What to do with your boat in winter

It's October and it's decision time. There are three ways out and all three work. It depends on what you want from your winter.

Option 1: haul it out

You lift it at a yard and leave it ashore until spring.

Hull out of the water: no osmosis, and no mussels to scrape off in April.
It's when you do the jobs you can't do afloat: hull, propeller, drivetrain.
You don't sail until it's back in. And the lift and the time ashore cost money.

Option 2: leave it afloat

It stays in its berth.

It's at hand for the odd good Sunday.
You keep paying the berth, and someone has to check lines and batteries, especially after a storm.
If your area has a hard winter, you won't sail much.

Option 3: keep sailing, on another boat and further south

In January there are places where you can still sail. To give you an idea, the average January daytime high at Gran Canaria airport is 20.8 °C, at Málaga airport 16.8 °C, and in A Coruña 13.5 °C [1][2][3]. (Averages for 1981-2010.)

You can do this with The Seafolk. It's a club of owners who swap boats for a few days: you open yours to another member and sail theirs. It's not a charter and no money passes between you.

Your boat can sit ashore or in its berth meanwhile. And if yours is in the north, a February trip to the Canaries or southern Spain can come from another owner.

How it works

You sign up.
Knots are the club's internal credits. They can't be bought or sold. If you have a boat, you list it. And if you invite an owner you know, when they list theirs 1,000 Knots land for each of you.
With your Knots you pick a boat and dates, and propose the trip to the owner.
If they accept, you sail with them aboard or with a professional skipper.

What is open today

Staying aboard at the dock, without sailing, or sailing with a professional skipper. That's everything that can be done right now.
Bareboat, with nobody from the boat aboard, is closed for now.
Founding place free until 31 Dec 2026; from 1 Jan 2027, €90 a year for life. Cap of 1,000 founding boats.
To request a swap you need to have your own boat listed.
There are few boats so far. I can't promise you a free one in the Canaries in February. The more owners join, the more to choose from.

I want my founding place

Br, Ignacio López, founder — The Seafolk

Sources

[1] AEMET, standard climate values (1981-2010), Gran Canaria Airport: https://www.aemet.es/es/serviciosclimaticos/datosclimatol…

[2] AEMET, Málaga Airport: https://www.aemet.es/es/serviciosclimaticos/datosclimatol…

[3] AEMET, A Coruña: https://www.aemet.es/es/serviciosclimaticos/datosclimatol…