• Trip experience with sailboat – experienced and locally familiar skipper/instructor on board
• Extra crew/guide
• All the food we eat on board during the trip
• Accommodation on board the whole trip
• Our Comfort Package which consists of accommodation in a shared double cabin (bunk or double bed) with a ready made bed (warm and nice duvets and pillows!)
• Use of our shared trip-equipment: dinghy, kayaks, fishing equipment etc.
• All boat-related expenses such as diesel, gas, harbour fees etc.
• Personal safety equipment, HH inflatable life vest
• A shared experience and friendship with like-minded adventurers from around the world
• A lot of time outdoors – raw and honest nature experiences
• Advice, guidance and practical training on sailing and boating in general. As an active crew member you will be engaged in, and learn to run a boat.
• Survival Suit and Search and rescue (SAR) insurance for everyone on board
• An environmentally friendly, sustainable, unique, exotic and exclusive Norwegian adventure holiday

• Travel to and from the start/end location
  
• Optional meals at cafés/restaurants
  
• Entrance to galleries, museums, and similar, or other activities that you/we may come up with along the way
  
• Optional activities where we hire external guides and equipment, such as kayaking, glacier hikes or surfing
  
• Drinks like wine, beer or high-exclusive apple juice and other luxury (yes, we drink beer and wine on board, bring your own)
  
• Travel/cancellation insurance – optional, but recommended.

Travel – in general

Sometimes we have to fly, but not always. If you have the luxury of time, we always encourage you to travel as environmentally friendly as possible. Traveling slowly also allows you to start your holiday in a special way. Cycling, taking the train, or driving a car together can be good options! Feel free to add some extra time before and after your trip, since up north the weather can be unpredictable and might affect your plans!
Flights are not included, so you need to organize this yourself. You can also join the expedition further on one or several legs.

Travel Greenland

Most people travel to and from Greenland with Air Greenland, either from Copenhagen or Reykjavik to Nuuk or Narssarsuaq. The easiest way to travel domestically on Greenland is by boat (Targa) or by helicopter. If you want to sail to and from Greenland you can also join us on all or parts of this whole expedition!

Travel Iceland

To and from Iceland there are many different routes. One option is the daily ferry route from Denmark via Faroe Islands. There are also several daily departures and arrivals by plane from the Nordics, Europe and America. If you want to sail more, you can join us on our further expeditions from Iceland, towards Scotland, Norway, Faroes and Shetland!

Safety and risk – in general

We take safety seriously and on our trips we train on handling different situations that can occur at sea. On board a boat and on trips, everyone must know what to do in potentially dangerous situations. For us it is important that you as a guest and participant are trained quickly enough to be a participant – not a passenger. It contributes to learning, a sense of achievement, and increased safety for all. It’s also why our trips are considered to be sailing courses: you are trained to be one of the crewmembers on board. Feel free to contact us to discuss risk.

Safety and risk – expeditions

On our expedition trips, we often spend multiple days on sea-crossings, and we sail into areas far from people and with extra risk factors, such as sea ice and unreliable navigations charts. This requires our crew to have extra focus and awareness of the potential situations that might arise. We sail in these areas only in the most optimal seasons, and use only our largest and most sturdy boats, which are both equipped and dimensioned to cope with this type of expedition sailing. We are fully aware that sailing is the safest and most accessible way to visit these very inaccessible places. However, sailing in general, and especially sailing in the Arctic and over the high seas, involves a certain risk that you must be willing to take. Feel free to contact us for a chat and guidance regarding risk.

Level of this trip

This is a sailing expedition where we will undertake multi-day sea crossings, which can be an incredibly wonderful and special experience! You do not need to have sailed before to be on board, and we are joined by both people who have never sailed before and experienced sailors. If you are a beginner, we want to make you a seaman / woman as soon as possible, and if you are experienced, you will quickly get more responsibility and greater challenges. The group and crew will be divided into watch teams so that we can learn from each other and help each other out.
The boats we sail on our expeditions are large, robust, and sail well in the open seas.. However, we do not control the weather, and we must be prepared for wind and potential heavy seas that we might encounter offshore. From light breezes to sailing in hard weather with several meters of swell, and the proximity to the forces of nature on such an expedition is something most people find very unique and rewarding!

Equipment/packing

As with all activities, there is plenty of specialized equipment and clothing for sailing. We do not expect you to buy lots of new equipment to join any of our trips, so, use what you have, borrow what you need from a friend, try to purchase used equipment, and if you have to invest in new equipment – buy quality items that will last. What you need is something waterproof and windproof on the outside, and layered clothing underneath. Some jackets may not be waterproof enough, or might not perform well in saltwater, so you might want to consider purchasing or renting a set of “oilskins” from us to use on the wettest days (included for borrowing onboard Alma). A pair of higher rubber boots for landings from the dinghy is very nice to have, in addition to slippers to wear below deck. Out on the high seas and in the Arctic, it is cold even in summer, so bring both swimwear and plenty of warm clothes. We will send you a detailed recommended packing list in good time before departure.

Food and cooking

On our trips you will be part of the crew onboard and get the chance to participate in all aspects of the running of the sailboat. This includes the cooking, where everyone is taking turns in the galley! Skippers and guides assist as much as they can along the way. Before the trip we set up a menu and purchase what is needed. We offer good menus with healthy “boat friendly” food. If you have allergies or preferences, let us know in the registration form and we will take that into account. During the trip, we often sail by a good restaurant or two where we stop and eat.

