Reaching level 72 Sailing in Old School RuneScape unlocks one of the most important progression points in the skill: Gwenneth Glide. From here, you gain access to new routes, the Crystal Extractor upgrade, and efficient runs that drastically speed up your levelling-all if you set up your boat, plugins, and routes correctly. This guide walks you through every step, including boat upgrades, portal navigation, recommended plugins, and lap-by-lap execution for Swordfish, Shark, and Marlin, helping you progress smoothly without wasting resources you might prefer to reserve for other goals, such as when you eventually decide to buy OSRS gold for gearing or skilling convenience.

1. Preparing Your Ship at Level 72

Once you hit 72 Sailing, your first priority is upgrading your helm to Adamant. Most of your other components should already be maxed from earlier Jobly Jive runs, but confirm the following:

· Camper Hull

· Adamant Keel

· Camper Mast & Canvas

· Adamant Helm

· Wind Catcher properly positioned

· Open slot ready for the Crystal Extractor

If you previously placed the wind catcher incorrectly, remove and rebuild it. The Crystal Extractor cannot be built until after you complete the Shark tier of Gwenneth Glide, since it requires the Heart of Ethel. For now, just open the slot and continue.

2. How to Access Gwenneth Glide Efficiently

Instead of travelling through Prifddinas, the fastest access point is Port Tyras.

· Sail out from the Port Tyras jetty.

· Face away from the pier and locate the green portal directly offshore.

· Enter the portal to skip the Prifddinas maze entirely.

· From here, simply sail southeast to reach the Gwenneth Glide starting point.

This shortcut reduces travel time to seconds and eliminates maze navigation.

3. Essential Plugins and How to Configure Them

Your efficiency on every run hinges on proper plugin setup. Here are the three must-have tools:

Ground Markers

· Enable Show Import/Export/Clear Options.

· Import the provided tile markers via World Map → Import Ground Markers.

· Add or remove your own by shift-right-clicking tiles.

· Turn on Barracuda Trials: Highlight Crates.

· Turn off Highlight Trimable Sails (bug-prone).

Menu Entry Swapper

This prevents accidental run-ending misclicks when breaking ice.

· Shift-right-click the helm.

· Swap the left-click option to Walk Here, preventing “Stop Navigating” from ever appearing as your left-click action.

Watchdog Plugin

This creates custom alerts based on chat messages.

Trim Sails Alert

· Type: Game Message

· Trigger phrase: “You feel a gust of wind.”

· Notification: Overlay + sound effect (SFX 1862)

Crystal Extractor Alert

· Trigger: “Your crystal extractor has harvested a crystal moat.”

· Sound effect: SFX 2225

· Overlay: “Extraction Time”

Wind Mode Expiring Alert

· Designed to warn you 4 seconds before wind expires.

· This keeps consistent speed buffs and is crucial for Marlin optimization.

4. Swordfish Route Overview

Swordfish is your introductory route. Key fundamentals:

· Clip crates and wind notes, don’t sail directly over them.

· Use wind notes instantly unless capped.

· Follow tile colors per lap: Red → Blue → Yellow.

· Give extra space to rocks-Swordfish has deceptively tight corners.

· Break ice with four quick clicks on the back of your boat.

A clean run clocks around 1:50.

5. Shark Route Overview

Shark is more demanding and introduces sharper angles, multiple ice patches, and four laps instead of three.

Key tips:

· Early micro-wiggles shave time while maintaining control.

· Only use boosts when your current wind expires.

· Rocks near the triple-crate sections are larger than they appear—turn later than you think.

· Triple-click ice immediately.

· Follow lap colors: Blue → Yellow → Red → Purple.

Even with mistakes, you should finish with 5–10 seconds spare, unlocking the Heart of Ethel and enabling the Crystal Extractor upgrade.

6. Marlin (Maron) Run Guide

Marlin is where your tile markers and alerts truly shine.

Important techniques:

· Use a boost immediately after the first crate.

· Follow tile prompts such as “Click northeast as you enter” to pre-turn through portals.

· Never harvest your crystal immediately-save moats for missed notes.

· Skip the “secret box” to keep the northern crate active, saving substantial time.

· Zig-zag through the final section and clip crates from the inside edge.

· Use boosts aggressively; multiple triple-boost clusters appear throughout the track.

A stable time is 6:03–6:10, with strong runners pushing into 5:55 territory.

Mastering these three trials with proper plugins, boat setup, and tile routes will dramatically speed up your Sailing progression. Stay boosted, avoid over-turning, and let your alerts guide your timing-your runs will smooth out quickly, especially if you’re focusing on efficient progression without wasting resources or time that could otherwise be spent earning or saving cheap OSRS gold along the way.