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Skippercrew Sailing
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COME JOIN US ON BOARD
Experience the world of sailing. Let yourself drift with wind and wave.
Our company 'Skippercrew Sailing' is a competent and professional provider of sailing trips, mile building and yacht deliveries. We offer wonderful active holidays where you can also unwind.
You don't need any sailing experience for our sailing trips.
For experienced sailors we offer our mile building trips.
Our team is also happy to help you with bookings and, thanks to years of experience, will give you the right tips for each trip.
The sailing areas where we sail are the Baltic Sea, North Sea, English Channel, Atlantic, Canary Islands and Caribbean.
Our sailing yacht is the SY WET AND WILD, a Dehler Varianta 44, a sporty yacht for 8 people.
With the large saloon and cabins we offer comfort and sailing fun
Our yacht has the German SeeBG certification

Rate your trip Rate your course or seminar


Sailing trip
Thomas Lerch-Riedl on 30 Aug 2026
Baltic Sea from 22 Aug 2026 to 29 Aug 2026
Fun and learning to sail in the Danish South Sea Islands – and plenty of good food!

We had a wonderful week with excitement and relaxation, strong winds and light airs, on a sleek boat always ready to leave other sailors in its wake. Our skipper could answer every sailing question with an anecdote from his sailing life, which was both educational and highly entertaining ("No tall tales!"). And in the evenings he cooked for us as well. It hardly gets better than that!


Sailing trip
Nils on 8 Jun 2025
Atlantic from 17 May 2025 to 31 May 2025
Not as advertised

This review relates to a two-week mile building trip; the one-week trips in the Baltic Sea may not be affected by the problems described below.

The trip was advertised on the website as a mile building trip, with statements such as 'time will be given to explore the towns'. That was not the case; the trip was rather more in the nature of a pure delivery voyage. Harbours were only called at when weather had to be avoided. Thanks to too tight a schedule, the engine was started very quickly, even when it was still possible to sail well. However, the engine revolutions were counted – don't rev too high! Also due to the schedule, I had to book a hotel at short notice and travel 90 minutes by train to get on board, as the boat on the previous trip didn't make it to the destination and was still a day late. Likewise, we did not reach the destination but ended the trip about 70 miles further south.

The yacht
- Steering wheel was already cracked
- Not enough safety harnesses for the complete crew on board
- No nautical charts (only Navionics on a tablet below deck)
+ relatively large battery bank
+ desalination system
Overall one had the impression that everything was being done to minimise wear and tear

The skipper
- Smokes
- Safety briefing was virtually non-existent
- It felt as if he did not trust the crew to do things on board independently (all crew members were experienced sailors)
- No safety roles or emergency assignments
- No briefing on the yacht's technical systems
- Poor English (as only he made radio calls and had to arrange berths with harbourmasters, this led to problems on occasion)
- Clear commands and instructions were lacking virtually throughout the entire trip
- no route briefing
+ friendly
+ cooked

Sailing record over 14 days
- 16h sailed with mainsail (2/3 reef), otherwise only with jib or under engine
- One gybe, no tacks

I shall give SkipperCrew Sailing a wide berth in future.


Provider's response

Statement from SkipperCrew Sailing regarding the review 'Not as advertised'

AZOLC 2500 mile building Azores Horta - La Coruña

When creating our trip descriptions, we always base them on the seasonal wind and weather conditions.

Unfortunately, however, the weather has not been as predictable in recent years as it was 5-10 years ago. For this reason we have already built in two to three days of 'contingency' into our schedules in order to reach the destination harbours within the stated timeframe.

This did not work out at all this year, unfortunately. Starting with the mile building Azores – La Coruña, Vigo, the schedule could not be met due to several days of calm weather. It was therefore necessary to motor.

Due to the time delay it was therefore also not possible to schedule the 'advertised harbours or towns' for extended shore visits. Everyone on these trips had corresponding expectations.

On account of certain weather conditions, the skipper put into sheltered harbours until the weather improved, for reasons of safety for crew and yacht.

When engine assistance is required, a compromise must also be reached between overstressing the engine as well as consumption and the fuel carried on board.

Arrival within the stated timeframes cannot always be guaranteed. This is well known in sailing. Of course we try to keep to the schedule.

Where we were unable to keep to destination harbours and timings, and participants thereby incurred further costs for hotels and travel expenses, these were also reimbursed.

The technical condition of the yacht must be verified every 2 years by the Berufsgenossenschaft See (BG See), which is also documented by the certificate of compliance in the ship's papers.

Our yacht was in the Middelmann shipyard in Kappeln for refit in preparation for the voyage from 31 August to 7 September 2024.

On a voyage such as that undertaken by the yacht, from/to Kappeln (Germany) to the Caribbean (Lesser Antilles) and back, we consider it normal for parts to wear out with daily use during the period from 8 September 2024 to 7 June 2025.

The safety equipment complies with the BG-See requirements for a commercially operated yacht in cabin charter. Of course, life belts (safety harnesses) are available for all crew members, although not all are stored or attached on deck.

Sea charts for the areas sailed are also available, but are rarely used in practice when electronic charts are present.

About the skipper
Our skipper Jochen is a very experienced skipper who has been sailing for 25 years and has demonstrably delivered many yachts for third-party owners safely and on schedule worldwide.
He is happy to pass on his knowledge and experience to interested beginners (on our Baltic trips) and experienced sailors. Of course, different approaches and procedures may arise.

Ultimately, however, the skipper in command is responsible for the safety of the crew and the yacht, and his instructions must be followed without lengthy discussions.

A safety briefing is available in written form so that no points are forgotten during the induction. In addition, there is a 'checklist' which is ticked off step by step before departure/sailing. After the briefing, the crew acknowledges participation by signature. Should there be special situations not previously encountered, these are then added to the list.

Under the circumstances given, it may have occurred that not all technical systems of the yacht were explained in detail. However, any crew member is free to enquire with the skipper if further interested. (Hohlschuld)

As the crew consisted of experienced sailors, it is assumed that basic knowledge of procedures on a sailing yacht is present. Again, please ask if anything is unclear.

As a rule, the language of communication abroad is English. Experience shows, however, that neither the contacts in the harbours nor the skippers command perfect communication in English. What matters is only that one understands each other in the end.

Sail plan and weather conditions:

Here too it is sometimes difficult to reconcile different views on what sail plan is considered safe or already slightly risky. For us, safety comes first, taking into account human capability and equipment.

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