La Rochelle – Martinique My 3rd transatlantic crossing thanks to Open Sail! Chartered a Tostaky Pogo 44 for 7 weeks, a fantastic and incredibly well-equipped boat. Onboard power is a real luxury with efficient solar panels and a hydrogenerator – enough to keep us cool in the middle of the Atlantic! The boat was in perfect condition and the Open Sail team was amazing! Thank you!!

October 2024. Excellent review following the rental of an RM1180 in Bormes for three days of sailing in the islands with a crew of 5 people. New boat (launched in April) and perfectly equipped. Premium fittings and obviously performance at the rendezvous (7.5 knots upwind in 25 knots of wind under mainsail and staysail ... 12 knots on a reach). Quick embarkation and disembarkation thanks to the formalities done online in advance. We will be back! Thanks to the team - Louis H

For my first sailing experience, I chose Open Sail and the RM1180, departing from Le Marin in Martinique from February 2nd to 11th, 2024. The trade winds having abandoned us due to an unusual weather phenomenon, and considering the weather forecast and its impact on sailing, combined with the crew's relative inexperience, the skipper, with the crew's agreement, decided to sail to Marie-Galante rather than the Grenadines. A good choice! 8 days of sailing, mostly downwind, with occasional beam reach and close reach. Anchorages were made at Anse d'Arlets and Saint-Pierre in Martinique, Roseau and Portsmouth in Dominica, Anse Canot and Saint-Louis in Marie-Galante, and finally Les Salines and Sainte-Anne in Martinique before returning the boat to Le Marin. A daytime sail of 5 or 6 hours and an overnight ocean passage between Marie-Galante and Les Salines beach in Martinique was a real treat for me and the other crew members. Sailing under the stars in a calm sea that became choppy during the night with a few light squalls and a 20-25 knot wind... everyone took turns on watch, although during the night we switched to the autopilot with just one watch to keep... rounding the southern tip of Martinique in the morning to reach the little paradise of Les Salines beach and end the day there... exhausting for everyone, but an unforgettable memory... absolutely fantastic!!! The boat was well-equipped, both for me and in terms of the necessary sailing equipment and onboard amenities. The skipper was superb, a great teacher, happy to share his knowledge and past experiences with joy and good humor, whether it was about safety or deck maneuvers, while sailing, in port, or at anchor. Having known nothing about sailing, I've come back with a little bit of experience that I hope to build on in the years to come. The overall atmosphere was fantastic, full of good-natured banter and genuine laughter, where everyone contributed to life on board according to their modest abilities. Although I must admit I wasn't the most diligent cook, apart from making an apple cake... which I think turned out pretty well 😊. But then again, I had brought fresh sausage from home, which provided all the appetizers for our evening meals... The only downsides? Seasickness, but that'll get better with time. The dinghy could be a bit more suitable, but it does the job nonetheless. The other advantages? Crossing the channel between Martinique and Dominica yielded a 1.20m barracuda that significantly contributed to our daily protein intake. We visited all the anchorages, including a day in Marie-Galante. We enjoyed the Carnival in Saint-Pierre. We saw Syndicate Falls and Jack Sparrow's lair in the mangroves of Dominica. We were lucky enough to have a professional photographer and videographer on board who created some memorable photo montages for us using her phone. Dinner in Sainte-Anne on our last night... A thousand times fantastic, I had a wonderful time!!! THANK YOU OPEN SAIL

Fantastic company with great boats. Very supportive, helpful and accomodating management. Very well maintained boats. We had a lot of fun on TS 42 in Caribbean recently. Thank you !!!

I find it difficult to understand the 4.9 rating and the reviews that truly do not reflect my experience. Given such reviews, I booked with my eyes closed. It therefore seems important to qualify the general opinion given that the reviews are a little outdated. Pros: Good choice of boat. The Pogos are very good boats, fast, safe, and comfortable. The organization went smoothly, and the staff were available and responsive before departure. Cons: Lack of maintenance on the boat. Going offshore with tape to seal the portholes, an engine that leaks oil, and a broken AIS is not ideal. Lack of equipment for repairs at sea; a hammer and a few rusty screwdrivers are not sufficient. A complete set of Allen and Torx keys, for example, would not be a luxury. A pressure cooker with a lid would also be a good investment; pasta water burns a lot... A very poor choice of skipper. He's a qualified professional, but not easy to live with and consumes a lot of alcohol while sailing. Lack of respect, impulsiveness, paranoia, and insults could lead to dangerous situations if you're also strong-willed. We were supposed to have six weeks free for the crossing; the skipper only had four and was starting another job afterward. So the routing choices were impacted by this requirement, and it was difficult to negotiate a rest day in the Azores before setting sail again. Summary: A good experience; I crossed the Atlantic, fulfilled my contract. But poor value for money; I feel like I did a delivery trip for the price of a week-long course (x 4 weeks!). If you want to do a crossing, find a private individual who will take you on board for free or a sailing school association. Going through a company that hires qualified professionals is no guarantee of landing the right number. If you want to progress in sailing, make sure you go with an instructor and not a skipper. The end-of-course assessment, which generally focuses on the techniques learned and filling out the FFV logbook, turned for us into a (well-soaked) individual assessment of our personality flaws.