Have you actually been on the open ocean?

[Bilge Rat]

When I was a teen I learned to sail a small dinghy in the Blackwater estuary at Bradwell on Sea. Years later, I also helped crew a friend's 34 ft sailboat for a days sailing in the same estuary. My stepdaughter crewed on a Round the World race yacht from Cape Town to Boston, her only previous experience being sailing around the isle of Wight a few times to give her some idea of how a yacht worked. She did well for a girl from Iowa. She loved every minute of it.


Oops, I just realised, I checked the wrong box, it should have been the 'inlet' one, not the 'open ocean' one. My apologies

[Wentworth]

I sailed for several weeks on the Fantome near the Bahamas, Bimini, Gun Key, etc. It was a 300 foot (679 ton) steel hulled stay sail schooner. It was built by the Duke of Westminster in 1927, and sold to A. E. Guinness (the brewery heir) in 1930. I sailed on it in 1976. It was lost at sea in a storm off Latin America in 1998. I've attached a photo below:



The following year, I also sailed along the Brazilian coast in the 40 foot sloop "Horseman of the Moon" (translated from the Portuguese).

[Bligh]

Yep!! I think that counts Bill.
Rob.

[Oceanswell]

Last year I sailed a Hunter 35.5 from Croatia down the back of Italia and on to Corfu. Lots of adventures ... the most heart racing being ambushed by a gunboat from the Guardia Finanza during a night sail off the coast of Brindisi.