Crew Available: some advice for a future adventurer

[brensim]

hello all. I need some SERIOUS advice.

i am new to this forum, and (excluding a basic maritime transport and distribution course) i have had ZERO experience within the sailing/cruising realm. none the less i am a lover of all things ocean and always will be, my life would not be the same without it.
that being said, i am looking for some advice. I have planned to undertake a world wide adventure at the beginning of 2017. departing from Australia, i plan on sailing the pacific islands (AS A CREW MEMBER) for my first act, although as previously mentioned i have no experience sailing and very little academic background within the maritime industry, so obviously i will hit the books. BUT, i wonder?
what is the best way to gain experience sailing and gaining sea time to prepare myself for this journey?
how can i gain enough sea going experience for boats to hire me?
And, how can i gain this experience while i am employed full time?
Will anyone hire me as a basic deckhand to scrub and clean without any experience?

[FamilyVan]

What is a maritime transport and distribution course? It sounds more like a logistical course for moving freight.

Not that that matters. A few ideas for getting you some limited experience. Racers at yacht clubs are frequently looking for unskilled crew or rail meat, so visiting a couple of your local yacht clubs and chatting up racers may get you some where.

I know little about Australia, but most coastal countries have a volunteer search and rescue organisation you can join, that's a good way to learn some skills. Usually no experience required.

Another option for very basic skills is crowing on hospitality cruise boat part time, they will always take people without experience, your learning will plateau quickly, but if you make pals with the captain or mate, they will likely be able to plug you into more advanced jobs.

Sent from my SGH-I547C using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Cheechako]

I second getting on as racing crew. You learn all the sailing techniques quickly.... in fact often in a panic!
changing sails
sail trim
reefing,
spinnakers
helmsmanship
jury rigging

[Steadman Uhlich]

Originally Posted by brensim

hello all. I need some SERIOUS advice.

i am new to this forum, and (excluding a basic maritime transport and distribution course) i have had ZERO experience within the sailing/cruising realm. none the less i am a lover of all things ocean and always will be, my life would not be the same without it.
that being said, i am looking for some advice. I have planned to undertake a world wide adventure at the beginning of 2017. departing from Australia, i plan on sailing the pacific islands (AS A CREW MEMBER) for my first act, although as previously mentioned i have no experience sailing and very little academic background within the maritime industry, so obviously i will hit the books. BUT, i wonder?
what is the best way to gain experience sailing and gaining sea time to prepare myself for this journey?
how can i gain enough sea going experience for boats to hire me?
And, how can i gain this experience while i am employed full time?
Will anyone hire me as a basic deckhand to scrub and clean without any experience?

Hello.

What follows is written in a friendly tone of voice and with the sole intent to help you with a POV or opinion. I do not mean to discourage you.

See the bolded points you made up above.

Short answers:

If you are a male, your chance of getting aboard a small cruising sailboat will be MUCH less than if you are a good looking, young, single female.

Unlikely anyone will PAY you or "hire" you, if you have no marketable skills or experience.

Few private small cruising yachts need anyone as crew to "scrub and clean."

You should get some time sailing on as many different boats and with as many different skippers as possible. This will teach you quickly that no two skippers or boats are the same. Better to learn this while you have a job and a secure place to live.

Strengthen your skills that people will want to have aboard their boat. You have a year. You could devote yourself to learning things people want or would like to have aboard as "free" labor:
"Diesel mechanic"
"Small engine mechanic"
"varnishing and wood refinishing"

On the low end of the spectrum of skills would be "plays guitar" or "open water scuba diver." Those are very common.

On the other hand, playing the banjo and Andean flute AND washboard, that would be different.

Or offer to pay the boat owner something as "expenses paid" by you, rather than them. In other words, you pay for your own food and transportation etc. This is something I think should not be done as crew (OK as paying passenger). But, people do it.

If you want to get paid or hired:

1. Go to a maritime school and get credentials
2. Go become an Able Bodied Seaman (takes some time)
3. Have a skill that is in demand.

