Northwest Explorations?

[Eli27]

I see they offer courses and classes. Anyone ever use them? I like the fact that they are using GBs. Wondering if i should make the trip? Maybe it will help me get my captains license. Also maybe it will take care of the insurance side if i know how to run a boat. Or maybe its a ripoff, dont know and thats why im here.

Anyway as always i thank you all

Eli

 

[Ken E.]

NWX is no ripoff. I keep my boat right next to their operation and they are well run and have good boats and employees. Yes, mostly GB's. You should call their office to inquire about instruction. Ask for Emolina, the office manager.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

I agree with Ken. Great folks.

 

[jwag956]

Have done their 3 day on the water course (with wife and 3 others). On a GB46. Their fleet is slowly getting less GBs. It was great - obviously with 5 on board just an introduction - but they were good about setting up good practices w.r.t. engine room checks, weather, currents etc.
We then chartered a 42 from them last march and hired a captain for 2.5 days - this was even better since it was just my wife and I and got into how to handle the 42 without trying to muscle it. Again - lots of good basic seamanship learning.

In between we purchased a GB 42. Having a boating resume is important for insurance - however just a couple courses, boating cards I don't think really matter. Basically - if you are moving up in length (we moved from 0 to 42 ) - you probably won't get a good deal (i.e. replacement value).

 

[Coppercove1]

I will give full marks to NW Explorations based on my experience this summer. They acquired the iconic BC business Cooper Yacht Charters in BC, I believe in 2021.

This summer while moored at Gorge Harbour, BC we were sideswiped by one of the Cooper charter fleet while accessing its berth. We suffered a 6 ft long, deep scratch to the gelcoat and a final gouge to underlying material. We had lots of witnesses and the charter captain was properly cooperative. It was a error and we have all made errors on occasion as boaters.

We called Cooper Yacht Charters that day and learned at that time they had become part of NW Explorations.

Following our eventual return to our home port, we were visited at our berth by a NW Explorations senior manager who offered to fix the damage, preferably in either Bellingham, WA or Sidney BC where they have access to specialized trades.

We agreed to make our way to Sidney as part of a Gulf Island cruise in September. While at Sidney we were offered first an open berth for one night then moved into their boathouse for three nights. They subcontracted the shipwright work to Blackline Marine, who did an impeccable job of colour matching, filling and finishing the repair. We were even lent a vehicle while staying at Sidney.

All in all, an impressive response from NW Explorations. Thanks to their Sidney, BC based staff in particular for continuing the Cooper tradition of professional support and services to the boating community!

 

[huruta]

I did their 3-day women's course last May. There for 4 learners and a woman captain and it was great. It was on a GB, 36? Not sure. I really enjoyed the captain and the course and it was a nice environment, good food and I learned a lot. I was entirely new to boating. We now have a Nordic Tug 32. I've since had four instructors and 2 were great - she was one of them. Highly recommend the course and the company.

 

[gsholz]

Very good experience with them over the last few years. Bought a bought through them, kept it in Sidney with them and then sold it in Bellingham through them. They made it all work despite the Covid border closure.

 

[Eli27]

I did their 3-day women's course last May. There for 4 learners and a woman captain and it was great. It was on a GB, 36? Not sure. I really enjoyed the captain and the course and it was a nice environment, good food and I learned a lot. I was entirely new to boating. We now have a Nordic Tug 32. I've since had four instructors and 2 were great - she was one of them. Highly recommend the course and the company.

Im thinking i might take a lesson up there before i officially commit to buying. It seems everyday that passes more and more are coming up for sale and prices starting to come down. Dont mind spending 80-100k but if i wait some and take a lesson or 2 it might look like the lessons will be free.

Eli

 

[Eli27]

Does anyone know if the lessons they provide count towards insurance? I know some are asking for a skipper trainer.

