Multi-Day Passage Training | Coastal Cruising on Your Own Yacht

The Program

What this actually is

I've taken vessels through Papua New Guinea, the South Pacific, the Galapagos, Iceland, and Japan, and the lesson from all of it is the same: passages are won in the preparation and the routine, not in the moments of drama. The owners who struggle offshore aren't short on courage — they're short on systems.

This program builds those systems on a real passage of your choosing — the Channel Islands circuit, a Baja leg, a coastal delivery of your own boat. We plan it together, provision it together, run a proper watch rotation through the nights, and handle whatever the trip serves up. You come home with offshore miles in your log and a passage routine you own.

Who It's For

You'll recognise yourself in one of these

Your ambitions outgrew your experience

The boat can cross oceans. Your longest trip is a weekend. This closes the gap on your own deck, not in a classroom.

You're planning the big one

The Baja Ha-Ha, the Sea of Cortez season, the Pacific Northwest run. A supervised shakedown passage first is the smartest money in the whole plan.

Crew experience is the limit

You're solid, but your crew has never stood a night watch. A training passage builds the whole team at once.

The Curriculum

What we cover

Passage selection and planning

Route, season, weather strategy, ports of refuge, and an honest readiness audit of boat and crew — scoped together before anything is committed.

Provisioning and vessel prep

Fuel, water, power budgets, spares, food, and the systems checks that matter when the nearest chandlery is a day away.

Watch systems and fatigue

A rotation that actually works for your crew size, handovers done properly, and managing the 3am hours that decide how a passage feels.

Weather routing under way

Reading forecasts against what's outside the window, making the calls, and adjusting the plan like a professional crew does.

Running the boat day after day

Daily engine checks, chafe patrol, power management, cooking under way, and keeping a boat — and a crew — happy over distance.

Offshore competence isn't a personality trait. It's a set of routines, and routines can be taught. The ocean is far more boring when you're prepared for it — which is exactly the goal.

Straight Answers

Questions owners actually ask

What kind of passage do we do?

Whatever serves your goals — a Channel Islands circuit, a Baja leg, or a repositioning trip you already need to make. Training on a passage with a real purpose is the best version of this program.

How experienced do I need to be first?

Comfortable day-skipper level — confident handling and docking your own boat. If you're not there yet, the Day on the Bay and own-boat lessons build the foundation first, and I'll tell you honestly which order makes sense.

Can this double as a delivery?

Yes — if your boat needs to get somewhere, turning the delivery into a training passage is often the most cost-effective structure. Scoped case by case.

What does it cost?

Training starts from $150. Every program is scoped to your boat, your goals, and the hours involved — and you get a fixed quote before we book anything. No hourly surprises.

Start Here

Request a free intro lesson

One hour on your boat, at your dock. No charge, no obligation. You'll get a straight read on where you're at, what to work on first, and whether this program is the right fit. If it's not, I'll tell you.

Or just call

858-230-5079

Multi-Day Passages, Done Properly

What this actually is

You'll recognise yourself in one of these

What we cover

Questions owners actually ask

Request a free intro lesson

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