Our "Instructional deliveries" usually involve the slow and safe movement of a vessel from point to point by a professional captain and paying student crew. The crew though "students" are in reality thoroughly qualified to be there. I personally interview, review their written resumes, and hand pick those most qualified. Often our student crew are vessel owners or have been on one or more trips with us in the past. They know the ropes. We make sure the vessel is well inspected, and prepared and cared for in route. Our instructional deliveries usually cost the owner nothing. The students pay for the delivery, the planning, the instruction, and the use of the boat and equipment. We credit the owner with a percentage of the student revenues intending to substantially or completely offseting all delivery costs and expenses. This is a "win win" situation for all. The students get quality instruction on a quality vessel, during a well-planned passage, and the owner gets his boat inspected, prepared and delivered for substantially less cost than for a conventional delivery. 

We carefully choose and confirm the suitability of vessels which we accept for instructional deliveries. They must be relatively new, offshore capable, well equipped, in better than average condition, and large enough to accommodate 4-5 crewmen. They must be thoroughly inspected and we must confirm to our satisfaction that all equipment and systems will remain operational and not interfere in the delivery schedule or the instructional process. 

Prior to inspecting a vessel physically we review any and all vessel information we can obtain; basic vessel description & specs, line drawings, broker's listing info, recent photographs, recent survey, charter "phase-out" report, insurance coverage, etc. 

We prepare a detailed preliminary trip plan, considering the route, distances, weather, current, potential anchorages, shore stops, estimated travel times, etc. Then with a proposed trip plan in hand we prepare a detailed trip revenue and expense budget. 

If the vessel appears suitable and the trip plan and budget look feasible, we contract for the delivery contingent upon a complete physical inspection, a complete ship's inventory and complete system testing. The owner can hire Ocean-Pro or our captain, or a local individual for the physical inspection. We simply need to confirm to our satisfaction that the vessel and equipment conforms to the documentation supplied, and to give ourselves and the owner the chance to discover and remedy any problems excluded or omitted by the surveyor.

Marine surveys: For voyage inspection purposes, a typical marine survey is not adequate evidence of a vessel's condition. There are different types of "standard" marine survey. There are different levels of comprehensiveness of each type. And different surveyors offer different qualities of survey. For information on marine surveys, or listings of marine surveyors, I suggest contacting one or both of these two US surveyor organizations. SAMS, (Society of Accredited Marine Surveyors), or NAMS, (National Association of Marine Surveyors). Within the industry a "Pre-Purchase Survey" is recognized as the standard survey and is the highest level of comprehensiveness. However, in my experience, even a recent "Pre-Purchase" survey by an accredited SAMS or certified NAMS surveyor may be inadequate for pre-voyage inspection purposes. There is always the need for the captain to make his own pre-voyage inspection. Two good resources I have found on the internet for survey related questions are Welch Marine Surveyors and Wagner Marine Surveys. As in anything in life, "You get what you pay for" and "caveat emptor" apply. If I have a survey to study, I scrutinize every element of it, looking beyond the surveyor's "Recommendations" section, for lack of depth, or for any "exclusions" or omissions. I usually find plenty missing. Surveys done in the Caribbean islands are especially suspect. With a full and accurate understanding of any problems, repairs, purchases, or work can be contracted for an completed in a timely way. For more information on surveys or to contact SAMS and NAMS see our "Resources" page.

A successful instructional delivery involves the mutual cooperation of several parties, ourselves, the vessel owner, the vessel repair contractor and the student crew. We do our best to orchestrate this cooperation. I begin looking by looking for and qualifying potential student crew as soon a the delivery looks feasible. Our goal is to find and contract with three to four qualified student crew for each leg of an instructional delivery. Often the vessel owner is interested in joining a leg of a delivery. I find that all parties generally need 30-60 days lead time to adequately plan for a delivery. When the preparation of the vessel is on schedule and we have sufficient student crew we can finalize the delivery schedule and have everyone make final arrangements. 

The Captain usually arrives 2-3 days before the student crew arrive. This will probably be his first opportunity to inspect the vessel, (unless he inspected it personally prior). He will conduct an all day vessel and equipment inspection and testing, conduct a 2-3 hour sea trial, and confirm the accuracy and adequacy of the ship's inventory. Any problems or discrepancies he finds will be reported to the owner or the agent responsible for the preparation of the vessel.We hold a deposit from the owner to cover any delivery expense contingencies and the Captain is authorized to make expenditures from these funds on behalf of the owner.

We often loan and transport several thousand dollars worth of expensive navigational charts, cruising guides, electronics and safety gear to a delivery, items often not always found on vessels we are delivering. We have a complete set of cruising guides and NOAA/DMA charts for the Caribbean and US. We often supply an HF SSB, SCS Pactor HF e-mail modem, Laptop computer, World mapping software, 7x50 binoculars, EPIRB, handheld compass, handheld GPS, handheld VHF, basic hand tools, first aid kit, safety harnesses, etc. 

Student crew usually arrive two days before the planned departure to get familiar with the vessel, to meet the Captain and one another, pre-departure instruction and to buy and store the provisions. Normally the student crew provide for their own transportation to and from the boat. If there are any "paid crew" necessary for the delivery, the payment of their fees and any travel and expenses is negotiable. With completion of pre-departure elements including clearing Customs and Immigration, we depart and commence the underway portion of the delivery.

I plan 1000-2000 nm instructional deliveries as two legs of 500-1000 nm with a midpoint layover. I usually plan the layover to be 2-4 days to allow time for the crew change, a thorough vessel clean up, any needed vessel work, and some rest and relaxation. With a good 40-60' sailing yacht, I can usually plan for our underway days to enable a boat to make an average daily pace of 70-100 nm per day. If the route and itinerary permit, I usually plan on making a daily landfall for the navigational and piloting practice, to anchor, and get 4-8 hours of sleep. Every 2-4 days I like to incorporate a brief shore stop for the practice with piloting, foreign port procedures, some exercise, some sightseeing and a restaurant meal. I usually allow one extra day each leg for any delays due to weather or mechanical problems.

I have been doing "instructional deliveries" since 1993. With my thoroughness, rigorous vessel inspection and well-planned passages I find that we are able to hold very closely to our planned schedules, usually departing and arriving within hours of the planned time, but seldom differing by more than 24 hours. My ability to plan and hold to a schedule greatly facilitates my ability to budget for a trip and to rendezvous for inbound and outbound students needing to make flight connections. Having good onboard communications capability for offshore passages is critical. This includes HF SSB, weatherfax reception capability, and more recently, HF Email. Conventional VHF and cellular telephone serve their purposes as well but not beyond 20-50 miles from shore. We use an HF SSB to stay apprised of the weather daily, making a regimen of monitoring the USCG "Offshore Marine Forecast" twice a day, and including weatherfax reception and interpretation if necessary. To see a typical HF marine forecast for the Southwest North Atlantic, click here, "USCG Forecast". These tools are especially important during the Atlantic hurricane season, when tropical storms can wreak havoc on your trip plans not to mention the vessel. To see sample weatherfax images for the North Atlantic, click "Weather". HF SSB and HF Email also greatly facilitates our being able to be in touch with other vessels and shore stations, by Marine SSB or HAM SSB. We can even talk or email our families directly from aboard ship, wherever we are in the US, Atlantic or Caribbean. For more information on the use of cellular, VHF and HF SSB for weather and communications aboard ship see "Resources".

If you would like more information on our Instructional Delivery progam, or would like to discuss our moving your boat, call or e-mail us. We will care of your boat professionally and save you money!