Eli

 

[NWboater2]

Hi again Eli. I’m the guy about to buy a GB too- will post a proper thread on that, I’m pretty excited!
I have chartered with NWE half a dozen times or more. Mosty GBs plus a sabre.
Top notch outfit. When you charter say a GB 36 from them they’ll take you out for 60 or 90 minutes and teach you the boat and how to dock it. they also can do a day or two with you as a paid capt, same drill, but more immersive. Then you get to bareboat it yourself for the rest of the week. Haven’t done that but it might be a good plan

My insco was glad I guess about my chartering experience but they still want 20 more hours. But I think it would have been more if I had no charter or other time on a bigger boat. So yes it will count some. It will count for you too cuz it’s great training.
If you are thinking of coming out here the good news is a 36 is still a great boat for the mission. Some would say it’s better cruising than the loop too. And you can probably find a good boat here too. Bad news is it started raining today - first time in four months. Not the last. Good luck.

 

[Tator]

Hi again Eli. I’m the guy about to buy a GB too- will post a proper thread on that, I’m pretty excited!
I have chartered with NWE half a dozen times or more. Mosty GBs plus a sabre.
Top notch outfit. When you charter say a GB 36 from them they’ll take you out for 60 or 90 minutes and teach you the boat and how to dock it. they also can do a day or two with you as a paid capt, same drill, but more immersive. Then you get to bareboat it yourself for the rest of the week. Haven’t done that but it might be a good plan

My insco was glad I guess about my chartering experience but they still want 20 more hours. But I think it would have been more if I had no charter or other time on a bigger boat. So yes it will count some. It will count for you too cuz it’s great training.
If you are thinking of coming out here the good news is a 36 is still a great boat for the mission. Some would say it’s better cruising than the loop too. And you can probably find a good boat here too. Bad news is it started raining today - first time in four months. Not the last. Good luck.

GOOD NEWS is that it started raining today! Has been extremely dry with many forest fires. Good luck!
Tator

 

[huruta]

Does anyone know if the lessons they provide count towards insurance? I know some are asking for a skipper trainer.

Eli

It didn't seem like the 5 days (40 hours) of training I had before buying (3 with NW, 2 with a chartered boat) counted for much. I will required to do an additional 32 hours on top of this and the two online courses I had completed. I thought this experience, our awesome credit score and solid financial situation and no car accidents, etc. would minimize this cost but I was wrong. I was told we had too many accounts open (14, but 5 of these were our 1 mortgage that had been bought and traded from mortgage company to mortgage company and many others were closed accounts). So, I wouldn't count on pre-purchase training to help that much. Or maybe we just got unlucky - who knows.

And sure, was the training useful? Yes, but it would have been more useful had I not had to do it consecutively for 32 hours, with no independent learning time in between. It helped that the captain we had was very experienced with our boat and helped us fix minor things found on inspection. So, just be sure to budget for this. Cost was $90-$140 / hr.

 

[huruta]

Im thinking i might take a lesson up there before i officially commit to buying. It seems everyday that passes more and more are coming up for sale and prices starting to come down. Dont mind spending 80-100k but if i wait some and take a lesson or 2 it might look like the lessons will be free.

Eli

I think it's wise to both take a course and charter a boat. We did both. Before this, I took sailing classes and through that learned I'm not a sailing person (poor balance due to hearing loss plays a role). Anyway, the course/charter made us a lot more comfortable dropping $$$ on a boat.

 

[Humper]

Absolutely first class operation. Sarah or Emmelina will be your first point of contact. I just got thru with my third charter with them (58' Kady-Krogen). I they can't help you, they will find someone who can. Awesome outfit!

 

[DDW]

One complaint about them: If you are not with the flotilla, you may discover that they have soaked up all the resources in some of the small ports. We finally downloaded their itinerary to make sure we didn't end up in the same place. Not unique to NW, but a generic problem with sheep herding.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

One complaint about them: If you are not with the flotilla, you may discover that they have soaked up all the resources in some of the small ports. We finally downloaded their itinerary to make sure we didn't end up in the same place. Not unique to NW, but a generic problem with sheep herding.

Good point. There are at least 3 herds out there.

 

[tpbrady]

DDW,

Yes, when you see 6 or so boats in trail on AIS, it’s NW explorations with the herd. (First I’ve heard that term used that way.) I have spoken with them a couple of times and they are nice to know and well organized. My only gripe is if they beat me to Appleton Cove, the “flotilla commander always anchors in my favorite spot. But Appleton is plenty big so I have several alternates.

Tom