SailNet Community banner
  • SailNet is a forum community dedicated to Sailing enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about sailing, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, repairs, reviews, maintenance, and more!

Curiosity About These "Crew Wanted" Posts

10K views 49 replies 34 participants last post by  svzephyr44 
#1 ·
My curiosity is getting the best of me.

In reality, how many inexperienced people find crew positions from posting here (or any forum) and if you are a skipper, do you really look in these forums for inexperienced crew? If a potential crew member has never sailed or only sailed a few hours on a local lake, do you really want to take a chance that you get an inexperienced person offshore and they become violently sea sick? Or suddenly decide that sailing isn't for them and wig out?

I know you have to start somewhere, but it seems to me that cultivating a relationship over a few months would be a better bet than taking on total strangers (whether skipper or crew).

Just thinking out loud.
 
#2 ·
Personally, I would rather have an inexperienced crew that I get along with rather than a crew member who has experience and I don't like. You can always teach someone how to sail but you can't teach someone to get along with everyone else.
 
#3 ·
OK, I get that. But unless you get to know the person, which you really can't if you're leaving in say a week (and there have been requests for immediate crew needs), how do you know before you get to the point where you're ready to hide the body?

I guess it's just a chance you take if you go that route.
 
#4 ·
Well in short, you can't.
I look at crew lists locally for weekend racing. I will try to get a name and then I do my home work.
I don't know about the US but here in BC criminal records are public so that's a good place to start. Facebook is also a good place to get an impression of someone too. Google there name, you would be surprized at what comes up. As an employer I find a little bit of foot work can avoid problems down the road.
Or just call them fish bait.
 
#5 ·
I had tons of responses to my crew wanted posting. A few might have worked out if there'd been more time. Many were simply way off target. I imagine for someone who really wants to crew and who presents themselves well, it wouldn't be difficult to hook up with a boat. The feedback I've heard from skippers is a bit more mixed -- they seem to get plenty of responses (as I did) but not many are acceptable and those that seem to be are still hit or miss when it comes time to get on the boat.
 
#6 ·
I haven't used a board to fill out a crew roster, though I have gotten jobs from them before. I think for professionals it is a good tool to get your resume out, and certifications and experience ad easy to check out.

For the inexperienced, I doent really know. I usually start filling out a crew by looking for watch captains first, then ask if they have any friends they would like to bring along. In addition to the people on my list. I also keep a spreadsheet with past crew members, how they did, and contact info.

Even if I don't get enough people from my list, I can almost always get enough recomendations from people I trust to not worry about looking for crew off a message board. For short trips though I have thought about trying it just to offer someone new to sailing the oportunity.
 
#7 ·
I haven't gotten a real big response rate, but then there aren't many sailnet members in my local. I have made contact with a couple of locals though, and expect a sail with them when schedules and weather cooperate.

After meeting online a personal meeting in a neutral place like a local coffee shop allows you to get to know them a little before going out to sea.
 
#27 ·
Having plastic winch handles is an impediment to effectively dispatching either the skipper or a crew member. But maybe that's a good thing.

I've sailed with inexperienced crew before that I contacted through this board, but in general I'm underwhelmed by the dearth of responses or lack of follow-through.

I agree that getting along with someone also is best judged after you've been out there for a few days, when you've been hot and in the sun for quite awhile, i.e., when its already too late to call it quits. My wife, on the other hand, can tell within seconds what it takes me days to find out about people being compatible or not.
 
#9 ·
do you really want to take a chance that you get an inexperienced person offshore and they become violently sea sick? Or suddenly decide that sailing isn't for them and wig out?
I once had both, at the same time, from supposed experienced sailors so maybe someone willing to admit to inexperience might be just as reliable. The ex yacht club commodore I'd known for years got deathly sick, and his experienced friend was not much help when we got hit by a little gale, they hadn't ever been caught in a nasty way at sea before.
When you tell people "We ain't gonna die but it's gonna be real uncomfortable for a day or so" some will believe you, some will believe you in a few hours and some never will.
 
#11 ·
The ex yacht club commodore I'd known for years got deathly sick, and his experienced friend was not much help when we got hit by a little gale, they hadn't ever been caught in a nasty way at sea before.
"I love to sit around the yacht club bar..."
 
