Hello ! From a Young Sailor with No Experience

[abonville]

Hi everybody !

I'm a french student doing an internship in a coral reef protection organization (Reef Check Foundation) in Los Angeles and i'm looking for experience in sailing. This summer i'd like to go back to France (or Europe) from the east coast crossing the Altantic with a crew (it would be an amazing experience for me!). I am a very hard worker and i am willing to learn everything.

If someone has some advices about sail courses in LA or about crossing the Atlantic you're the most welcome !

[Khagan1227]

Welcome Abonville!

Start looking to crew for some boats at the local marinas, get some experience then post in a crew available website.

Good Luck!

[Ocean Girl]

Welcome aboard,
I started crewing at 19, lots of Atlantic miles. Try the crew wanted section in this forum, then post a crew available in the crew available forum :-).
Good luck, thank you for your study and work in the reef preservation! We just found a dead reef from BP spill, I'm sure more to come so I really appreciate the people who are will to study and give these incredible ecosystems a voice.


Some pointers

Interview the captain and crew, family boats tend to be the safest (stable) vessels. If you have a bad feeling about the vessel, captain, or crew, don't go, a little bad feeling onshore usually means a disastrous trip offshore.

Good luck, happy adventures, your gonna love offshore! The water is a shade of blue never seen, the motion, incredible. The smell fresh and clean. And you will hopefully have lots of visitors ( birds, fish, squid, dolphins, whales).

Cheers,
Erika

[abonville]

Thank you very much for your answers,that's really exciting to see an active comunity about sailing! i live nearby marina del rey in LA i gonna check over there and i will post something later.


Thanks a lot!!

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by abonville

Thank you very much for your answers,that's really exciting to see an active comunity about sailing! i live nearby marina del rey in LA i gonna check over there and i will post something later.

Thanks a lot!!

Check out bluewatersailing. Good folks sort of a smaller outfit. Chartered several times with them.

They make mistakes, like wrong boat available on rental day. But not from animosity, just a more laid back attitude. Bit of flexibility needed.

[jewel114]

This is not a smart alec comment. You can't be a sailor until you sail. Go to San Pedro or Alamitos Bay and hang out on the weekends and get a trip to Catalina and back on a sailboat. If you can make it to and fro without swearing off the sea forever, then you will probably be OK for sailing. The channel is a good seasickness test. Good luck, Harley

[ShaunJ]

Welcome to CF Abonville.

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha and welcome aboard!
It's good to have you posting here and I hope you can find a good boat to crew on.
kind regards,