Spring Plans 2026

When we first came up with the idea of sailing around the world, there was really only one big problem: we don’t actually know how to sail. That kind of thing makes me nervous, but Alex reassures me: we have all the time in the world to learn, and that’s exactly what we’re planning to do in 2026.

The Preparation

We want to try out different types of yachts, partly to gain experience and partly to get a feel for what kind of yacht we could actually imagine living on.

You can easily rent these yachts, or “charter” them, as it’s properly called. The requirement is an internationally recognized sailing license and a radio certificate. I got the German Sportbootküstenschein, SKS, in the fall. Alex got the RYA radio certificate.

The Plan

Starting in March, we’ll spend almost two months in Croatia. Croatia is the sailing destination in Europe, with excellent infrastructure that’s very beginner-friendly. Plus, our sailing school, JoJo München, operates there.

The SKS consists of a three-day theory course and a week of practical sailing. I still don’t feel confident enough to skipper a yacht, so first I’m doing a week of skipper training: a more in-depth course for SKS holders.

The following week, Alex will do her sailing license. She wasn’t interested in the theory-heavy and somewhat outdated SKS. Instead, she’s going for the US version from the American Sailing Association, ASA 101, 102, and 104. Supposedly, they cover theory and practice in just one week. The course is in Rijeka, where we’ve also rented an apartment for two weeks.

Charly

Since we’re bringing our dog Charly, we’ll have to take turns with courses and dog-sitting. Honestly, I think it’s not such a bad thing if we each do different courses on our own. That way, we can learn from each other.

Monohull

After that, we’ve chartered a Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 410 for a week, then a 440. The Sun Odyssey is the European mass-production boat: super modern and at an unbeatable price. But these so-called production boats have a bad reputation—they’re made for the charter market and only need to last a few years. In theory, we could really see ourselves on a boat like this, but let’s see what reality has in store.

Catamaran

A catamaran is a whole different story: with two hulls, it doesn’t sail as well, meaning it’s slower and can’t go as close to the wind. On the other hand, you get way more space and comfort. Since sailing and especially maneuvering is different, we’ve booked another week of catamaran training with JoJo. I’ll do the first half of the week, Alex the second half.

Then we’ve booked a Nautitech 40, which is our clear favorite so far (at least in theory), and then a Lagoon 380. The Nautitech is relatively rare, while the Lagoon is another mass-production model, with the usual quality issues.

We’re curious, and after trying out these four boats, we think we’ll have a much better sense of what modern boats can offer. In the fall, we want to focus on one segment and maybe rent some older, higher-quality boats. But as beginners, we don’t need to wreck a nice boat right away.

And then

By then, it’ll almost be summer, and we don’t want to charter boats anymore: first, it gets super crowded, and second, the prices easily double in high season. We’ll drive through Italy to Greece (we want to stay in the EU because of Charly). Then from Greece, we’ll make our way home slowly via Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, and Austria. Somewhere along the way, Mäge will join us for part of the trip.

*This blog post has been automatically translated by a Large Language Model.