Look at taking beginner's keelboat sailing courses and then have a look at your options...
Under an ownership scheme, the company charters your yacht for five and a half years (six seasons), and during this time you get a percentage of the charter income. You are of course also entitled to a number of weeks sailing each year - either on your own boat or on an equivalent one anywhere in the world, which includes the most popular cruising grounds in the world.
So why join the scheme? You can a) spend holidays sailing in Turkey and the Greek Islands, b) develop your sailing skills, c) explore the Med and decide where you want to base the boat long-term, and d) purchase the boat over time.
There are various ownership programmes. The basic economics are similar: the company charters the yacht and provides you with an income that roughly covers the repayments on an 80% marine mortgage on the yacht. The major difference is the number of days sailing (and the places you can go). Its important to decide on what you want before joining one of these programmes.
Sunsail and The Moorings give you sailing all around the world, but you are limited to two yacht manufacturers with charter company standard specifications. Top Yacht and the Sailtime schemes cater for single-location sailing (Turkey and the UK), but you can choose the specification and, with Top Yacht, you can choose the yacht manufacturer. Sailtime's programme, for example, is targeted at the typical UK sailing pattern - weekends, overnights and channel hopping.
Unlike a property mortgage, the monthly repayments on a loan are fixed, and any variation in interest rates results in either extending or shortening the repayment period. A fixed monthly repayment certainly helps budgeting, and over the period of the contract, income from chartering more or less funds the repayments. Costs for holidays, therefore, are air fares, provisioning and restaurants.
WHAT HAPPENS AT THE END OF THE CONTRACT?
A contract often has an additional week at the end of the contract to inspect the yacht before accepting her. Get any defects put right, apart from reasonable wear and tear.
A major concern is the condition of the boat. Do have surveys. It MAY save you a big bill and it WILL give you peace of mind. Be there during the survey. Follow the surveyor around, ask questions, take notes - unless you're already an expert, you'll learn a lot. Putting the boat in slings for an hour is half the price of a full haul-out - useful if she is going back in the water anyway.
Be systematic - walk the boat from bow to stern and try everything. You will probably be faced with a combination of repair jobs and missing inventory items. Therefore, don't plan to sail off into the sunset at the end of the week. There could be lots of boats going through'end of contract' at the end of the season - there will inevitably be a list ofjobs to be done over the winter.