Crew Wanted: How to tell who the scammers are on here?

[Cap Erict3]

Talk is cheap. Actions matter.

Butter wouldn't melt in the mouth of a young blonde Adonis that I know. He charms everyone he meets. Except his woman and child. They live in terror of his explosive unpredictable violence.

You don't get that over the phone or off of the net.

[Capt Phil]

Thomea, I neglected to mention that I would be skeptical of folks offering anything for nothing but your company. This includes alleged couples as well. My wife had a friend several years ago who responded to a cruising couple who needed crew from Thailand to the US. Turned out it was a single guy who was looking for a piece of fluff he could get to join him on a trip to nowhere. It cost her a return airfare from Australia to Phuket and back and a harrowing tale of escaping off his boat and hiding out in Thailand. When she returned to OZ she checked out the paper she had seen the advert in and it was running again looking for crew to accompany a couple, etc., etc.!
A word of caution... Check out numerous sources of your prospective skipper. If he is on the up and up, he should be well known and have pretty stellar references.
Good luck in your search, cheers, Phil

[jmschmidt]

In Hawaii we just finished the 2016 Pacific Cup yacht race from San Francisco to Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. Fifty-one boats finished and all the larger boats need to be delivered back to the west coast. Delivery crews are needed since owners and top racing crew members usually don't do delivery gigs. Trusted and insurable skippers do this work along with experienced sailors but some may have room for a newbie or two. You'll learn more in two weeks doing this than in 20 years of day sailing, if you survive. (Forget I said that) Check the schedule for future long distance races and contact the skippers. Just another source.

[Ardbeg]

Thomea: Lots of good advice here. Use your head as with everything else in life. If you are looking next spring, I might need 2-3 crew late May 2017. Lake Ontario, Lower St Lawrence, Maine. As early as they will let sailboats thru the Seaway. All costs shared though. I am not a sugar daddy. Someone mentioned ICW, there are lots of opportunities there but likely boring mostly motoring. Club racing best way to build up some mileage. Good luck.

[Jim Cate]

The idea of rejecting a skipper because he/she has no Facebook etc presence is kinda weird to me. If one can be deceptive in a crew wanted ad, one can surely be deceptive in Facebook or other media. And there are some of us who eschew those sites even though we are reasonably stable people!

There is no substitute for face to face interaction for character evaluation, and even that is chancy. If one is contemplating a passage situation, remember that this means being cooped up with others for an extended period without the option of bailing out. Throw in the possibility of stressful situations, and even fairly stable folks have been known to go ape. And all of this without t he possible influence of sexual effects on personality and behavior... it is a risky business from either side of the skipper:crew situation.

I've often said here on CF that the two most dangerous things one can do on a sailboat are to crew for an unknown skipper or to take on unknown crew. We know folks who have done both with wonderful results, and we personally know of several real disasters.

Jim

[Thomea]

thank you Lake Effect. Yes, I am doing all those things. Local clubs, community races here on the Great lakes, took lessons, etc. But I really want to expand Internationally

[Thomea]

thank you JMSchmidt. that is great advice!

[Kenomac]

Why not do what others do? Get some basic training from a legitimate sailing school, then get a crew job via a yacht delivery company. Then you'll be working in a professional setting instead of worrying about becoming a sex slave.

[GILow]

Is like to add another word of caution to prospective crew members. See if you can find out a bit about the boat itself before you commit. I personally have seen someone advertising for delivery crew on a cross ocean passage with a boat I would not trust in its pen let alone off shore. I don't believe the skipper was being dishonest but simply that he had no idea how dangerous his boat was.

Matt


Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[Gadagirl]

Heed all of the advice you've received here. I've not had a bad experience, but I've only crewed with friends or through referrals from friends.
I believe it's protocol for the captain/owner/skipper to take possession of your passport while on board. Keep that in mind when you decide to crew in/from/to another country. It takes a lot of trust to hand over your personal documentation.

As some have stated, watch the seasons for when organized rallies are taking on crew, and network locally and regionally through local clubs.
There are the Antigua races' in May. The Bermuda race in June. Some need race crew, some need crew to return to home port. The 1500 and Salty Dawg in November. Also very many private opportunities of deliveries of boats going south on east coast in November. Again in May going north, Caribbean to US boats need crew. Boats going south in May from northern caribbean to southern caribbean need crew. As stated by jmshmit, July west coast boats return from Hawaii. Also west coast is the Bah haha in November.

Get your STCW cert and then you'll be eligible to crew on charters as well.

Clearly you have good intuition as you've questioned the people that have responded so far. Smart of you! You'll do fine.

[Scottie Dog]

I've been trying to crew on my time off here in Malaysia for quiet a while now. I use
findacrew.net
crewseekers.net

findacrew at least lets you view the person's profile experience boat etc and there is usually feedback from people who have sailed with them. I did have one guy who wasted my time I booked flights and a hotel to meet them and right at the end he changed plans. Not really had that much look but then you're a women I expect you'll get a better response.

[Thomea]

Im looking into getting my ENG1 & STCW 95/2010 cert right now.

[captlloyd]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Where is the scam.. no one has asked you for money up front.. in fact they offer to pay everything.
What they hope for when you arrive is something else.. lol
Do due diligence and quit bitching

I guess your idea of a scam and mine are two different things. This is obviously a scam, people try to get other things than money in a scam. My guess is after she pays her way overseas and things don't turn out like the owner wants there would be no fare back. Lets be clear, this guy is looking for female companion-ship, not a crew member.

[weavis]

Originally Posted by captlloyd

I guess your idea of a scam and mine are two different things. This is obviously a scam, people try to get other things than money in a scam. My guess is after she pays her way overseas and things don't turn out like the owner wants there would be no fare back. Lets be clear, this guy is looking for female companion-ship, not a crew member.

Gosh!
I have no idea of what he wants. As a man with a boat and a location why on earth would he he be advertising on the internet for crew if all he wants is female companionship? Im sure he has it all around him...

It seems a lot of effort to go to in order to get a woman...

There are a lot of assumptions here. and Im not liking the judgements made without proof..

If a person does not like the offer......... move on. Without proof of intent or prior conviction, this is bordering close to slander..

Boatie is correct. Do due diligence and protect oneself but do not make these assumptions and promote them as gospel.

You simply do not know..

I have offered return fares to people in exchange for their help and found all lodging and food... men and women.

I state again, if you do not like the offer........... move on.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by weavis

Gosh!
I have no idea of what he wants. As a man with a boat and a location why on earth would he he be advertising on the internet for crew if all he wants is female companionship? Im sure he has it all around him...

It seems a lot of effort to go to in order to get a woman...

Especially since the OP said the guy was in the Phillipines. No shortage of female companionship there.