What we expect from you

We want you to take part in the routines onboard the sailboat, whether it is sailing, docking, navigating, looking for whales and icebergs, washing up, cooking, cleaning the boat, or contributing in other ways when required. You will be split into a watch team, with the teams working in rotations of 4 hours on and 8 hours off, with a rotating system to make sure that the night-shifts are divided equally among all watch teams. Our trips require a little work from the participants – and you must be open to contribute and open up a bit socially. We have many different people with us on our trips, and most people get along very well. Our experience is that doing things with others out in nature, and not least doing things with new people with different personalities than one might be used to, is what creates the best, most interesting and memorable stories :)

Life on board and accommodation

Life on board a sailboat is social and pleasant, but for some it can be perceived as quite intimate and crowded, which one should be prepared for. On our trips everyone participates in the operation of the sailboat and everyone is considered crew. We would like to get to know you well and hope that you will get to know everyone else on the boat as soon as possible. It requires some patience, generosity, and an open mind to thrive, but the new acquaintances and completely raw nature experiences will take your focus as soon as you become comfortable with life at sea.
Accommodation on the boat is part of the fun. The accommodation is generally in shared cabins, some of which have a double bed and some of which have bunk beds. Figuring out who sleeps where can be a bit of a puzzle, but we do believe we’ve gotten quite good at it. Let us know if you have any special needs or reservations.
We have plenty of heating and good food on the boat, but not always abundance of fresh water. This means it will not be possible to shower every day, but more or less every other day we are either in a harbor with fresh water or we sail through a place where we can borrow showers or enjoy a sauna. A morning swim in the sea is free and is available all year round!

What kind of people join this trip – and how many are we on board?

Many come alone, some travel as couples, and others travel as a group of friends. The common denominator for everyone is that these are fun and interesting people you will become friends with almost no matter what. Sharing grand experiences creates strong ties! Many people wonder about the age composition of our trips, but this isn’t so important to us. It doesn’t matter if you are young or old as long as you want to go on a trip and intend to do your part in making this a great trip for everyone. Most of our participants are usually between 25-55 years old. The number of participants varies from trip to trip, but on these trips, we are usually between 6 and 11 people.

Environment and sustainability

In general, sailing is an environmentally friendly activity,, and we sail as much as we can and use the engine as little as possible. We encourage crew and participants to travel as environmentally friendly as possible, and we use local ingredients and resources as much as we can. We also run trips where we collect litter and clean ocean trash from beaches.
Philosophically, we often say that sailing is an exercise in sustainability: we move with the wind and we have limitations on things like water, diesel, electricity and food. In order to run sustainably, knowledge, patience, flexibility, and hard work are required. The same can be said about many other things that one tries to do in a sustainable way.

Narsarsuaq, Greenland

Reykjavik, Iceland

Clothing

• Standard hiking clothes and enough changes
• Wool base layer
• Wool socks (several pairs) and wool soles
• Hat and mittens
• Neck, buff or scarf, preferably wool
• Warm woolen jumper, preferably with a neck
• Warm trousers, preferably lined (for use on trips or on deck)
• “Normal” clothes (your travel clothes?), for restaurant visits or land excursions.

Outdoor gear

• Sailing gear / rain gear, jacket and trousers. Possibly two sets, one heavier on board for sailing in heavy weather, and one light wind/waterproof set for hiking on land. SeilNorge sells and rents durable, orange oil hire from Ålesund Oljeklede. Prices and rental info will be sent to you before departure.
• Down jacket or artificial down jacket (preferably primaloft or something that can withstand a little water)
• Sea/rubber boots, feel free to take some that are big enough to breathe even with wool socks and soles
• Light shoes / crocs that breathe well (for use on board inside and outside on deck in good weather)
• High or low hiking boots (for hiking on land)
• Sailing gloves (not a must). You can also use cycling or skiing gloves here. The most important thing here is that they have a good grip for ropes.

Other stuff

• Sunglasses and sunscreen
• Small backpack, approx. 30-40 litres, for hikes.
• Ear plugs, for light sleepers
• Water bottle
• Small washcloth and soap
• Towel and swimwear
• Thermos for the hikes, for tea, coffee, drytech meal
• Padded shorts/longs for sailors! Nice to have. SeilNorge has together with Northern Playground developed as series of padded shorts and 3⁄4-longs for sailing, check the selection here.

Electronics, other equipment and packing tips

We have life jackets for everyone on board, if you have your own favorite, you are welcome to bring, just remember to check with your airline regarding packing/shipping the compressed air canister.

The boats have USB sockets for charging phones and cameras when we sail, and we have 220V “EU” sockets available for your charger when we are moored at a quay with shore power.

• Phone
• Camera
• Charger/cords
• Power plug adapter
• Powerbank

There’s good cellular coverage almost everywhere in Norway, but on ocean crossings and on Svalbard, you will experience the undisturbed calmness of not being connected!

Try to pack as light as possible, and try to meet a limit of 20 kg in total!
Pack like a sailor; in a duffel bag or rucksack, and NOT in a rigid suitcase!