Crew Wanted: Do not crew for this man

[Mishathekid]

Hello Cruisers,

I am putting out an EXTREME warning to those looking for crewing opportunities on Crewbay.

Avoid crewing for John Williams, who is now using the name John Warren (Farventure) on www.crewbay.com. He is looking for crew to sail from Liverpool, England to Chile and Patagonia. Oceancrewlink blocked him from their website and I'm urging Crewabay to do the same.


I had an unfortunate experience with Williams this past summer. I contacted him through www.oceancrewlink.com in regards to a proposed voyage from Liverpool, England, to Alaska via the Northwest Passage. I corresponded with Williams and arranged several calls. He sounded competent and prepared. I agreed to crew for him based on his years of sailing experience and the preparations he said he was making. I have crewed on a sailboat through the Northwest Passage and have a good idea of the experience, equipment, and type of sailboat needed for such a trip. I boarded John Williams' sailboat on August 8th, 2018. I was shocked by the condition of the boat. I was expecting a sailboat ready for a serious expedition cruise. Instead I found a sailboat still on the hard, absolutely trashed, and that resembled a hoarders nest. Williams presented himself and I immediately recognized him as a man lacking the competency needed to skipper a boat through the Northwest Passage, both mentally and physically. He looked to be homeless. I would not go on a day cruise with this man as a skipper. The boat was in such a poor state that the other crew members, who seemed more like hostelers rather than crew, were urinating and defecating in buckets, and living in such a state that they allowed hornets to build a nest down below. Mr. Williams seemed to be lost in vague ramblings of the innumerable things that yet needed to be completed in a weeks time to make for the NWP. He limped around on a bandaged foot that had an oozing wound which one of the crew said he had for close to ten months. I was so surprised that I needed a moment to collect myself, especially after just taking a red eye from Philadelphia to Manchester, England. I calmly and respectfully began a conversation with Mr. Williams hoping to learn what he planned to do about the state of his sailboat. He became defensive and threatened to throw me off the boat. He claimed I had read too many books about sailing and only had a theoretical comprehension of sailing because I questioned his reliance on an outdated life raft from the 1980's as our main life raft.

I spoke to the the manager of the boat yard in Liverpool in which Williams had his sailboat on the hard. The boat yard manager reported to me that he exhibited rude, erratic, and dangerous behavior. They hated him, in fact.

Williams is a danger to himself and others. I was the fourth crew to come to his boat and in the same day leave right away last summer.

I contacted the authorities in Liverpool to alert them to this possible and mortal disaster.

You have been warned!! Stay clear of this individual and don't bother corresponding with him. All he'll do is waste your time and try to get you to do things for him online.

[El Pinguino]

This sounds like the same John Williams whose boat - Faraway - was on the hard in Puerto Natales about 6 months ago....

Surely there can't be two?

As the OP says... avoid!!

[Snore]

When in doubt about the boat or crew video chat!

If that becomes an issue, a few current pictures of the boat are always useful.

[john61ct]

Wow, what a cautionary tale.

Originally Posted by Mishathekid

especially after just taking a red eye from Philadelphia to Manchester, England

I take it you ended up out of pocket? Or did you manage to find a better adventure while you were there?

[El Pinguino]

There was an extended thread about this chap a few years back... for reasons unknown and without explanation the mods or someone chose to delete - not just close - the entire thread.. http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ia-155462.html

A lot of women.. and it's always women... have ended up out of pocket.....

[lamadriver]

... Faraway is still on the hard in Natales.... id be surprised if it ever goes back in


ld

[coggydubnus]

I have just had a very similar experience to that mentioned in the head post of this thread, with a skipper I take to be the same John Williams discussed here.

The following is a slightly edited copy of the email I have sent to the website through which I contacted John.



Good afternoon,

I have just spent time staying with and attempting to crew for a skipper I contacted through your site. The man's name is John Williams, although on his profile he goes by the name of Warren. I believe his profile code is 286432, but for the past few days I have been unable to access John's profile.

