Pick your lane first
Sailing does not have one best method. It has three good ones that suit different moods, plus two that pay in loot or Fishing xp:
- Barracuda Trials are the fastest xp from 30 onwards and ask for full attention.
- Courier tasks carry cargo between ports and are relaxed but still active, with very strong rates from 76.
- Shipwreck salvaging is the AFK option once you have crewmates working the hooks.
- Bounty tasks and deep sea trawling are for loot and Fishing xp more than raw Sailing levels.
Most players mix them: trials when they want levels, salvaging when they are half watching something else.
Levels 1 to 30: quests, couriers and charting
Early Sailing is slow whatever you do, so lean on quests. Pandemonium gives you a raft and the basics. From there, take courier tasks from the notice boards at Port Sarim and Pandemonium (Musa Point opens at 10, and you can hold two tasks from 7) and chart as you travel. Trimming sails whenever a gust appears is free xp, about 10.5 per trim on the raft and more on better boats.
- 1 to 4: Pandemonium.
- 4 to 12: couriers plus generic and spyglass charting.
- 12 to 14: Prying Times, which adds crowbar charting.
- 14 to 22: more couriers and charting. The skiff arrives at 15.
- 22 to 24: Current Affairs, which adds current duck charting.
- 24 to 30: couriers and charting until the first trial opens.
Charting is worth finishing at some point even if you prefer other methods: all the quests plus every chart in the fully chartable seas add up to 107,755 xp, which alone would take a fresh account to level 50.
| Quest | Sailing level | Sailing xp | Other needs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pandemonium | none | 300 | none, start here |
| Prying Times | 12 | 800 | 30 Smithing |
| Current Affairs | 22 | 1,400 | 10 Fishing |
| Crab Quest | 40 | 10,000 | 30 Fishing |
| Troubled Tortugans | 45 | 10,000 | 48 Construction, 34 Crafting, 45 Hunter, 51 Slayer, 40 Woodcutting |
| The Red Reef | 52 | 15,000 | 48 Smithing |
| Fallen From Grace | 62 | 12,500 | 60 Crafting, 53 Mining, 47 Runecraft |
Troubled Tortugans is the awkward one because of its spread of requirements, but it opens the Great Conch, the Summer Shore courier route, camphor trees and a better granite spot, so plan your other skills around it.
The fast route: Barracuda Trials
Each trial is a timed course where you steer through obstacles and pick up lost supplies on the way. Every trial has three ranks, and your first completion of each rank pays bonus xp and opens the next one. Push for Shark and Marlin as soon as you can: the gap between ranks is where the xp is.
| Trial | Level | Swordfish rank | Shark rank | Marlin rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Tempor Tantrum | 30 | 19,342 xp/h | 21,938 xp/h | 24,519 xp/h |
| The Jubbly Jive | 55 | 64,746 xp/h | 80,905 xp/h | 88,923 xp/h |
| The Gwenith Glide | 72 | 113,538 xp/h | 144,543 xp/h | 184,369 xp/h |
Later on, a crystal extractor (73 Sailing, 67 Construction) adds 250 xp per harvest on top of whatever you are doing, around 10,000 an hour in practice, and a rosewood hull at 93 Sailing and 84 Construction makes your laps roughly 15% faster.
The relaxed route: courier tasks
Couriers are the steady middle ground. They pay xp plus a loot sack per delivery, with a fifth of sacks holding supplies instead of coins, and each sack also has a separate roll for shark paint. Long routes with stacked tasks are where they shine:
| Route | Level | XP per hour | Needs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summer Shore | from 45 | about 20,000 | Troubled Tortugans |
| Rellekka | 62 | about 66,000, about 99,000 from 65 | Etceteria tasks at 65 |
| Prifddinas | 70 | about 71,000 to 77,000 | Song of the Elves |
| Lunar Isle | 76 | about 130,000 to 160,000 | Five task slots at 84 help |
Task slots go up to three at 28, four at 56 and five at 84. A teleport focus on your boat is optional, but it trims the trip back to the start of the Rellekka and Lunar Isle loops.
The AFK route: shipwreck salvaging
Salvaging opens at 15 but stays slow until 42, when the salvaging station schematic from Chinchompa Island (and 34 Construction) lets you process salvage on board. From there, a sloop (50) with two hooks and a crewmate with high deckhandiness can run for long stretches with little input.
| Wreck | Level | Typical setup | XP per hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small | 15 | Bronze or iron hook | 2,000 to 3,200 |
| Barracuda | 35 | Mithril hook | 12,500 to 14,500 |
| Large | 53 | Two mithril or adamant hooks | 24,000 to 30,000 |
| Pirate | 64 | Two adamant hooks | 44,000 to 47,000 |
| Mercenary | 73 | Two rune hooks | 65,000 to 70,000 |
| Merchant | 87 | Two dragon hooks | 80,000 to 95,000 |
These rates assume one crewmate with deckhandiness 4 and you salvaging actively; the crystal extractor adds a little more. Jobless Jim (40) and Ex-Captain Siad (50) have deckhandiness 3, Cabin Boy Jenkins (60) and Jolly Jim (85) have the maximum of 4. Crewmates only earn part of the xp a player would, between 10% and 40%, but they keep going while you sort the hold.
For loot and Fishing: bounty tasks and trawling
Bounty tasks start at 30, with every task available by 80. They are boat combat against sea creatures, and the higher-level assignments pay noticeably better. The bronze cannon, your first weapon for it, arrives at 28 and needs 21 Construction. Our Sailing money makers list shows which Sailing methods pay best at current prices.
Deep sea trawling trains Sailing and Fishing at once. You need a rope net at 56, linen at 65 or cotton at 84, plus the Fishing level for each shoal (giant krill 69, haddock 73, halibut 83, bluefin 87). Two cotton nets on halibut or bluefin give around 57,000 to 60,000 Sailing xp an hour alongside 34,000 to 43,000 Fishing xp, which makes it attractive if Fishing training is also on your list.
Boats and facilities that change your rates
You start on a raft, get the skiff at 15 and the sloop at 50. Most boat upgrades need both Sailing and Construction, so Construction quietly becomes a Sailing skill: the salvaging station needs 34, the crystal extractor 67 and the rosewood hull 84. If your Construction is low, our Construction training guide gets you there quickly with planks.
What Sailing opens in other skills
- Mining: rubium rocks in the Charred Dungeon at 60 Sailing and lead rocks in the Deepfin Mine at 67. See the Mining guide for rates.
- Woodcutting: camphor trees at 45 with part of Troubled Tortugans, ironwood at 72 and rosewood on Drumstick Isle at 79.
- Smithing: the ancient furnace in the Grimstone Dungeon at 87 Sailing halves the time to make cannonballs.
Those unlocks are a big reason to keep Sailing level with your other skills rather than leaving it for last.