Inshore Skipper · then yacht advisory · 2024
After Inshore — using FairHelm to buy a Baltic cruiser
Couple with coastal sailing goal; wanted training before spending six figures on a used HR.
We booked Inshore Skipper in Sweden before we ever placed an offer on a boat. That order mattered: we learned maintenance questions, mooring reality, and weather go/no-go while still renting.
After the course we used FairHelm's HR 36 model page, teak deck report, and listing review service to shortlist three boats. Sergei's survey mindset from the platform matched what our instructor preached — show me the invoices, not the polish.
The course did not make us experts. It made us dangerous enough to ask the right questions.
We bought an HR 36 in 2025 — still learning, still crewing with alumni friends. The certificate opened charter doors; the Mindhelm debrief habit keeps us honest at our own helm.
Composite account approved for publication. Names abbreviated for privacy.