Blue-water sailing: meaning, routes and getting started with long-distance cruising

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Blue-water sailing means sailing a yacht across the open sea, for days or weeks without a port and far from any coast. Many people start out not with their own boat, but as crew on a long passage across open water.

What is blue-water sailing?

Blue-water sailing refers to long passages across the open ocean, during which the yacht is entirely on its own for days or weeks. The name alludes to the deep blue water far from the coast. Blue-water sailing is the long-distance form of cruising, that is, sailing as travel.

The difference from a typical sailing holiday lies less in the technique than in the distance from help. On the coast, you head for the nearest harbour in bad weather. On the ocean, that option does not exist. Water, power, provisions, spare parts and knowledge must be on board for the whole distance.

The international rules for offshore racing describe exactly this situation: in long races far out at sea, boats must be completely self-reliant for extended periods, be able to ride out severe storms and be prepared for serious emergencies without outside help. For cruising sailors this is not a regulation, but it is a good benchmark.

Type	Distance from the coast	Typical duration at a stretch	Sailing at night
Coastal sailing	within sight of land, harbour reachable in a few hours	day sails	rarely
Offshore sailing trips with night passages	open crossings, for example to islands	one to two days	occasionally
Blue-water sailing	on the open ocean	several days to weeks	every night, on a watch system

Which blue-water routes are typical?

Most blue-water routes follow the trade winds, the steady winds of the tropics, which blow from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere. If you sail with them, you have the wind from astern for weeks. The distances below are rounded distances over water on the usual course; for precise planning, the nautical chart is what counts.

Trade wind route: Canary Islands–Caribbean

The best-known ocean passage runs from Las Palmas on Gran Canaria to Saint Lucia in the Caribbean, around 2,700 nm. A 12-metre cruising yacht usually needs 18 to 21 days for it. The big cruising rallies start every year in November, towards the end of the Atlantic hurricane season. The largest of them, the ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers), departs from Las Palmas. The hurricane season officially lasts from June to the end of November.

One variant goes via the Cape Verde Islands: from the Canary Islands to Mindelo in five to seven days, then, after a break, on to Grenada in 12 to 16 days. The stopover splits the long passage into two parts. For a first ocean sailing trip, that is a comfortable option.

The Barefoot Route Around the World

Sailors call the westbound circumnavigation through the trade-wind belt the Barefoot Route, because it runs through warm latitudes where you spend most of your time on deck barefoot. It leads from the Caribbean through the Panama Canal to the Galápagos Islands, across the Pacific to the South Pacific islands, and on via Australia, the Indian Ocean and South Africa back into the Atlantic.

The scale of it is shown by the round-the-world rally from Saint Lucia: around 26,000 nm in about 15 months. The longest passage lies between the Galápagos Islands and the Marquesas, at around 2,980 nm. That is more than the entire distance from the Canary Islands to the Caribbean.

The Atlantic Circuit

The Atlantic Circuit combines the outward and return legs: in autumn across to the Caribbean via the Canary Islands, and in spring back to Europe, usually with a stop in Bermuda or directly to the Azores. The return leg is more demanding, because it leads out of the trade winds and into the westerly zone with its changeable weather.

What makes a blue-water yacht?

A blue-water yacht must function for weeks without a port and survive damage at sea. Size alone does not decide this. Build quality, equipment and how well the crew know their boat matter more.

• Storage space and payload: provisions for weeks, spare parts, tools and spare sails need room, without the boat sitting too low in the water.
• Drinking water: large tanks, often supplemented by a watermaker and a reserve in jerrycans.
• Power: solar panels, a wind generator or a towed generator trailed in the water, so that the autopilot, navigation, refrigerator and communications do not depend on the engine.
• Self-steering: a wind vane or a powerful autopilot, because nobody steers by hand for three weeks.
• Rig and sails: solid standing rigging, easy reefing from the cockpit and sails for strong winds, such as a storm jib or a third reef.
• Emergency steering: an emergency tiller and a tried-and-tested way of continuing to steer if the helm is damaged.

The Atlantic rallies have a minimum length of 8.23 m (27 ft). The organisers regard a 12-metre yacht as a typical cruising boat. Both facts show that even mid-sized production yachts can cross the ocean if they are equipped accordingly.

What safety equipment belongs on board?

There is no uniform mandatory list for cruising sailors. The Offshore Special Regulations, World Sailing's safety rules for offshore races, and the equipment lists of the major ocean rallies serve as a guide (as at November 2026).

The World Sailing safety regulations divide races into categories. Category 0 is for races across the oceans, including through cold waters. Category 1 applies to long races far out at sea, and Category 4 to short races close to the coast. World Sailing revises the regulations every two years.

