Crew Wanted: Captain Needed Port Townsend, WA to SF or San Diego

[cspott]

We are looking for a licensed captain with blue water experience to join us for the Coho Ho-Ho Rally from Port Townsend, WA to either San Francisco, CA or all the way to San Diego mid August this year.

Our crew consists of myself and my husband, we both have limited experience, and a friend with several years sailing experience. None of us have any blue water experience. We are looking for someone who doesn't mind teaching along the way.

We have a 2006 40' Fountaine Pajot catamaran. You will have a private cabin. We are open to having an additional crew member but you will have to share accommodations.

Please message me a price quote, resume/references and any other information you believe will be useful. Thank you!

[Jr. WOSH]

How is this coming along? I have worked as delivery crew and have contacts of multiple captains~would love to help out.
Susan

[exMaggieDrum]

I crewed with a couple doing the Coho HaHa a couple of years ago. I am not a licensed captain and only did it as unpaid crew. They were experienced lake sailors but had no offshore experience so they wanted someone who did. It was an interesting experience. I'm not sure I would go out offshore with an inexperienced crew again. Someone has to do night watches and hopefully they are very experienced. And someone has to be available during the day watches for the occasional "issue", like fishing boats in you way doing odd things, monitoring boat systems, setting courses, etc.

You certainly want to have some experience with your autopilot, chartplotter and radar, along with your radios, especially the SSB if you have one. Every SSB is different and it sure helps to know how to tune it, etc. An experienced captain should know the basics and may even know that particular radio. It's not a deal breaker but it lead to some interesting things on the CHH, which IMHO had some organizational issues for that year. Hopefully they have sorted that out.

My suggestion would be to get some more experience in some shorter cruises first. We circumnavigated Vancouver Island as a shakedown for the boat and us. It did not have any overnight legs though and we were never really truly offshore but it taught us a lot about the boat and how to best use her over an extended time away from marinas. It also gave us a lot more confidence for when we did the same thing you are doing.

Your best bet would probably be to ask the CHH organizers to guide you to someone if you still are going. (If you haven't already sorted this out.) And I would call some of the saliboat brokers in Seattle to see if they know of anyone. And put an ad in the 48 North mag.

Good luck. It will be an experience and you will learn a lot. And of course, you'll be in sunnier climes and probably headed for Mexico after. Fair winds.

[Jr. WOSH]

Ray McCormack is a captain I have worked with in the past~ he is very knowledgeable of all systems, sailing and race rules. He is a great teacher too. You can look him up at coastguardcaptain.com or go-sail.org a non-profit he started. Not sure of his schedule, but if you can get him he is worth it.

[JPA Cate]

Look for someone with catamaran experience.

[model 10]

This kind of ticks me off. Why the F do you want to do this? This is so utterly fake as to cause someone to upchuck. If you are trying to get a life, why don't you buy a boat in Cabo? Hell, wait for Shelter Bay. The place is full of boats for sale. Then you could learn to sail on your own.

[Schooner Chandlery]

Guy, that's harsh. Perhaps you are having a rough day. We all have our own reasons to do what we do and it is reasonable for someone with tons of Puget Sound experience to still be cautious about their first open ocean trip. The trip along the coast from Neah Bay all the way to the Channel Islands can be easy or very challenging.

Better to get that first ocean passage in your own country IMO if you can. I wish the OP the best for their trip. We love the west coast and wouldn't be keen to leave the PNW without having first gone north from there--and that's my only advice to the OP: you're in amazing cruising grounds and have even more amazing ones to the north BC and AK so why not gain your experience up there before leaving the area?

Fair winds


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[Jr. WOSH]

I am interested in joining you if there is room. I have done the Washington coast line multiple times and a recent hash weather blue water passage Hawaii to Seattle. Again, I would see if Ray McCormack is available his rates are reasonable, I volunteer for him often. He does have Cat experience as well. Contact him at coastguardcaptain.com
Either way,
I would like to do this race.