Working and Crewing on Boats

[Dan Dickison]

I would like to work/crew on a boat for year or so. Where and how do I start?

Dan Dickison responds:

One of the best steps toward getting yourself involved in the sport of sailing—whether it's cruising or racing—is to go online at SailNet and make use of the various options within our Members' Center. We have e-mail lists, message boards, personal pages, and chat sessions. If you take a look at these and post a message indicating your interests, you'll be doing the contemporary equivalent of sending a message in a bottle. You never know who will pick up on it, but it's worth a try. Just log on to the website (www.sailnet.com) and look under Members' Center on the left hand rail of the homepage.

Other than that you can run an ad in regional boating publications or check with charter brokers to see which, if any, of the crewed charter boats they work with have vacancies for crew. I hope this information helps you.