailor, explains to us how to prepare his holidays on the water beforehand.
Be in order with the administrative formalities
- For travel abroad, check that your passport is valid
- Take your coastal licence with you, which is compulsory for renting a sailboat abroad
- Write the crew list (name, first name and date of birth) and send it to the lessor or your agency
- Check with your bank to find out your banking limits and ask to raise them if necessary. The lessor will take an imprint of your credit card for the boat's deposit, which can sometimes exceed 4,000 euros and, abroad, it is not possible to write cheques.
- Check that your rental contract is signed
- Check that you are up to date in your vaccination book according to your destination
Preparing its cartography
One week before his boat rental It is important to consult the weather forecast. "It is recommended to download Windy and prepare a route based on the weather forecast, which they can work out with the base chief."
When you define your route, adapt it to the crew members you will be sailing with: do some people get homesick for mer?? Are there children at bord?? Are there ends at régatiers??
Also adapt your itinerary according to the ports you wish to call at, which may be saturated in the middle of summer. Plan to arrive at the earliest possible time of day rather than at the end of the day to make sure you have room.
"It is advisable to go as quickly as possible, as far as possible, to come back in a hurry and not to have too much distance to go on the last day, with random weather conditions, and take the risk of being late. In this context of a health crisis, the boats often have to be back in port on Friday evening to have time to clean them up properly" adds Olivier.
Preparing your menus
Before refuelling, it is useful to prepare your menus to plan what you are going to buy, depending on the number of people and the common budget. "It's a good idea to have a cash box on board (about 30 euros/day/person for food and drinks) and menus, so that only two crew members can leave with the shopping list and be efficient", explains Olivier.
Taking out insurance
"We recommend taking the deductible buyback to secure his deposit. If a sea event occurs, the deposit will be taken by the renter, but will be refunded by the insurance (deducted from the residual excess costs). Make sure to take photos and write everything down in the logbook. It is recommended that you take the excess buy-back from your agency or from Ouest-Assurance. The Force 9 contract is the most successful excess buy-back contract in France. It costs 4% of the rental amount for sailing in Europe" details Olivier.
The essentials on board
- Clothing equipment adapted to the conditions
- Sun creams
- Sunglasses
- Appropriate footwear
- Warm clothes for the evening
- Dishcloths, which often tend to disappear from boats
- Bonnet
- Mask, flippers and snorkels (With the health crisis, rental companies no longer necessarily provide them)
In the case of a charter with skipper
If you hire yourself a skipper, you should provide cash for his remuneration and extras. Contact the skipper in advance to organise the week. Don't forget to include him/her in the meals, which are taken care of by the crew.
