FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS vertical sailing tour

Some of your questions:

CAN I JOIN THE TOUR WITH NO PREVIOUS SAILING EXPERIENCE?

Yes, no sailing experience is required, nor being used to live on board.
The skipper will be there to ensure your safety and will give you precious tips on how to live on board.

CAN I JOIN THE TOUR WITH NO PREVIOUS CLIMBING EXPERIENCE?

Yes, we’ll take care of you!
There will always be a Mountain Guide as a member of the crew. The guide will be available during the whole week to teach the proper climbing technique, the rope maneuvers and the safety procedures while supervise the climbing. To have a mountain guide all for you for an entire week it is a great opportunity not to be missed!

CAN I JOIN THE TOUR AS A SOLO TRAVELER?

Yes, of course!
Actually many guests decide to join the tour alone but, after just a few hours, they have already made new friends from the crew. It is not uncommon to build some strong friendships while on board, in fact many of our previous guests are still in contact with each other and some of them became climbing and travel buddies.

WHAT TIPE OF BOAT WILL WE BE SAILING ON?

We usually sail on 45 to 55 ft. sailing boats or on to 38 to 45 ft. sailing catamarans.
Each boat has 4 to 5 cabins, 2 to 3 bathrooms, a comfortable living room with the kitchen and a outside cockpit with a table and benches.

HOW MANY GUESTS ARE THERE ON THE BOAT?

Usually we are from 8 to 11 people (including the Skipper and the Mountain Guide).

HOW ARE THE ACCOMMODATIONS ON BOARD?

Usually we are from 8 to 11 people (including the Skipper and the Mountain Guide).

WE ARE A COUPLE, CAN WE HAVE A PRIVATE ROOM?

Yes, of course!
Each boat will have at least 3 cabins with double size beds and the couples will have the priority on them.

HOW IS THE LIFE ON BOARD?

If this is your first time on a sailing boat and you don’t know what to expect, here is a brief summary of the most important things and rules you should know:
- On board we are a crew so cooperation and respect among crew members is important.
- Everyone is responsible to clean up after themselves.
- Team work: someone will cook, someone will cut the groceries, someone will wash the dishes…
- Out in the sea you may be asked to use water and electricity with moderation.
- WARNING: Boat life creates addiction and friendships started on a cruise may last forever!

DO WE HAVE TO DO THE COOKING AND CLEANING ON BOARD?

Cooking and cleaning is up to the crew (you). Don’t worry if you don’t know how to cook or if you hate to wash the dishes, you can swipe the job with another crew member. The final cleaning of the boat (at the end of the week) it is already included in the fee so keeping the boat tidy during the tour will be enough: basically you just have to keep the kitchen tidy like at home…nothing more than that.

WHAT IS THE AVERAGE CLIMBING LEVEL OF THE PARTICIPANTS?

We have had all sorts of guests on board: some of them have never climbed in their lives and wanted to test themselves on the tour while others where cruising their way up on 7c’s routes!
It doesn’t metter the grade you are climbing on, you will always find a partner matching your level and if that’s not the case, the Mountain Guide will be there for you.

WILL THERE BE CLIMBING ROUTES OF MY GRADE?

Yes, we generally choose climbing crags which have many routes offering a big range of grades so everyone can have fun challenging himself of his grade.

IS DEEP WATER SOLO SUITED FOR EVERYONE?

Sure it is! Deep water solo is a fun and alternative way practice rock climbing and on top, it perfectly matches our boat life.
Having said that, since the deep water solo, in order to be safe, has to be practiced on vertical or overhanging walls, you will have more fun if you master the grade 6b or higher.

WILL I BE ABLE TO LEARN HOW TO SAIL DURING THE TOUR?

Yes! If you wish to learn how to sail or if you are an experienced sailor and want to help the Skipper, he will be glad to operating the sails with you or to leave you the helm to let you sail the boat. Whatever is your level, the Skipper will be more than happy to teach you everything regarding the boat and the sailing: clouds, wind, waves, sails, compass, knots, flags, navigation, maps, night orientation, etc.

ARE THE DAILY ACTIVITIES MANDATORY?

None of the activities during the tour are mandatory, neither are climbing or sailing. You can choose every time if you wish to be active and help the skipper while sailing or just relax.
Every time we will disembark, you can choose if you want to go climbing, to have a walk, to tan on the beach or to stay on board and do some fishing!

IS THERE ANY INSURANCE COVERAGE?

Yes.
All of our Skippers and Mountain Guides have their own personal insurance covering the crew / the group during sailing / climbing.
If you wish to add a personal travel insurance to integrate the above ones and be even more protected, you can purchase for yourself any additional travel insurance on-line (we suggest this one that does the job quite well: www.worldnomads.com).

HOW DO I REACH THE MARINA OF DEPARTURE?

If you will have any troubles figuring out how to reach the marina of departure, you can tell us where you are flying from and we will suggest you the best way how to reach the boat.

WE ARE A BIG GROUP, CAN WE STILL JOIN THE TOUR?

There is always a solution.
You can either join a scheduled tour or you can ask as to organize a tailor made tour just for your group (we will than decide together the destination and the dates of the tour). In both cases we can make the tour with more than one boat…two or even three!

CAN YOU ORGANIZE A TAILOR MADE TOUR JUST FOR MY GROUP?

Yes, of course. Please let us know your will and we will organize the tour accordingly to your requests: location, dates, boat or catamaran, and so on…

DOES THE VERTICAL SAILING TOUR DO SOMETHING FOR THE PLANET?

Yes, at least we try...
For each guest we host on board, we donate to ZEROCO2 the amount for planting 2 fruit trees in Guatemala. In this way we can offset some of the carbon footprint produced by the tour plus, the harvest of the fruits will result in an additional source of livelihood for the local families!

Would you like to ask us any other question?
Please write it here!