Crew Available: Fun, fit, friendly crew of 2 available for Mexico, Central America and Caribbean

[sarahjh22]

A couple in our mid 30's/40's looking to increase our sailing experience before purchasing our own sailboat. We both have some hands on experience on friends boats plus we recently completed ASA 101 certification.

We're currently traveling through Mexico but can be flexible to meet in other areas depending on the date. Between now and Jan 5th we are in Puerto Vallarta and are available for short trips from here. After Jan 5th we are open to longer trips from various ports.

You can see more about us at www.livedreamdiscover.com

[KStepman]

I am currently in the Virgin Islands and will be looking for volunteer, experienced blue water crew in April/May to sail with me back to US. If you are interested and available to cover your own expenses, tell me something about your experience, strengths and weaknesses.

[sarahjh22]

We don't yet have any blue water experience, just some local sails around Puget Sound and the ASA 101 course

[KStepman]

Originally Posted by sarahjh22

We don't yet have any blue water experience, just some local sails around Puget Sound and the ASA 101 course

Do you both know what sailing an ocean passage can be like. You may be able to leave in good weather, but after a few days out, all bets are off. You need to be prepared for anything, from storms at sea, to equipment failure, and many hundreds of miles of open ocean from the nearest safe harbor.

There are some essential skills to crew bluewater: having one and more makes you an asset: expertly trimmimg sails, especially in heavy weather; setting storm sails, to a Genneker; good helm especially in heavy weather; navigation and radio electronic skills; can you repair sails, rigging, engines, electrical, and electronics; can you follow orders and ask questions when they are not understood, or question them when need be? Are you safe at sea? Do you know how to be safe? Can you work as a team? Can you handle short shifts of hard work in emergencies, and force yourself to rest when you are off?

[sarahjh22]

Originally Posted by KStepman

Do you both know what sailing an ocean passage can be like. You may be able to leave in good weather, but after a few days out, all bets are off. You need to be prepared for anything, from storms at sea, to equipment failure, and many hundreds of miles of open ocean from the nearest safe harbor.

There are some essential skills to crew bluewater: having one and more makes you an asset: expertly trimmimg sails, especially in heavy weather; setting storm sails, to a Genneker; good helm especially in heavy weather; navigation and radio electronic skills; can you repair sails, rigging, engines, electrical, and electronics; can you follow orders and ask questions when they are not understood, or question them when need be? Are you safe at sea? Do you know how to be safe? Can you work as a team? Can you handle short shifts of hard work in emergencies, and force yourself to rest when you are off?

We have read numerous books, followed many cruising blogs and spoken with sailors with vast experience and knowledge so we have a pretty good idea of the possible and almost certain challenges. However as with anyone who does not have first hand experience of water sailing">blue water sailing we can't possibly know how we would handle it until we're actually out there. This is why we chose to gain some experience crewing prior to investing in our own boat. As to your other questions as I said in the previous reply we have only sailed locally so do not have much experience in heavy seas and weather for long periods of time. We can certainly answer yes to some of the other questions above however it sounds like you are looking for a much more experienced crew to help out on your journey.

But thanks for replying to our thread and we wish you safe travels!

[KStepman]

No. Not neccesarily. I wanted to be certain that it may be rough, and that you both know what that means from the outset. I also went into the type of skills useful on a long passage. It is your honest responses that I am seeking. On my return voyage I am seeking a fourth crew member for the passage, who should be an experience bluewater sailor, but not everyone need be, but everyone should add up to the sum of the specialized skills needed on board, and everyone should individually possess the ability to be safe, to stand watch alone (after training), and know their own limits. For example, one of my crew sailing down here did not seek rest when he could. Consequently, he was too tired to safely man the helm on his watch. He was showing classic signs of sleep deprivation, and twice endangered the boat because he was too tired, once steering the boat on an opposite heading, and once steering uncontrolled between gybes and tacks. Another crew member liked sailing on the edge, and broke things on the boat that we needed to complete the passage. He also thought himself as captain, and followed his own course when on watch, which took us 12 hours too far East, putting a large island in our way, then rather than sailing the new bearing, he thought it best to sail to the island before altering course to the West. He was too unskilled at navigation to realize that the East side of the island curved away from his course to the South. That by the time he saw the island, we would need to then both sail back to the West and back to the North against a lee shore. He also failed to realize that the Southeast side of this island extends for twenty miles of coral reefs between us and our destination. He never saw his limitations, or recognized that there can be only one captain aboard a boat. As a consequence, a 12 day voyage took 14, the binoculars were lost overboard, a our primary anchor was lost, but not before it punched four holes in our bow, just above the waterline.

He was unwilling to learn, and needed to be in charge. As a consequence, it nearly cost our lives, and made an long, hard passage that much longer and harder, and repairs far more extensive. My point is that your willingness to learn is an asset, far more than hubris.

If you don't mind the mutual learning process, I would like to learn what you do not yet know, and what you do. We all begin sometime. This was my first, extensive, bluewater passage, but I had already done thousands miles solo, off shore by hundreds of miles, and for days on end.

[braziliansailor]

hi. how are you doing? I am a brazilian mariner and sailor now in Venezuela looking for a sailboat to go on. I am a English, Spanish and Portuguese speaker. If you can meet me in Venezuela or Colombia we can deal on it.
my regards

Sergio