#10 ·
Meh,

Tracy Edwards (first female Whitbread skipper) was notorious for getting sea sick.

Ian Walker (Abu Dhabi Open 70 skipper) gets sea sick.

The question is does it incapacitate you, or do you just push through it anyway. Some crew get a little quezy and refuse to do anything from there on out, others just puke from the rail and get on with it.

This is why I think it is so important to know people personally before setting off on a long trip. The longer, the more I want to know them ahead of time.
 
#12 ·
I've been walk on crew and I've taken on walk on crew from internet postings though they were venues targeted closer to where I was sailing at the time.

As far as I know, my wife and I were considered "good crew" or at least they kept asking us back for a couple of years.

As an owner I took 3 unknown quantities on a 70 mile race last year to fill out a crew of 7. Two came with experience, one was a total newbie. The two experienced guys were outstanding and the newbie got scared after the sun went down, got seasick and was total dead weight. I don't fault him though, it was my bad judgement to choose him (friend of one of the other crew) over other experienced folks that responded.

I probably ruined that guy for sailing where he might have been a convert if I'd taken him for a day sail. In my defense, the last time the same guy asked me if his friend could come for sail he brought a stunning 6'2" girl from Finland that could be a model, and she turned out to be great crew on a four day jaunt around the Chesapeake.
 
#13 ·
Donna,
I'd not likely take an inexperienced/unknown crew offshore without at least a couple of inshore sails or coastal passages of no more than a days duration. Seems to me to be way too many possibilities for conflict.

Anyone who has not done at least a couple off coastal passages needs to do so before going offshore if only to know how their body will react. In my case e.g. I am not prone to sea sickness except that if I head out on an empty stomach then I'm in trouble. Ergo, I know to eat a good breakfast before a passage. These are things you learn as you go on.
 
#14 ·
just looking to see what makes good crew ? The ability to have free time off from work I think is key. How many crew members can just sail around for days? What type of stranger would you pick? Most of you said you need to meet on land then build up by a day sail. does it help alot to have asa class and what level is enough? Thanks LOU new guy.... but now new with asa101
 
#15 ·
I have found two offshore crew spots here, one 1000nm from USVI to Bermuda, and the other a 3000nm Atlantic crossing. I did whatever homework I could on both before signing on. In one case I flew 800miles to meet the skipper and inspect the boat, and he had a chance to check me out as well. You are are putting your safety and sanity on the line with respect to both boat and skipper, so it is about doing your best minimizing risk and maximizing your comfort level.

In the end, I would not have traded either experience, but there are lots of horror stories too. Oh, and one crew member on the longer trip was sick for 17 days...so the surprises can go both ways.
 
#17 ·
I had done a bit of day sailing, completed three classes with U.S. Sailing and a charter in the Grenadines before responding to my first crew wanted post. I wanted to insure that I was at least a minimal asset rather than a liability. An email followed up with a phone call landed me the ride, which I've since used as a springboard for several other offshore deliveries.

One USCG licensed master I've sailed with said his success rate with website-recruited crew members has been about one in ten -- I assume I'm in the minority since I've now made two 1,500 NM deliveries with him. I don't exaggerate my experience, make it clear up front that I'm there to learn and subscribe to the theory of "Your boat, your rules."

Posting "crew available" notices, however, doesn't seem to work very well unless one can start the post off with the something like, "Large-breasted female with low moral standards seeks..." :D
 
#18 ·
This is a good discussion, thanks. A few times a week someone with little to no experience pops into the chat looking for crew positions so we direct him/her to post in the forum but I always think "Right. Good luck with that."

I have been offered crew positions based on my being active in Sailnet and meeting the captain (for unrelated reasons) before the positions were offered. I also may crew on the ARC Europe Rally next year but that's with someone I know from the Coast Guard. But, in both cases, I am a known entity. I was curious how much of a chance Joe/Josephina Doe off the street so to speak has in finding a berth on a boat.

The other semi-trend i see are people wanting to crew one way from the US to Europe as a means of inexpensive passage. Creative I suppose.
 
