Questions? Answers.

HollaSea connects people who love sailing. You can join a voyage as crew, find a skipper for your own trip, rent a boat from charter companies, or — as a skipper — post voyages and build your crew. Everything happens in one place: search, chat, bookings and reviews.

Yes. Creating an account, browsing voyages, skippers and boats, and applying to join a voyage are free. Skippers need a membership to post voyages and free dates, and posting a request has a small fee — see Membership for current prices.

Crew if you want to join voyages, post a request or hire a skipper. Skipper if you can skipper a boat and want to post voyages, share your free dates and answer requests. Charter company if you rent out boats and want to post jobs for skippers. You choose when you register.

Yes. Every voyage shows the minimum experience needed, and many skippers welcome beginners. Look for voyages with experience "None" and tell the skipper it's your first time — attitude matters more than a sailing CV.

Skippers and charter companies need a way to reach you, and charter companies need these details to process a boat booking. We ask for them before you apply to a voyage, post a request or book a boat. They're never shown publicly.

Find one on Voyages, open it and click Apply. Tell the skipper about your experience and why you'd like to come aboard. You'll see the answer in My Activity → Voyages → Joined, and once you're accepted the crew chat opens.

It depends on the voyage — the skipper describes the costs on the voyage page, including shared extras such as fuel, marina fees or food. Ask in the chat before you confirm, so there are no surprises.

The cost of a voyage spot is paid directly to the skipper, and shared expenses are split on board. HollaSea doesn't take payments for voyages. (Boat rentals are different — they're paid through HollaSea, see Renting a boat.)

Yes. After a voyage you sailed on, you can review the skipper: skills, communication and atmosphere, with photos from on board. Only people who actually sailed can leave a review.

Post a request: your destination, dates, number of people and the kind of boat you'd like. Skippers send you offers with a price per person, you pick the one you like, and a private chat opens so you can settle the details. Requests are for crew and passengers — skippers answer them with offers.

A voyage request is for when you need a boat and a skipper. A skipper-only request is for when you already have the boat and the plan and only need someone to skipper it — it goes to all skippers on HollaSea.

Posting a request has a small one-time fee — per person for a voyage request, a flat fee for a skipper-only request. You'll see the exact amount before you publish; current prices are on Membership. If you have a voucher code, you can post for free.

Three things: a skipper account, the Skipper Agreement signed (you're asked the first time you post) and an active membership. Then you can post voyages, add your free dates and send offers to requests.

Absolutely. You can rent a boat from Rent a Boat and post your voyage on it, or add your free dates so crews and boat renters can hire you as a skipper.

On Find a Skipper you see skippers and the dates they're free. Open a period and send a reservation request, or chat first. The skipper confirms the reservation in the chat, and then their contact details are shared with you.

Job ads from charter companies looking for skippers. You find them on Voyages → Skippers Wanted; skippers apply with a short message and the company contacts them.

Request — we email you the full price offer for your dates; nothing is reserved. Hold — the boat is kept for you for free until a date set by the charter company, and you can cancel anytime until then. Reserve (coming soon) — the boat is kept for you for a short time so you can pay online; it becomes a firm booking once we receive your first payment and the charter company confirms it, otherwise the boat is released.

Each charter company sets its own rules. Most boats are rented Saturday to Saturday; some can start any day or on a specific weekday. The calendar on each boat's page only lets you pick the days that boat allows.

Most boats require a valid skipper licence (such as the ICC) at check-in, appropriate for the boat and the sailing area. If you don't have one, choose Request a skipper for these dates when you book, and free skippers on HollaSea will send you offers.

You pay online by card or by bank transfer, following the charter company's payment schedule (sometimes a first instalment now and the rest later). If you cancel after paying, the amount paid is not refunded, except where the charter company's conditions or the law provide otherwise — see our Cancellation & Refund Policy. You'll find your payments and what's left to pay in My Activity → Boats → Reservation details.

A refundable amount the charter company asks for at the base, shown on each boat's page. Some extras (for example cleaning or towels) are also paid at the base — the boat page and your reservation details show which ones.

Posting voyages, adding your free dates, sending offers to requests and being notified about clients who want a skipper for their boat. Plans and prices are on Membership.

Skipper membership vouchers are activated on Membership, in the "Redeem a voucher" box. Request vouchers are entered when you publish a request.

Read the reviews from people who sailed with them, and look at their profile: experience, certifications, boats and past voyages. Skippers declare their certifications and sign the Skipper Agreement; HollaSea doesn't independently check documents, so reviews and a chat before you commit are your best guide.

Turn on the email login code in Edit Profile → Login Security. Each time you log in, we'll email you a code to confirm it's you.

In Edit Profile → Privacy & your data you can download your data or delete your account. If you have an upcoming boat booking or voyage, we'll ask you to sort it out first.