MoritzWichmann

(5)

I took part in a sailing trip with Magical Ocean Sailing and would like to share my mixed experiences.

I would particularly like to highlight the skipper, who really made a great effort. Travelling by boat meant you could see many beautiful places, which for me was one of the biggest positives of this tour.

Unfortunately, there were also several points which significantly marred the overall impression. The organisation beforehand and on board was rather chaotic. For example, I was told I could stay an extra day and that the boat owner would be present – in the end he wasn't there, and I was suddenly (without prior discussion) responsible for closing up the boat and doing all the laundry. Fortunately the skipper stayed one more night after all and helped out.

Another point of criticism concerns the cabin allocation: I had expected to share the cabin with a woman, not with a man about 20 years older – this should have been communicated more clearly beforehand.

The boat was also unfortunately in poor technical condition. It is very old and you notice this in many places: the water hose only works if you hold it, there are no fly screens left, the SUP has to be pumped up every time, and many electronic (steering) devices on board didn't work at all or only partially. The anchor held poorly on the seabed and the chain didn't fit properly in the windlass, so we had to improvise. On the very first day the battery was also flat – even though it had only been replaced a week earlier.

The route was also not optimally chosen: there was hardly any wind in the bay, so we could actually sail on only 2 out of 6 days. As someone new to sailing, I would also have appreciated being told beforehand to bring gloves to avoid rope burns – fortunately there was an old, shabby pair on board.

After the trip there were also disagreements with the owner, including over taking on cleaning costs. Afterwards, the FAQs were even changed to present this differently, which I found very disappointing. I also found it very unprofessional that negative comments were made about previous crew members.

Overall, despite some beautiful moments, the trip was marred by many organisational and technical shortcomings. I hope that in future the boat maintenance, route planning and communication will improve.

I sailed from Poros to Salamina – absolutely magical sailing with the wonderful Elisa.
My very first trip and I'm hooked. Brilliant route. Brilliant crew. The boat has everything you need. Absolute camping on water feeling. I love it.
Solid equipment. Fair terms.

Booking and communication completely straightforward. Always possible to speak openly. That's how it should be. Everyone does what they can. No one has to if they don't want to.

Thank you for this wonderful experience, I'd love to come again.

It was a brilliant week. We were in excellent hands with skipper Elisa, she explained and showed us a great deal.
Highlights were:
- dolphins that had emptied the fisherman's net
- sea turtles and even a seal spotted
- wonderful bays and good food
The best thing, however, was setting sail with 6 people you'd never met, getting to know and appreciate them, having good conversations.
Would love to do it again sometime.....

The week-long sailing trip through the Ionian Sea from Zakynthos to Corfu with Moritz on his sailing yacht Free Spirit was a week full of relaxed sailing, exploring beautiful bays, cooking together and lots of fun with the brilliant crew on board.

You can tell immediately that Moritz has years of skipper experience, and accordingly you feel comfortable and in good hands on the boat straight away. During the week we were able to learn a lot about sailing but at the same time simply relax and enjoy the beautiful bays of Greece. Moritz ensures that everyone feels welcome and radiates a fundamental positivity and calm.

The boat is excellently equipped with solar panels and a desalination unit for generating drinking water, which also allows overnight stays in secluded bays and doesn't tie you to harbour stops.

All in all, I can only recommend Moritz's trips to anyone who enjoys meeting new people and fancies a week of relaxed sailing! 🙂

Brilliant trip with a small crew on a real bluewater yacht, which you can tell in a positive way has sailed around the world. The Free Spirit is a few years old, but is equipped with sufficient solar panels and a water treatment unit that allows relaxed anchoring in bays and frees you from the necessity of harbour stops.

Very positive that the boat can be taken over at 10 a.m. on the departure day, as the skipper does not change and food is not thrown away but simply handed over to the following crew. This gave us an extra day of sailing.

Moritz is an experienced skipper who knows his boat extremely well and leads the crew with great fun.

Certainly not a training trip, but relaxed sailing with a good balance between making miles and enjoying.