When you first sail your pontoon away from Tre’s camp, you’re already in motion, and all you have to do is point yourself toward land. But things can get a little confusing when you go to set sail on your own for the first time. There are several moving parts (literally) to manage at once, and if you’re not careful, you can end up stuck on shore.
Here’s everything you need to know to get around and avoid any mishaps while sailing in Tchia.
How to Sail in Tchia
There are three basic elements to sailing in Tchia – sailing, steering, and stopping – but there’s a little bit of juggling required to do it well. But follow these steps, and you’ll be navigating the archipelago like a pro in no time.
Raise the Anchor
On the rear-left corner of the pontoon, you’ll see a coil of rope. Press the Activate button to pull up the anchor before you start sailing. You won’t get very far if you forget!
Set Your Direction
Move over to the right-rear corner of the pontoon, where you’ll find the helm. Press the Activate button to take hold of the paddle and turn your boat in the direction of travel.
Be sure your course is clear of any sandbars, rocks, and other obstacles because you won’t be able to steer again until after the boat is in motion. Press the Activate button again to leave the helm.
Raise the Sail
Move to the front of the pontoon where you’ll see the sail. Press the Activate button to control the sail, then raise it until you reach your desired speed. If you’re traveling long distances over open water, you can crank it up as high as you want, but if you’re navigating the river, you’ll want to keep the speed around 50 percent or less to avoid crashing into walls and getting beached.
Press the Activate button again to let go of the sail.
Steering
Once you’re in motion, run back to the helm and press the Activate button to take it. Steer yourself to your destination, avoiding rocks, sandbars, buoys, bridges, and other obstacles along the way.
Stopping
When you’re nearing your destination and are ready to stop sailing, you have two options. First, you can leave the helm, run to the sail, and lower it to come to a stop. This is fine if you have a bit of room before you crash. Alternatively, if you want to stop on a dime, you can leave the helm and drop the anchor.
Using Boat Docks
Tchia can use boat docks to call her lost boat, give it a makeover, and even get around the game world in a hurry. Here’s how to use them.
Spawn Your Boat
Did you leave Tchia’s boat in the middle of the ocean or on the other side of the island? That’s okay – you can hail it from any boat dock (much like in Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey). To call Tchia’s boat, approach the hut near the dock and press Activate, then select Spawn Boat. The pontoon will magically appear at the dock!
Customize Your Boat
At the dock, select Customize Boat to open your boat cosmetics options. You can change the sail, flag, paint color, and more. To unlock more boat customizations, open Valuables Chests and purchase Cosmetics Boxes around the world.
Fast Travel
Looking to get to the other side of the game world quickly? Tchia can fast travel between unlocked boat docks. To fast travel, Activate the boat dock, select Fast Travel, and choose the dock you want to travel to. Tchia can only fast travel to boat docks that she’s unlocked, though, so you’ll have to get her there on foot (or boat, or wing, or fin) first.
What to Do if Your Boat Gets Stuck
You’re going to get stuck eventually, and possibly a lot, but that’s okay. Here are two ways to get out of trouble if you do find yourself beached or stuck on an obstacle.
Steer Out of Trouble
If you’re stuck on a buoy, rock, or sandbar, you can usually get unstuck by steering. Activate the helm, steer Tchia’s boat toward open, unobstructed water, then go back and raise the sail to get moving.
Respawn at a Boat Dock
If you’re so stuck steering out of trouble doesn’t work, all is not lost. Just go to the nearest boat dock and respawn Tchia’s boat there. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of distance between boat docks, so you might have to retrace your steps (er, waves?) for a long distance after spawning. But that’s a much better option than being stuck with no boat at all.
Now you’ve got all the info on how to sail in Tchia. And before you go, be sure to check out our other Tchia content in the links below.