#19 ·
Like others here, I've had crew and been crew, with mixed results. I wouldn't take anyone offshore without experience, or without extensive interviews. I'm not so worried about seasickness as judgement. The duty as lookout is most important at sea, I want them to be able to tell whether a tanker will cross ahead, astern, or amidships. I would take almost anyone on a daysail, or alongshore trip with a chance to get off.
When I brought WS home from Florida, two of the crew were new to me. I interviewed both, and they spent a week helping prepare the boat. They were great, and I would sail with them anywhere.
 
#48 ·
The duty as lookout is most important at sea, I want them to be able to tell whether a tanker will cross ahead, astern, or amidships.
Many captains have standing orders that if you see anything wake me up.
Solves the above problem.
 
#21 ·
I have responded to a few crewing opportunities that have been posted and have been offered a place on every one though I could not do all of them (still lamenting not being able to do last year’s fastnet due to a work commitment). My experiences have not been all that great with all the crew jumping ship on my first ride due to the personality and incompetence of the skipper. On that one I did complete the time element I committed to but we didn’t make the distance I had planned on.

On the other one the skipper was competent but wanted the crew to subsidise his cruising and dining. On one of his later legs 2 of his crew asked and were off loaded to a passing container ship. Don’t know any further details but something had to have been going on.

I have listed once on a site as crew available for racing and quickly got a call and have been racing on that boat for 2 years. This has also led to crewing on another boat when the other is not racing.
 
#22 · (Edited)
I've crewed twice from this site...with mixed results.
The first trip was from charleston sc to conn. the captain/owner had his act together until the wind quit blowing. As his schedule went to sh*t, so did he. We began doing the icw day and night. Traveling the icw at night is not safe. Doing it in a 6' draft boat is stupid. Needless to say we went aground at approx 2am. His plan was to throw the anchor and manually pull ourselves off. Anchor was 37# with 50 ft. chain. Second stupid.... After about an hour at full throttle we worked off the mud. The captain had made a mess on the deck from throwing the anchor and pulling up mud. He told me to clean the deck while he went back to bed....third and final stupid.
The next trip went well. The boat owner/captain had just purchased the boat and wanted to move it from st. Augustine, to Naples fla. we had a few snafus, but it was a good trip.
Lesson learned....plan "A" quickly and surly turns to plan "B". Everything that wasn't checked breaks, and half of the things that you believe to be good, are not. Flexibility is a must. Don't count on the boat to be properly equipped. And the most important is that being a boat owner is sometimes their only skill.
Still....I love it.
 
#23 ·
Donna,

Is "offshore" the overriding criteria here, or is any kind of sailing ok?

I've taken several Sailnet newbs sailing to help decide if sailing is something they want to pursue. Some of them pick it up quickly, some don't. I'm trying to contribute, and to "grow the sport".

I currently have a Sailnetter as part of my regular racing crew. He is newish, but not totally green to sailing, and he's doing an awesome job. I won't "out" him though. I'll leave it to him to speak up if he wants to.

Bottom line:
I've been sailing with plenty of people from Sailnet. Most of those sails, be they day sails, beer can racing, or distance racing have been successful. I have no horror stories to tell you.

Hope that helps.
 
#24 ·
Donna,

Is "offshore" the overriding criteria here, or is any kind of sailing ok?
Offshore or coastal. I'm not so curious about the people who want to hitch a ride on a day sail or participate in races on OPBs, I get that and I suggest it frequently. I'm more curious about the people who want to go distances. Sometimes it seems like they want the adventure more than to learn how to sail. Or they just want free passage. Which is fine, don't get me wrong, but if I was a skipper I'd be wary of someone focusing more on the emotions/adventure than the task at hand. If that makes any sense.
 
#25 · (Edited)
Long time past (even before internet) the method of finding a berth was to go where the boats are. For me ,and dozens of others every day ,that meant walking the docks and talking /asking meeting with skippers. Offers to help with maintenance allowed you to strut your stuff. This was important as others were offering to pay and I'd been broke since Istanbul All over the Med ,across and Caribe to Halifax ,I came back to BC to get my own boat.Now I'm on the lookout for that kind of crew, but they keep tripping on their jeans and the nose rings catch on the ratlines.I hope I' not reduced to searching some kind of sailing forum. I mean, what kind of real sailor type would spend their time sitting at a computer searching for reality ?.
 