The The current equipment list from the ARC organiser is based on these and requires, among other things:

• a self-inflating liferaft for the whole crew, ready for use within 15 seconds, plus a grab bag,
• a registered emergency position-indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) at 406 MHz with built-in GPS,
• an AIS transponder on board, i.e. a device of the Automatic Identification System, and an AIS beacon on each person's lifejacket,
• for each person, a lifejacket with a safety harness (lifebelt) and crotch strap, with a tether no longer than 2 m, plus jacklines on deck,
• satellite communications or shortwave radio that allows e-mails to be sent at sea.

Storm sails and a sea anchor are listed there as recommendations. For the race class, Category 1 of the World Sailing regulations applies in addition.

Do I need a licence for blue-water sailing?

As crew, you do not need a licence. As skipper, you need mandatory licences depending on the boat and its equipment, whereas the licences for offshore sailing are voluntary.

On German maritime waterways, the Sportbootführerschein See is compulsory as soon as the yacht has a combustion engine of more than 11.03 kW (15 hp). For the radio equipment on board you need a radio certificate: the SRC for VHF radio, or the LRC, which also covers shortwave and maritime satellite communications.

The Sportseeschifferschein (SSS) and the Sporthochseeschifferschein (SHS) are voluntary qualifications in Germany. They do, however, provide demonstrable proof of experience. The SSS applies to coastal sea areas, meaning all seas up to 30 nm from the mainland coast as well as the North Sea, Baltic Sea, Mediterranean and Black Sea. The SHS is the certificate for worldwide voyages. To obtain it, you need at least 1,000 nm at sea as watch leader after the SSS. If you are also interested in the British certificates, you will find a comparison of RYA Yachtmaster, SSS and SHS in the magazine.

With or without a certificate: if you want to cross an ocean yourself, you should first have experienced night passages, heavy weather and multi-day legs. You can also build up these miles as crew.

How do you gain blue-water experience without your own boat?

The usual route is cabin charter on long passages. This way you get to know the watch system, life on board and weather at sea before you start making your own decisions.

Mile building and deliveries

On Mile building are all about distance rather than bays: several days in a row at sea, with night watches, often on deliveries between two sailing areas. It is the most direct way to collect nautical miles for the SSS or SHS and to find out whether life at sea suits you.

Working passage

For Working passage you sail as crew and help out on board instead of paying for a bunk. On long crossings, reliability and teamwork often count for more than a certificate.

Sailing your first ocean passage as crew

If you don't want to commit to three weeks straight away, you can start with just one leg by cabin charter, for example from the Canary Islands to the Cape Verde Islands. Or you can tackle the whole an Atlantic crossing straight away. If you join as crew, allow a few days before departure: stowing provisions, getting to know the boat and a safety equipment briefing are all part of it.

What is everyday life like on an ocean passage?

On an ocean passage, someone is on deck around the clock. The day is governed by the watch schedule, not by harbour times.

The crew divides into watches, for example of three or four hours. Whoever is off watch sleeps, cooks or carries out repairs. Lack of sleep is at its worst in the first few days, after which the crew usually finds its rhythm.

On the ocean, weather information reaches the boat by satellite or shortwave. Skippers use it to plan the course for the next few days, for example to avoid calms or areas of strong wind. You can read how satellite internet is changing everyday life on board in our article on Starlink on sailing boats.

Cooking while heeled over, saving water, storing rubbish on board and fixing minor damage yourself are just as much a part of it as sunsets with no land on the horizon.

Blue-water sailing trips on Törnfinder

On Törnfinder you will find mile-building trips, hand-for-a-bunk offers and ocean crossings with long legs over open water. A shorter mile-building trip is a good way to start, and an ocean crossing as crew is the right choice for the big step.

Frequently asked questions

What does blue-water sailing mean?

Blue-water sailing means sailing on the open ocean, far from the coast and for several days or weeks without a port. Typical examples are ocean crossings and circumnavigations.

How long do you stay at sea at a stretch when blue-water sailing?

Depending on the route, anything from a few days to several weeks. From the Canary Islands to the Caribbean, a 12-metre cruising yacht usually needs 18 to 21 days for around 2,700 nm, and between the Galápagos Islands and the Marquesas it is even around 2,980 nm.

What is a blue-water yacht?

A yacht that is built and equipped for long ocean passages. This includes plenty of storage space, its own water and power supply, self-steering gear, a robust rig and an emergency steering system.

How big does a boat need to be for blue-water sailing?

There is no fixed minimum size. The Atlantic rallies admit yachts from 8.23 m (27 ft), with around 12 m being typical. Construction and equipment matter more than length.

Do I need a sailing licence for blue-water sailing?

As crew you do not need a licence. On German maritime waterways, skippers need the Sportbootführerschein See for an engine of more than 15 hp, plus a radio certificate for the radio equipment. The SSS and SHS are voluntary but demonstrate experience.