John and I had arranged that I would come up from London to meet him at Liverpool Marina, where he keeps his boat, on Sunday March 3rd. On arrival around 5.30pm, I called John's phone and got no answer. I kept calling every ten minutes or so for the next hour but each time received no reply. I was carrying a lot of heavy, valuable gear since we were planning to make a long-haul trip, from Liverpool down to the Iberian peninsula, then the Canaries, across to Brazil, then down to Argentina and round the cape to the lake district of Chile. Fearing John had left me in the lurch, I began to try to find alternative accommodation for the night. A couple of hours after I arrived, John finally answered my call and agreed to come to meet me at Liverpool Marina. The man showed up looking like Stig of the Dump with stains down his clothes and filth under his fingernails. When he took me to his boat I found it a squalid den. I should have turned on my heel and walked out there and then, but since it was getting late and I hadn't budgeted for accommodation other than John's boat I decided to stay and try to make the best of the situation.

Later that night John accompanied me back to the marina carrying two buckets full of his own excreta which he intended to dispose of down the marina toilet. I find it understandable that sailors should deal with things in this way when they are out at sea and the head is broken, say. But when moored at a marina with working facilities it seems a bit much not only to use but to expect your crew to use buckets for this purpose, as John Williams apparently does.

The following day John had me go and look for some parts to fix his engine. With a rapidly developing sense of how erratic and difficult this guy was, I suggested John keep his phone on him so I could call him from the shop in the event of some unforeseen circumstance. He told me flatly that he wasn't in the habit of taking his (mobile) phone about with him. It was clear the man wasn't to be reasoned with. When I got to the shop and found that, sure enough, they didn't have the parts that John required, I called his phone on the off-chance I might catch him but, sure enough, received no reply. When I got back to the boat and explained the situation to John he started remonstrating with me aggressively for failing in my duties as crew. Over the next few days and in the course of several confrontations with him, it became clear to me that this behaviour of John's was very much characteristic of the man.

On Friday March 8th around midday I happened to bump into another user of your site at the marina who John had been expecting to arrive that day. Later that afternoon I learned that John had failed to answer his phone when this new crew member, K, called to let John know of his arrival. Two days later K informs me that the two have still not met each other. If John Williams chooses not to respond to his crew in the middle of the day in a populous, well-developed town, what use will he be to them out at sea or in remote locations where communications are far more limited, and where survival depends on successful coordination between captain and crew?

Notwithstanding his sailing knowledge and experience, this cranky, bad-tempered character John Williams is unfit to skipper a vessel. Keeping up a constant stream of words and apparently requiring no input whatsoever from any would-be interlocutors, John is singularly incapable of issuing clear, concise instructions or explanations, or even of delivering a relevant response to a straight question. As skipper John constitutes a danger to the lives of those who crew for him, as well as to other mariners, and also to himself. I really think it in the best interests of any users of your site, especially those looking for crewing opportunities, to close John Williams' profile and to ban him from setting up another one. I also consider it incumbent on me to warn anyone thinking about crewing for John about the man's erratic behaviour and difficult character, and I urge you to help me do this. According to John there is another member, an Australian man called Gary, who plans to travel up to Liverpool from Leicester, where Gary is based, on Monday March 11th - tomorrow - with the intention of crewing for John. Please do what you can to warn Gary about my and others' experience of living and working with John Williams so Gary can make a more informed decision about his plans and, if he chooses, avoid putting himself through the hazardous, unpleasant experience of crewing for John.

I believe the skipper I have just recently stayed with is the same man referred to in the following thread.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...an-209993.html

Once again, I encourage you to do everything you can to keep the damage done by this man to a minimum. It seems to me that in providing the service that you are providing you have a duty to take any action necessary to safeguard the well-being of your members. Please take action in this case.

[El Pinguino]

I have received an email from "K".....

It would appear that John Williams of 'Faraway' ... currently abandoned on the hard in Puerto Natales.... is one and the same John ( Warren) Williams with a yacht(?) called 'Farventure' in Liverpool UK.