#26 ·
"Walking the docks", is not possible at many marinas...at least, not here in the U.S.
We no longer use the telegraph, or smoke signals. I too like "the good old days", but realize time has changed, as has the way we communicate. As for "real sailors", they too have gone the way of the telegraph. We all are but amateurs.
 
#29 ·
During my delivery days, there was no Internet. I had to go through a crew service. Back then there were many in south Florida. I imagine a few are still around, but I digress.

The crew service was only interested in their fee. They sent me guys who have never been on a sailboat and others with minimal experience. I had one guy jump ship after we went down the Intracoastal from the Chesapeake to Beaufort. The next hop was on the ocean to Florida and he wanted no part of it. Another crew was scared to death when we left Key Largo and hit 6 to 9 foot seas. The trip ended with him throwing up blood. I had to have the coast guard meet us to look at him. I thought he would die.

The point is - I'm sure a lot of inexperienced people get rides. Boat owners don't want to pay for crew or at the very least pay travel and food expenses, so they get what they pay for. With a little luck, the weather stays good, the inexperienced crew doesn't freak out, and you make it to port okay.

That reminds me of the 48 year old "sailor" who said he could not stand watch because he was too scared. I was at the helm for over 20 hours while he was in the fetal position crying in the cabin just because we were in a storm with 30 knot winds, but I digress again.
 
#31 ·
Feel free to use at will, I thought it to be just personal experience but I see now it's a common shared one.:)
That reminds me of the 48 year old "sailor" who said he could not stand watch because he was too scared. I was at the helm for over 20 hours while he was in the fetal position crying in the cabin just because we were in a storm with 30 knot winds, but I digress again
Exactly, I was so tired I was hallucinating, steering by the wind gauge, only I was seeing it as a piece of pie, I'd wake at the realization that the piece of pie was getting too small or too big.
I'd had 3 experienced crew try to make that trip but none could free up the time, and that's the rub. People that you know have the skills and abilities for all conditions don't have the time or inclination to do a 500 mile delivery run. And 99% of the time you don't need the skills of a circumnavigator, just the ability to stand an uneventful watch. And obey the primary directive: Don't hit nothing and don't let anything hit us.
 
#32 · (Edited)
I volunteer to crew frequently. I sailed with one skipper here on sailnet on several races including an overnight race last year. He is a very knowledgable sailor, a great guy, and has a terrific family.

I have gotten my blue water experience through a website called Offshore Passage Opportunity. I think I pay $200 a year for membership. I offer to crew for free because I love to do it and I want more sailing experience. The site periodically (at least once a week) sends out notices of owners and delivery skippers looking for crew. The notice provides the estimated dates and times for departure and arrival, as well as the the type of experience required of the crew. It gives information about the boat and its equipment. If the skipper is known to the website you will receive information about the skipper.

Typically, the crew pays to get to and from the boat, but all "on-boat" expenses are paid for by the skipper, i.e. food, mooring fees, customs, etc. Though I have had several professional captains offer to pay for the transportation to and from the boat.

I have made almost a dozen passages and have only come across one captain with questionable sailing skills (though the boat had all the safety equiptment and electronics available) and one who was completely reckless. Luckily the reckless one passed me on to a sailing friend of his who was a terrific sailor as he had extra crew. Coincidentally or not, the reckless skipper also asked crew to contribute to docking fees and food.

When I apply for a crew position, I send my resume and references so the skipper knows what he is getting. And once you crew for someone, they get to know you and you know them. If the skipper likes you, he or she will contact you when making another delivery before sending out a general post, so both parties knows what they are getting into. But when sailing with somebody for the first time and is somewhat of a crapshoot for both parties. You try to find out as much as you can about the crew/skipper and the boat then step off the ledge. But life is full of risks; you just have to try to manage it as best you can.
 
#33 ·
I am a crew and i caught jobs on forum already, i never been sea sick!!
People will trut a crew because what?? with a resume okay but the most important are the Certificates and The References of course...
And if you dont want to Pay a crew dont expect him to be the best!!
when you pay a crew with good references and certificates...well most of the time it goes well!! and forum is free not a crew placement!!
Thats all from me!!
And if you need a crew!! let me know Djesxm@gmail.com!!
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top