SailTime is a boat share company that grew up in the US and has now decided to bring its concept to the other side of the pond.
With an idea not a million miles away from time share housing, SailTime, which made its first appearance at the 2005 London Boat Show, offers people the chance to use a yacht from a base of their choice without many of the associated hassles. The marketing blurb makes a big deal of 'fractional sailing'; what this actually means is you buy the use of a vessel for so many days of the year.
Current bases for the yachts include Port Hamble, Port Solent and Poole, with plans for Lymington and one other shortly. All yachts are brand new and the monthly costs, including guaranteed sailing time, are reported to be less than average berthing costs alone.
So how does it actually work?
For those wanting to sail, SailTime offers two solutions:
- The Members programme
- Owner Members programme
Members join a Bénéteau Océanis yacht for an all inclusive fee, which becomes theirs to sail at least seven times per month. Alternatively, the unique sailboat ownership plan allows Owner Members to own a luxury sailboat, for which SailTime will make all the monthly payments to cover its ownership for the first five years, allowing them unlimited sailing and peace of mind.
All SailTime Members check on and off the yachts using the SailTime E-ttendant™, a handheld PDA which guides them through a series of safety and equipment checks. Each day is divided into two sail times, 10:30-18:30 and 18:30-10:30, providing a day sail or an evening/night sail. Allocated times can be combined to a maximum of seven full days, or 14 sail times. Members use the SailTime online real time scheduler which displays the availability of the boat and provides Owner Members with self selected advanced reservations or instant access. SailTime has implemented a complete system to ensure all SailTime Members can take advantage of maximum usage of their boat.
The SailTime programme is simple. There is a £1,000 initiation and training fee for a two-day course, where Members are shown how to use the online calendar and E-ttendant™, trained on the specifics of the yacht they will be joining, including the navigation electronics and general layout of the boat, and given an orientation day-sail. Members place £1,500 as a security deposit against any minor damage they may cause to the boat. SailTime will refund £1000 of this amount and retain £500 as a contribution for wear and tear.
The monthly Membership fee for a brand new Bénéteau 343 Océanis Clipper is just £455. Members are required to join for an initial 12 months, after which there is a rolling 90 day notice period.
A layman's calculation of the costs on a Bénéteau 343 Océanis seems to stack up as follows:
| 12 months of membership |
Initiation fee |
Wear and tear contribution |
Total costs |
| £5,460 |
£1,000 |
£500 |
£6,960 |
Compare this with mooring fees and loan repayments on new boat and your saving is going to be at least £5,000 a year and feasibly very much more.
There is a catch though; the cost saving benefits of the SailTime model are great if you are someone who can handle the fact that your sailing has to be pre-planned. Accepting that you don't have the ability just to turn up when the sun is out and the wind blowing may be hard for some to take.
On the up side you do get an allocated maximum of seven full days, or 14 sail times a month, which is still more than many people would ever need. If the idea catches on, it could well take the popularity of sailing to a whole new level.