[goldenananda]

Hi Future Cruiser

Yep it will be useful to get some experience by sailing on somebody else's boat. However, I think you ought to bite the bullet and take a one-week sailing course...they run less than $2000 in the States. Then you will also get certification which will help you with boat insurance down the road. You also need navigation and weather skills, not just what lines to winch in. The advice about diesel engine and outboard engine skills is right on.

When you do get some experience, then I suggest that you bite the bullet once again and take an offshore sailing course such as offered by John and Amanda Neal of Mahina Expeditions...they are advertised in most sailing magazines. I sailed with them from Samoa to Tonga to Fiji and learned a lot about world cruising....safely. They each have more than 300,000 sailing miles under their keels and have been in every situation you can imagine...they have taught more than 1000 people the ropes of world cruising and will give you the knowledge and confidence that you can do it safely. They also sail near Australia once a year. There are other excellent world cruising instructors. It is worth the expense.

Best wishes
Now in Grenada waiting out the hurricane season and heading to Europe next Spring.

[hamburking]

Visit your local yacht club on race night and offer to crew.
Put up a note to that affect at the club, or any nearby clubs.

Make up a business card with your contact info, and a short statement that you are looking for opportunities to sail, crew, and learn. I would relish receiving such a card.

[laika]

You said you were looking for SERIOUS advice but instead of jumping through a bunch of hoops now, you could round up some friends, buy a pretty little number, and go have an adventure

if you just go do it, you'll likely learn fast what interests you most about the lifestyle and what paths you might like to pursue to make it more sustainable.

Or you could go walk docks and make friends with folks who would potentially take you on as crew.

[brensim]

Originally Posted by hamburking

Visit your local yacht club on race night and offer to crew.
Put up a note to that affect at the club, or any nearby clubs.

Make up a business card with your contact info, and a short statement that you are looking for opportunities to sail, crew, and learn. I would relish receiving such a card.

it seems to be the most common advice that i have been given, therefor i think i would be silly not to give it a try.
thankyou very much for your advice.

brendan

[brensim]

Originally Posted by laika

You said you were looking for SERIOUS advice but instead of jumping through a bunch of hoops now, you could round up some friends, buy a pretty little number, and go have an adventure

if you just go do it, you'll likely learn fast what interests you most about the lifestyle and what paths you might like to pursue to make it more sustainable.

Or you could go walk docks and make friends with folks who would potentially take you on as crew.

that is a good idea, and im not afraid to jump in the deep end. although my cash is being saved for my entire trip. i intend to travel untill the money runs out. so scouting the sailing clubs may be the best option.
none the less i appreciate your feedback. its good to know that the boating community is so helpful.

[LACHLANC]

Hi Brensim - it sounds like a great adventure you have planned so good luck.

Some of my thoughts are similar to those posted by a few others and I have a few extra thoughts.

Firstly, I'm not sure if you currently live in Aust or if you're simply planning to start a trip from here - this might alter what you can do.

I agree that you should try to get on a boat and do some sailing and the easiest way to do that is where someone needs a crew. The problem you might have is that you are a self-professed absolute novice so it might be difficult to get someone to "hold your hand" so to speak. While I would certainly try a few big boat yacht clubs don't be deterred if no one wants to teach you.

Another alternative to trying to get a spot as a crew in a race, given your lack of experience, is you can try for a spot on a boat "backfilling" after a race. For example, my partner and I backfilled on a boat from Port Fairy to Melbourne touching on a bit of the Southern Ocean and Bass Strait after the race to Port Fairy had been completed. That at least gets you a day or so of experience to at least see what others do and and give you a slight feel for what's going on [and after that it might be easier to get a spot as crew on a race boat].

