How to Start the Sailing Skill in Old School Runescape

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After over 20 years of being one of the most engaging MMOs of all time, Old School RuneScape has finally launched its 24th skill in almost as many years: Sailing. You are now given the reins as captain of your own ship to traverse the waters of Gielinor. Like most other skills in the game, Sailing is locked behind a quest that teaches you what’s what to send you on a path down what will eventually become a membership purchase.

Where to Start Sailing in Old School RuneScape

How to Start the Sailing Skill in Old School Runescape

A quest titled Pandemonium gets the gears going for the Sailing skill in Old School RuneScape. You can acquire the quest by speaking to both Will and Anne on the docks of Port Sarim. You do have to be a member to get started, and you have to be in a member world. You’ll be asked to do both those things if you haven’t already.

The quest then splits into three parts:

A Push Overboard

The quest starts with Will and Anne teaching you how to sail to help them on a scavenging journey. You’ll be instructed to take their ship to a shipwreck, as well as learn how to use the sails along the way. On arrival, you’ll be taught how to use the salvaging hook before finally being pushed off the boat in a fit of betrayal.

Welcome to the Pandemonium

After the cutscene of Anne pushing you off the ship, you’ll awaken at the Pandemonium pub, speaking with Squawking Steve Beanie. After the conversation, you’ll need to talk with him again to continue the quest. He’ll ask you to speak with Ribs, a man wearing red in the same room, to find Will and Anne’s whereabouts, who will instead tell you the tale of Barnaby Barnacle.

Speak with Steve again after this, and he’ll mention that someone named Old Grog can tell you more. However, he’s left the island, meaning you’ll need a boat to go find him yourself.

Collect That Cargo

Outside the pub, walking on one of the ships, you will find a shipmate named Junior Jim. Speaking with him will have you switch the gold cup you salvaged earlier with Will and Anne for a raft. You’ll be transported to a new area where you’ll learn how to build your own boat and its accessories. These are those instructions:

Grab a saw from one of the nearby boxes.
Head over to a nearby gangplank.
Select the facility hotspot and build a Cargo Hold.
Jump off the gangplank and return to Junior Jim.

You’ll then need to use your new raft to sail to the Port of Sarim and collect cargo from the Ledger Table there. This would be the very same location you were when speaking with Will and Anne earlier.

When picking up the cargo, make sure you’ve unequipped any weapons and shields. Once you have the cargo in hand, return to the gangplank and add it to the Cargo Hold you built on your ship. When you reach Pandemonium, remove the cargo you placed in your Cargo Hold before disembarking.

Once you do, take the cargo over to the Ledger Table here and speak to Junior Jim again. You’ll then be notified that he’s the one you can talk with whenever you want to build boats and boat accessories. After that, speak with Steve again, who will introduce you to Anne and Will, ending the quest.

As a reward, you’ll have earned:

One quest point.
Access to the sailing skill.
Access to the Pandemonium.
A raft.
300 Sailing XP
25 Sawmill coupons.

How to Sail in Old School RuneScape

To sail, there are a few different things to learn.

Sailing.
- To sail, you need to man your ship by selecting the helm of the ship. Once your hand is on the helm, select your sail to begin movement. You’ll then click on the map or in the direction you’d like to move.
Trimming the Sails.
- When the winds pick up, you’ll get a notification in the chat box as well as an animation of wind in your sails. Click on your sails to go faster. You are unable to make turns when you are trimming the sails, though it stops on its own.
Salvaging.
- To salvage items from shipwrecks, you’ll need to have a salvaging hook built on your ship. Then, once you’re over a shipwreck area, which is usually marked by a sunken ship lookout point in the water, click the salvage hook to sink it and search for treasures.