I have over the last 12 years met 6 ladies who flew a very long distance... typically North America to Chile ... to join him on his yacht(?)... OK two came by bus from Colombia to Puerto Montt. All but one left the boat within a week.... the exception who had joined in Puerto Williams ( June or Sept 17 ) 'jumped ship' at the next port.... Natales.
And yes I have met him often enough myself.... memories of garbage composting on the deck of his yacht...

A number ( 4) along with myself contacted FindaCrew ( in about 2014) to have him 'delisted'.... the response was that unless he had a criminal conviction they would continue to accept his $$$$$$

A thread detailing all this here on CF a few years ago was not just closed but vanished without trace.... http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...-155451-2.html

The info on Noonsite regarding the 'Bali incident' is still there but has been heavily sanitised.. https://www.noonsite.com/Countries/I...rait-of-lombok

I've said it before ... I'll say it again... AVOID!!!

[RegisBittencour]

you should give us the name and picture of the boat. please.

[jasonleeau]

The sooner the authorities are made aware of this guy the quicker they can do something about it. It seems he has broken no laws aside from sanitation laws which may be the ideal way to get this guy off the open sea. Slapping fines on him may prevent him from leaving the country and consequently impounding his boat. Can someone in Liverpool check him out? Guys like this are a danger to themselves but usually drag others into their plight. His story sounds like a precursor to an actual disaster or loss of life.... I hope it does'nt turn out that way.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by jasonleeau

The sooner the authorities are made aware of this guy the quicker they can do something about it. It seems he has broken no laws aside from sanitation laws which may be the ideal way to get this guy off the open sea. Slapping fines on him may prevent him from leaving the country and consequently impounding his boat. Can someone in Liverpool check him out? Guys like this are a danger to themselves but usually drag others into their plight. His story sounds like a precursor to an actual disaster or loss of life.... I hope it does'nt turn out that way.

the guy sounds like a regular "tristan jones" his personal habits and demeanour may not be up to yacht club standards,but if he has managed to sail from cape horn back to the uk in the last year i,doubt i would be questioning his ability as a seaman.

a bit harsh even if the guy is a twat with his crew

[jasonleeau]

Originally Posted by atoll

the guy sounds like a regular "tristan jones" his personal habits and demeanour may not be up to yacht club standards,but if he has managed to sail from cape horn back to the uk in the last year i,doubt i would be questioning his ability as a seaman.

a bit harsh even if the guy is a twat with his crew

Haha, Would you cross an ocean with him atoll??

[PamlicoTraveler]

Originally Posted by jasonleeau

Haha, Would you cross an ocean with him atoll??

Would you cross a channel with him? I think not.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by jasonleeau

Haha, Would you cross an ocean with him atoll??

that might have him jumping ship at the first port

i can remember when i was working on commercial fishing boats, working with crew that were junkies or bipolar,one character when i went to wake him up for his watch said "can you give me a minute i haven't finished my wank yet"

all i am saying is don't be too harsh to judge untill you have walked a mile in their shoes.

what might seem like absolute chaos to a millenial newbie with little sea time,might be normal life for many single handers on a budget

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by atoll

the guy sounds like a regular "tristan jones" his personal habits and demeanour may not be up to yacht club standards,but if he has managed to sail from cape horn back to the uk in the last year i,doubt i would be questioning his ability as a seaman.

a bit harsh even if the guy is a twat with his crew

No, he didn't sail 'Faraway' from Natales to Liverpool.... he has abandoned her on the hard at Natales..... to be one of a growing number of abandoned yachts in southern Chile. As an aside this is becoming quite a problem in the south...

'Farventure' is a new to him 60' schooner he bought in the UK or thereabouts.

That said no one is questioning his seamanship.... he circumnavigated in 'Faraway' at least for times.... something of a feat all things considered.

Its not just that he is a twat with his crew..... it is simply the condition of the boat..... I have been below on Faraway..... it was beyond filthy... words can't really describe it. On deck rotting suitcases full of god knows what and bags of composting garbage... yes ... composting garbage.... a bit of a feat in Patagonia.

I have only been in the same port as him 3 times.... have met 6 of the women he duped into joining him.....