The next step if I was you would be to go on either a RYA Day Crew course or the RYA Day Skipper (Practical) course. Both courses are approx 5 days live aborad and you will learn an enormous amount and you will be taught well by v good instructors. The price for either course is <AUD2,000. There are a number of v good schools that I can recommend in Aust - message me if you want details [you would have to check whether you could do the Day Skipper course without any sailing experience - it could be a leap too far too soon without any sea miles under your belt - in which case you could do the Day Crew course and you'd still learn heaps. With a RYA Day Vrew under your belt you should be much better placed to get a crew spot on a race boat]. As per one of the other replies, something like the RYA Day Skipper (Practical) counts as Evidence of Competence to get you an International Certicate of Compliance [ICC] without which you can't sail "bareboat" in the Med [note: I think you also need someone on the boat - it doesn't have to be you - to have a Marine Radio Operators Certificate to sail in the Med].

The other thing I would do is the Yachting Australia "Survival & Safety at Sea Course [SSSC]" which I think is a must do if you're contemplating the voyage you described. Too many people die preventable deaths by making poor decisions that are best to avoid if possible (I hope I don't do the same one day but at least I know I've tried to get the theoretical knowledge and also some experience of use of flares, getting into a liferaft while fully clothed in the cold ocean, etc.).

After all of that there's the reading - the sooner you start on that the better as there is sooooo much reading out there (it's also difficult sorting out what's relevant to you and what isn't).

I do realise what I'm suggesting is going to cost some money but in the context of what you might spend on a boat and on the adventure I think they're a very minor part of the outlay and they will make a difference in preparing you a little bit for your adventure.

I was in a similar position 6 months ago (although I had many years of dinghy sailing experience) and I'm heading down a similar path. The time has passed very quickly for me so I'd recommend you do as much as you can over the next 12 months to leave yourself up to 6 mths of voyage preparation.

Good Luck!

[kym2650]

My advice is simple. Get on the water. Spend every waking moment when you are not at work simply messing about on boats. You will enjoy it it. You will not learn it in books. You will be cold and wet sometimes but nothing beats the sun coming up as you sail along. Nothing beats the the quiet little drink in the cockpit after after a solid days sailing or a tough race. Nothing beats the cameraderie. Nothing beats going sailing.

[brensim]

Originally Posted by kym2650

My advice is simple. Get on the water. Spend every waking moment when you are not at work simply messing about on boats. You will enjoy it it. You will not learn it in books. You will be cold and wet sometimes but nothing beats the sun coming up as you sail along. Nothing beats the the quiet little drink in the cockpit after after a solid days sailing or a tough race. Nothing beats the cameraderie. Nothing beats going sailing.

sounds good to me mate. i guess when it comes down to it, just getting out there and doing is the best way to learn

[ozskipper]

Originally Posted by brensim

hello all. I need some SERIOUS advice.

i am new to this forum, and (excluding a basic maritime transport and distribution course) i have had ZERO experience within the sailing/cruising realm. none the less i am a lover of all things ocean and always will be, my life would not be the same without it.
that being said, i am looking for some advice. I have planned to undertake a world wide adventure at the beginning of 2017. departing from Australia, i plan on sailing the pacific islands (AS A CREW MEMBER) for my first act, although as previously mentioned i have no experience sailing and very little academic background within the maritime industry, so obviously i will hit the books. BUT, i wonder?
what is the best way to gain experience sailing and gaining sea time to prepare myself for this journey?
how can i gain enough sea going experience for boats to hire me?
And, how can i gain this experience while i am employed full time?
Will anyone hire me as a basic deckhand to scrub and clean without any experience?

To be paid you really should have your Pre Sea or Coxswains as a minimum.

There will be a small flotilla of boats heading up the coast soon for Race Wee at Hamilton Island. Getting on as delivery crew to and from would be a good start in some very basic unofficial skills.

Once you become "worth your salt" you may even get an owner willing to pay to a few beers or even an airfare. But thats a long way down the track for someone inexperienced.

As someone else said, get crewing at a local yacht club. All sailing schools give recognized quals, so that would be worthwhile investigating in the future.