How do you make sailing a living? There are four main approaches. You can teach sailing, you can deliver bouts, you can work as a sideline or you can cruise. This short post explores each of these activities from both a commercial and a regulatory point of view.
Teaching sailing
Sailing is a summer activity. Consequently, the role of sailing instructor is, in Canada, a summer job. Unless you want to head south to teach in the Caribbean, it’s hard to make a living as a sailing instructor.
In Canada, teaching sailing is regulated. You need a certificate of competency, belong to a recognized school and operate a sailboat that meets certain standards. Standard TP15136 is the benchmark for understanding what must be respected. It sets out the obligations of sailing schools, structures teaching activities, specifies the instructor certificates required and details sailboat safety requirements. If you’re considering starting a sailing school, this is (almost) a required reading.
Essentially, the sailboat must meet more stringent requirements than a recreational sailboat. The training provided by the sailing school must also be approved by Transport Canada. Last but not least, the instructors providing the training must have the required level of competence to deliver it.
The central prerequisites are training to instructor standards and a sailboat that meets safety standards. Bringing a sailboat “up to standard” implies investment, particularly if you have training ambitions far from the coast (life raft, etc.).
Beyond the sailboat and instructor training, the rest of the obligations correspond to administrative formalities. These are not necessarily easy, but they are not insurmountable. There are three possible routes.
The first – and easiest – is to join an existing school. A school will have its own sailboats, a pre-established teaching program and will already meet Transport Canada’s administrative formalities. On the other hand, a person joining a sailing school will have to comply with its business practices. In this way, they’ll become part of a more rigid framework.
Another route is to start a sailing school by joining an existing franchise. This approach is more flexible from an administrative point of view (pricing, management of the sailboat and schedules, etc.), but requires a lot of work! Franchises such as Voile Canada or the Royal Yachting Association have established lesson plan and training structures, making it possible to open a school with prefabricated programs.
This makes it easier to get started – you don’t have to make up your training from scratch – but it also means that your school has to comply with the commercial obligations of your chosen franchise. Franchises generally have requirements for instructors, and schools must adhere strictly to the franchise’s training guidelines. In Quebec, most sailing schools are affiliated with the Voile Canada franchise.
The final approach is to open your own sailing school with tailor-made programs. This approach offers maximum flexibility, but also requires the most work! You have to submit a complete application to Transport Canada, including your own course outlines and the entire training process. However, the desire for independence comes at a price: sailing schools rarely recognize training provided by another franchise.
Compared to other activities on the water, the standard for sailing schools is less stringent than those associated with passenger transport. In essence, it removes commercial obligations that cannot be adapted to sailboats designed for pleasure, and does not require a captain’s title to give courses. On the other hand, it limits the commercial activities possible to sailing lessons. It also limits training to the North American continental shelf.
In principle, sailing schools are not allowed to offer “sailing excursions” to customers. Nor are they allowed to offer sailing courses in the Caribbean. In the first case, the activity is no longer training, but passenger transportation. In the second case, the activity is outside the North American continental shelf. In practice, regulations do not prevent some schools from offering very (very!) short courses… and very few Transport Canada inspectors visit the Caribbean.
A keelboat instructor’s salary ranges from $14/hour to $20/hour, depending on qualifications, experience and market conditions. For a busy summer season, this means a gross salary of between $3,000 and $5,000. These amounts depend largely on the practices of the sailing schools. In addition to your sailing instructor skills, remember the importance of customer service: being on board a sailboat for seven days with the same people can be a challenge.
Boat deliveries
Convoying a sailboat means moving it between two home ports for the owner’s benefit. We get paid to take the yacht from point A to point B. This means paying considerable attention to the customer’s boat. You do, however, have the luxury of choosing your own crew. But beware: the routes are often those that the customer doesn’t want to take himself. You have to expect to sail against winds and currents.
In Quebec, the main convoy routes follow the east coast, and the direction varies with the seasons. In October, convoying is from north to south, and in May, the opposite direction. As most new yachts are of European construction, hurricane seasons also influence transatlantic convoying. The season for crossing new boats from Europe to the Caribbean is early November. Conversely, boats will be convoyed to Europe in late summer (e.g. August).
The major suppliers of charter contracts are charter companies such as The Moorings and Dream Yacht Charter. These agencies sub-contract their needs to local charterers, who in turn recruit skippers.
