Crew Wanted: Checklist For Voluntary Crew

[Dauntlessny]

Originally Posted by Jammer Six

One of the tests that never failed me in business was to go to dinner and watch how they treated the waitress.

[spika]

I will like to be a crew member of a boat in the next european season , just sailing around the mediterranean area or the caribbean .I speak several languages fluently as german french spanich english and portuguese.
I've been a crew member in Sardinia for daily charters as a hostess and cook for 4 seasons.If you know about something please let me know , i m new on this forum.

[kiwiladysailor]

They are all good until you get out to sea , then they turn and their real personality shows. It also depends very much on what their delusion of you might have been .
People who don't have enough friends to go sailing with ,often have something wrong going on. Thats why I like to sail with my friends . Strangers are too risky , and boy can I tell you some scary stories about sailing with strangers who all seemed really nice people on the marina before going out.

[kiwiladysailor]

Be very careful who you go with .

[Gone2long]

Originally Posted by kiwiladysailor

They are all good until you get out to sea , then they turn and their real personality shows. It also depends very much on what their delusion of you might have been .
People who don't have enough friends to go sailing with ,often have something wrong going on. Thats why I like to sail with my friends . Strangers are too risky , and boy can I tell you some scary stories about sailing with strangers who all seemed really nice people on the marina before going out.

Ok, scare us : )

[s/v Beth]

Yeah even a owner wants to hear
A good hint (and what happens on my boat now) is that the boat fills up with friends and mates and there is one or two places left. I have had better passages with one other good mate than 3 or four "experienced" people that I don't know, so I don't feel the need to fill my boat when offshore.
Another hint: Those seamen that take time out of their lives and contribute in experience and watch keeping- I pay. If you are an unknown entity, then you support yourself in travel $$ and food. But I never have made people pay for my passagemaking.

[sweet surrender]

Hi,,
I am looking for a salining partner ( female) deckhand , for summer 2015 ,, route will be (aegean waters) greek islands, turkısh and greek waters,,


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[David_Old_Jersey]

Yes.

It's the same as picking up hitchhikers in your car - but with greater risk!

Originally Posted by kiwiladysailor

Be very careful who you go with .

[Katbird]

Originally Posted by la vida nueva

How do you handle crew members who look good during tryouts and as soon as you are far enough out to make a return trip to drop them off impractical, they act like they are on a paid vacation? Refuse to do their watches, refuse to be responsible, always putting the rest of the crew at risk?

You stand ground(at sea) and transform into the biggest A-Hole you can muster. Pulling the bully, crazy eyes and nut job persona. Scare the poop out of them while searching for the closest 5 ft draw to bump them off the side. Safely of course.

[wolfgal]

i'm new everyone, so hello. this thread has been very, very insightful. thanks to all for input.
i'm tempted to give my two cents here... as it is an example of how being at sea reveals one's character

this was a while back: the 33ft ketch i stumbled onto in propriano was to set sail from corsica to brazil at the end of summer (1987). the Italian captain invited me to pack up my canadian tent and stay onboard as he was already waiting for another crew girl -- to arrive in a month (though, she did not show in the end). However during this time, I got to know the captain and the boat well. I was in my very-very-tempting, very-very-early twenties then (and was very tired of all the hassle involved in being so), yet Renato was the perfect sixty-something gentleman. he was clear about what I had to do before setting sail, and i was serious: i learned sailing-boat terms vocab in french, read a great majority of his nav books (made notes, drawings - luckily these were in english), got started on chart plotting, did cleaning and prepping and stocking, paid into expenses, got to know other folks at the docks... and even learned to cook. Renato was a warm and kind person who could describe liberty a million ways. He respected the weather (he'd always say, "après dieu, le meteo"), was gentle yet serious. We got along beautifully, lots of mutual respect. His ketch was in great shape, all systems go (as far as i could tell, of course). What could go wrong? He finally took me out for a sail three weeks into my stay, and, once underway, it suddenly became obvious to me that he didn't feel comfortable with his vessel. He was a changed man, a frightened captain. We wrote to one another for a year or so, and I kept the key to his boat (as he said i was always welcome) years after he died...

[CaribbeanCraig]

Whats your fee for NY to Florida?

[s/v Beth]

Originally Posted by Katbird

You stand ground(at sea) and transform into the biggest A-Hole you can muster. Pulling the bully, crazy eyes and nut job persona. Scare the poop out of them while searching for the closest 5 ft draw to bump them off the side. Safely of course.

Interesting approach Katbird, I only have had one crew go nuts, others have just gotten tired and not done their job well. With the nutball, I immediately corrected the course (to keep from getting shipwrecked) told him not to touch the helm for the rest of the trip. When he started muttering about how I should not be in control, I stated that this was my boat- it went where I wanted it too. If he didn't like it he could step off at any time. (we were in 100 fathoms and leaving shore at a rapid rate at the time) The rest of the crew kinda got wide eyed, but I meant it. He was not going to endanger anyone else's life.
Most of the time (99%) Crew is just sick, tired and having had a bad day. That happens a fair amount up there in the Pacific ocean at high latitudes. The crew I pay for are the ones that can stay at their watchkeeping safely. I don't expect that out of volunteer crew, but it's nice when it happens.

[Heath68]

Originally Posted by kiwiladysailor

They are all good until you get out to sea , then they turn and their real personality shows. It also depends very much on what their delusion of you might have been .
People who don't have enough friends to go sailing with ,often have something wrong going on. Thats why I like to sail with my friends . Strangers are too risky , and boy can I tell you some scary stories about sailing with strangers who all seemed really nice people on the marina before going out.

But where does that leave you for someone like me who, having passed day skipper, wants more experience prior to buying his own boat? I'm on this forum looking for experience and also on find-a-crew.. I won't sail in waters I wouldn't take myself but after that I think i'll have to take a chance... good thread though with some good ideas.

[Cruiseycatter]

In defence of Newt, not all people want to be on the party boat or the love ship, some of us are there to sail, and would prefer this type of up front, this is how it is on this boat and if that suits you your welcome to join us type deal, at least he knows where he is at and if the boat measured up to same, I would go for sure, I always remember, the worst boss is the one who thinks he is a funny good guy and your best friend, same goes for captains!

[boatman61]

^^^+A1^^^