OSRS Sailing Best Tips and Tricks

Okay, so the Sailing skill just dropped in Old School RuneScape, and I’ve been digging up all the best tips and tricks to get a head start. I’m sharing everything I’ve found to help you master it!

This skill has a lot of details to manage, including understanding Salvaging, maximizing your progress, and choosing the right plugins.

Fear not, though, as we’ll tell you about all of that and more in this guide.

Sailing Best Tips and Tricks | OSRS

Get the Sailing Plugin

If you’re using the RuneLite client, we strongly suggest installing the Sailing plugin – it’s a small addition that really improves the experience.

To do this, click the wrench icon in the top right corner of your screen. Next, click the plug icon and find “Sailing” in the list. Finally, click ‘Install’.

This plugin streamlines all your sailing activities, making them easier and more effective. It helps you chart the seas, find speed-boosting whirlpools, and even advises you on when to adjust your sails – and that’s just the beginning!

Honestly, as someone who loves spending hours sailing, this plugin is a total game-changer. It just makes everything so much smoother and more enjoyable – definitely worth getting if you’re serious about life on the water!

We also suggest setting up a Watchdog alert for your Crystal Extractor once you have it. This will remind you when it’s finished processing, as it’s easy to forget otherwise.

Upgrade Often

As explained in our ship building and customization guide, you can upgrade your ship. Simply choose ‘Customize Boat’ when speaking with any Shipwright at a dock.

Focus on upgrading your ship’s Core Parts early in the game. These parts determine your ship’s key stats, like health and speed!

There are also some hidden advantages. For instance, improving your sails not only makes sailing better, but it also gives you more Sailing XP each time you adjust them. Upgrading them early on can help you level up a little faster.

Besides all that, you can add helpful Facilities to your boat. These unlock extra features, like being able to put down a Keg for temporary boosts or a Salvaging Hook to recover items from shipwrecks.

Simply put, regularly upgrading your ship will make your progress in the game much easier and smoother.

Make Use of Salvaging for AFK Training

As you continue to improve your Sailing skill, you can begin Salvaging once you reach Level 15 and equip a Salvaging Hook. This lets you collect resources from shipwrecks at sea, and it’s the best way to passively level up your Sailing skill while you’re away from the game.

Basically, you explore shipwrecks, gather treasure until your ship is full, and then head back to port. At the dock, you use a special station to sort through your haul and discover what you’ve found. Then you just repeat the process!

To make things even easier, you can eventually assign crew members with high Deckhandiness to handle this automatically. Also, once you reach Sailing Level 42, you can build a Salvaging Station on your ship, so you won’t need to use docks anymore.

Build a Whirlpool Surprise Keg

Once you reach Sailing Level 33, you’ll get a +2 boost to your Sailing skill. At this level, you’ll also unlock the “Tempor Tantrum” Barracuda Trial in The Storm Tempor.

Simply put, the Barracuda Trials are a race against the clock. You’ll sail around a specific course, gathering crates and other collectibles. If you complete the course within the target time, you’ll earn rewards and advance to the next rank.

For this guide, you’ll need to finish the first two levels of the Tempor Tantrum trial – specifically, the Swordfish and Shark levels. If you get stuck on the Barracuda Trials later, we have a helpful guide for those as well.

Once you defeat the Shark rank, you’ll receive two Whirlpool Surprise beers. Even better, you’ll then have unlimited Whirlpool Surprises available at the bar in The Pandemonium!

Head to the bar and buy 25 Whirlpool Surprises. Don’t drink them – you’ll need all 25 shortly.

Next, head to the ship customization area and construct a Keg. Once it’s built, simply place all 25 Whirlpool Surprises inside, and you’ll be finished!

This will increase your Sailing skill by 2, though it won’t fulfill every Sailing requirement. It’s still a useful benefit, though.

Plus, all of your crew members will gain at least 2 points in both Deckhandiness and Helmsmanship. That’s a pretty good bonus!

Learn How to Recover Your Boat

If you become separated from your boat, you can get it back in a few ways. The simplest is to talk to any Shipwright at a dock and choose the “Recover Boat” option.

If you pay a gold fee, the Shipwright can instantly move your boat to the dock. The cost will be higher for larger or more damaged boats, though.

Be careful! This action will completely empty your ship’s cargo hold. Don’t use it if you have important items on board and can return to your ship another way.

Okay, so besides all that, there’s another cool way to get your boat back! You can use Boat Bottles or the Summon Boat spell. They do still get rid of everything you’re carrying, which is a bummer, but they let you call your boat to pretty much any dock. That means you don’t even need to bother with a Shipwright anymore, which is awesome!

Turn Round Trips into One-Way Trips

Speaking of teleportation, there’s a nice trick to speed up your leveling when doing Courier Tasks.

Some delivery missions require you to travel to a different harbor to collect goods and then return with them.

These tasks are designed for back-and-forth travel, so they reward you with twice the usual experience. However, you can still get that extra experience without actually making the return trip.

First, you’ll need to completely empty your ship’s cargo hold. After that, teleport to the port where your cargo is located and speak with the Shipwright to have it recovered.

You’ve arrived at your destination incredibly quickly, cutting your travel time in half! Now, simply load the cargo and head back to the original port to finish the job faster than ever.

So that’s all the sailing advice I’ve got for you! I really hope these tips help make your time on the high seas in Old School RuneScape a lot easier and more enjoyable. Happy sailing!

2025-11-29 19:38