The charter industry rarely meets regulatory requirements. It’s almost an underground market. Technically, you need a captain’s license to transport someone else’s yacht. The legislation that applies depends on the flag of the yacht and the waters in which it sails. A Canadian sailboat would have to comply with the Merchant Shipping Act. Canadian companies involved in these activities would normally have to comply with federal obligations in terms of labor standards: minimum wage, obligations of maritime personnel, etc. In practice, none of this applies. None of this is seriously monitored… until an accident occurs.
Boat delivery standards are around US$2 to US$3 per nautical mile. So, a 1000 MN delivery will give a remuneration of between 2000 USD and 3000 USD. This remuneration is usually given to the charterer (the company responsible for recruiting the crew) and the crew’s remuneration will then depend on the company’s practices.
There are two common practices: an autonomous skipper acting as charterer and recruiting his own crew, or a company assembling the crew for the customer. In the latter case, the French company CaptnBoat is the best known. There’s also the American site FindACrew, which matches boats with crews. However, the latter site more often offers unpaid cruises.
And that’s the greatest truth about convoying: with the exception of skippers, there are very few paid positions. Supply far exceeds demand. So you have to find a Skipper willing to share the kitty, or resign yourself to gaining experience and then becoming a Skipper.
There’s no magic formula for getting started in deliveries. A successful Skipper knows the charterers, is willing to work cheaply… and doesn’t break customers’ boats!
Repairing sailboats
Sailboat repair requires knowledge of the onboard systems. It mainly involves working on fiberglass, engines, electricity, plumbing and woodwork. It’s a job where you generally become a specialist in a single aspect (e.g. fiberglass specialist). Hourly rates are usually high ($40 to $80/hour, depending), and it’s possible to make a job out of it. In particular, if you’re willing to provide yourself with a heated garage, you can do work year-round. There seems to be a shortage of this kind of personnel at marinas. From a business point of view, it’s like any other job or business. Because we’re on land, very few specific regulations apply. It’s a far cry from clear waters and wind in the sails…
Sailing cruises
Sailing cruises are passenger transportation. As such, your sailboat is subject to the regulations governing small commercial vessels, and you must hold at least a small vessel operator’s certificate. Compared with sailing schools, the requirements are more stringent for both the sailboat and the operator (captain), as they enter the realm of commercial activities.
A Small craft operator certification is not particularly difficult to obtain. It’s a four-day theoretical course. It does not necessarily qualify the holder to operate the craft, but it does give him or her the theoretical skills to navigate safely. It’s the commercial equivalent of the “boat card”. To this must be added staff safety training (such as the STCW basic safety course).
If the sailboat and operator are compliant, there are fewer limits on commercial activities. Contrary to sailing school standards, it then becomes possible to cruise, tour or even vacation on board.
It is more difficult to give an order of magnitude for possible income, as the commercial possibilities are much greater. From whale-watching excursions to longer voyages! This is the approach that gives you the most freedom. However, beware of the demanding regulations for passenger boats: not just any sailboat can meet these requirements. In particular, it’s difficult to meet these standards with a regular sailboat.
One advantage of commercial training is that it is a gateway to more serious commercial titles (Captain 60, Captain 150, etc.), if the captain is prepared to progress by taking the additional requirements associated with these certificates (maritime personnel examinations). In this case, training can be taken at a school, such as the Institut Maritime du Québec. But it’s hard to find your way around without talking to experienced people.
If you’re willing to go outside Quebec, the world of vacation cruising is much wider. I’ve already written a post on the experience of being a skipper for a yacht charter company. It’s an interesting complementary read to the descriptions above, which are a little more focused on the Canadian market.
Course or cruise?
In Canada, it’s wiser to start with a commercial title. It will generally be recognized in the yachting world. On the other hand, it will be more difficult to obtain… and may be a big commitment for someone thinking of a summer job. The certification is also designed for motorboats, a far cry from sailing. The training period will therefore be an empty one.
Unlike European legislation, Canadian legislation offers few bridges from recreational to commercial certification. The world of sailing instructors is completely separate from that of the merchant navy. You have to choose and plan accordingly.
In Europe, you can obtain a “commercial endorsement” for your pleasure sailing certification, enabling you to move from pleasure sailing to commercial activities. The Canadian sailing market may be seasonally restricted, but there may be something to be learned from Europe.
There are perhaps a few shortcomings in this text. There’s no mention of emerging models for making a living, such as YouTube video producers under sail, or personnel aboard large yachts. Can you think of other ways to make a living under sail?
