Routes

Mile builder from the Balearics to the Atlantic island of Madeira. From Palma, we sail to Alicante, continue to the Spanish enclave of Melilla on the North African coast, transit the Strait of Gibraltar, and then head into the Atlantic for the ocean passage to Madeira. On that final stretch we put the GPS away and find our way as sailors did for centuries — by sextant. The Gibraltar-to-Madeira passage is an RYA Yachtmaster Ocean qualifying passage.

Cruise the Atlantic islands from Madeira to the Canaries. From Madeira we will sail west along the coast to lively Funchal, round the island up to golden Porto Santo, out to the wild and uninhabited Desertas, then across open water to the green island of La Palma before finishing on Tenerife. A whole trip on the ocean, mixing short scenic hops with a proper offshore passage.

Mile builder from Germany to Norway. Out of the Baltic through the Kiel Canal, past the Frisian Islands, and then a 240-mile crossing of the open North Sea and Skagerrak to southern Norway. Night watches, frontal weather, and the quiet satisfaction of slipping into Oslo under your own keel. Perfect trip for logging the offshore miles needed for RYA.

Mile builder from Oslo through one of Europe’s finest cruising grounds — Sweden’s Bohuslän archipelago, with its pink-granite skerries and ochre fishermen’s huts — then a Kattegat crossing to the Øresund. From there it is under the Øresund Bridge, through the Danish straits and home to Flensburg. Tight pilotage by day, a Kattegat passage by night, and the perfect companion to leg 1.