I used to crew, then moved... hmm..

Smaxey · #1 (**permalink**) 10-20-2010

I used to crew a weekly sailing race in North Myrtle Beach, SC and met a lot of great people, I've since moved to charleston, and while i have been occupied. I find myself itching to sail, with no boat, and no friend with a boat. does anyone recommend anything to a young guy with few resources and no boat to get into one in the charleston area? I'm a little shy about walking up to people who are getting underway with a case of beer at the marina

JeremyD6697 · #2 (**permalink**) 10-20-2010

Get in touch with the local clubs who host races. Find out of they have a crew board. Get in touch with the RC chair. Chances are they know what boats are looking for crew.

Smaxey · #3 (**permalink**) 10-20-2010

hmm. whats an RC chair? i figure your talking about achairman but what does it stand for?

Sabreman · #4 (**permalink**) 10-20-2010

Race Committee (RC)

Smaxey · #5 (**permalink**) 10-20-2010

Oh groovy, How did ya'll learn ? did you take classes, jump on other boats, read books ? so far i've been doing all three and they've been beneficial, but asa classes are a nice stack of cash i need to save for rent lol.

zz4gta · #6 (**permalink**) 10-20-2010

I've never taken an ASA class, and don't think I will unless they're required for a future race. I do sail on a lot of other boats, go to seminars, talk to sailmakers, and race as much as I can. This past season I was sometimes racing 3 times a week, and I'm 1.5 to 2.5 hours away from the Ches bay.

Don't be afraid to strike up a conversation. Sailing on race boats is about 90% word of mouth if you don't speak up, you don't get a ride. I got a ride back from Bermuda just talking to a guy at a seminar.

Don't over sell yourself, be honest about your abilities. If you think you're a rockstar and tell people you are one... well, you better be one. Nuff said.

Don't cancel on a skipper (for a better ride) if you've commited already. It takes a lot of time and money to get a program going, be competative and keep it going. Hickups like having crew bail at the last minute, REALLY leave a bad taste in your mouth. If people cancel on me or are a no show, they never get asked to come back. And I'll never recommend them to another skipper looking for crew. And that's all it takes, remember the above advice? "Word of mouth".

sailingdog · #7 (**permalink**) 10-20-2010

As ZZ points out... you can get a bad rep pretty quickly and the racing community in most areas is pretty tightly knit, so burning one boat is likely to have bad effects in a lot of places...

Smaxey · #8 (**permalink**) 10-20-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by zz4gta

I've never taken an ASA class, and don't think I will unless they're required for a future race. I do sail on a lot of other boats, go to seminars, talk to sailmakers, and race as much as I can. This past season I was sometimes racing 3 times a week, and I'm 1.5 to 2.5 hours away from the Ches bay.

Don't be afraid to strike up a conversation. Sailing on race boats is about 90% word of mouth if you don't speak up, you don't get a ride. I got a ride back from Bermuda just talking to a guy at a seminar.

Don't over sell yourself, be honest about your abilities. If you think you're a rockstar and tell people you are one... well, you better be one. Nuff said.

Don't cancel on a skipper (for a better ride) if you've commited already. It takes a lot of time and money to get a program going, be competative and keep it going. Hickups like having crew bail at the last minute, REALLY leave a bad taste in your mouth. If people cancel on me or are a no show, they never get asked to come back. And I'll never recommend them to another skipper looking for crew. And that's all it takes, remember the above advice? "Word of mouth".

Ooh. good points ZZ, i appreciate the time you took to put that out there. I'm interested in the ASA classes and certifications because i like pieces of paper, its a big deal in the IT industry.

I did belong to the local power squadron and had taken their public safety class. after the informative portion, there was a very grim individual who kept telling story after story about how someone drowned. It did its job, I'm very concious of what i dont know, and if i dont know something i definitely will ask for direction.

And yeah. flakes flake and are most likely flakey. I think of myself as a person with integrity, though you really cant hold it against somebody if something unexpected happens.

and that word of mouth, good old boy network kind of stuff is something that eludes me. I. AM. NOT. COOL. i'm not erkle or anything but i'm defintely a little out there when it comes to social occasions. i'll do what i can on that front.

Do ya'll recommend any good books? i have the one that calls you a dummy, those are always some of my favorite because of the casual read.

sailingdog · #9 (**permalink**) 10-20-2010

A good basic sailing primer to read is Dave Seidman's The Complete Sailor. About $16 at the local bookstore.

Smaxey · #10 (**permalink**) 10-20-2010

Oh great, i'll look that up thanks SD, i'm starting to see why people listen to you :P