Warning 'rant' - Don't you just love looking for crew!!

[roland stockham]

Originally Posted by dpons

Face it, you are looking for an employee, not a guest.
You need somebody to help you with the boat, so don't expect people to jump in joy of having the night shift and a bunk in exchange for shitty food for a month or so, and on top of that having to pay for other expenses such as return flight.

You should, in my opinion, make clear what you offer and what you expect. Few things are more unpleasant than a tense trip on a boat.

This is getting silly and I am going back to rant mode; to put it VERY Clearly for everyone

I DO NOT NEED CREW. I AM A SOLO SAILOR. MY BOAT IS DESIGNED THAT WAY. I HAVE SAILED THOUSAND MILE PLUS VOYAGES SOLO. ON THIS TRIP I AM INVITING COMPANY JUST BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE IT. IF NOBODY SUITABLE OFFERS I WILL SAIL IT SOLO.

So please stop going on about how I should pay my guests.

[boatman61]

Why do owners always assume its a pleasure for other folk (apart from friends and family) to travel/crew/skipper on their boats.. its usually not..
More often than not.. (if they come back after their 1st passge) its a nessecary evil one has to endure to achive a personal goal.. miles.. transport.. adventure.. sex.. or even death.
Yup.. one volunteer crew wanted to top themselves mid-Atlantic and be buried at sea..
Should add.. after the 1st refusal to take the above as crew.. the come back was.. " If I charter a boat will you skipper it so I can do this'...

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by roland stockham

This is getting silly and I am going back to rant mode; to put it VERY Clearly for everyone

I DO NOT NEED CREW. I AM A SOLO SAILOR. MY BOAT IS DESIGNED THAT WAY. I HAVE SAILED THOUSAND MILE PLUS VOYAGES SOLO. ON THIS TRIP I AM INVITING COMPANY JUST BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE IT. IF NOBODY SUITABLE OFFERS I WILL SAIL IT SOLO.

So please stop going on about how I should pay my guests.

[roland stockham]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Why do owners always assume its a pleasure for other folk (apart from friends and family) to travel/crew/skipper on their boats.. its usually not..
More often than not.. (if they come back after their 1st passge) its a nessecary evil one has to endure to achive a personal goal.. miles.. transport.. adventure.. sex.. or even death.
Yup.. one volunteer crew wanted to top themselves mid-Atlantic and be buried at sea..

Well actually I do like sailing on other peoples boats sometimes. Nice to relax and let someone else have all the hassle of running the boat. Nice to see other boats and sail something different. Often a chance to learn a few tricks. Fun to be part of a big crew if you are usually with a small one or solo. Good way to gain local knowledge. Chance to do a passage you would not have the confidence to Skipper. Good way to meet people and make new friends. I hope my guests feel the same, I think I have finished up friends with all of them.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by roland stockham

Well actually I do like sailing on other peoples boats sometimes. Nice to relax and let someone else have all the hassle of running the boat. Nice to see other boats and sail something different. Often a chance to learn a few tricks. Fun to be part of a big crew if you are usually with a small one or solo. Good way to gain local knowledge. Chance to do a passage you would not have the confidence to Skipper. Good way to meet people and make new friends. I hope my guests feel the same, I think I have finished up friends with all of them.

I'm the guy who takes his own transport to parties etc in spite of being offered countless lifts.. like doing what I want.. when I want..
Not when someone else says I can.. or cannot..
And my crews rarely do a lot anyway... read, sleep, eat, sunbathe...


PS; some one said I was anti-social the other day.. cheeky sod

[dpons]

Originally Posted by roland stockham

This is getting silly and I am going back to rant mode; to put it VERY Clearly for everyone

I DO NOT NEED CREW. I AM A SOLO SAILOR. MY BOAT IS DESIGNED THAT WAY. I HAVE SAILED THOUSAND MILE PLUS VOYAGES SOLO. ON THIS TRIP I AM INVITING COMPANY JUST BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE IT. IF NOBODY SUITABLE OFFERS I WILL SAIL IT SOLO.

So please stop going on about how I should pay my guests.

Stop yelling, it's not polite.

Your start a post with the word "rant" and then act surprised that others posters contradict you?

[Delancey]

Originally Posted by roland stockham

OK, you NEED crew because you are doing a long trip, everyone you know is working, your normal crew broke a leg etc. So you look on the crew sites and get

Starts rants says NEEDS crew.

Gets called out as typical clueless owner who doesn't understand why people won't deliver his yacht for him for free.

Then goes on ALL-CAPS TIRAID, SAYS DOESN'T NEED CREW, ONLY LOOKING BECAUSE HE FEELS LIKE IT.

[sailorboy1]

I've never really understood why people would want to crew on a passage. Isn't that like going along on someone else's vacation but only getting to help with the driving?

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

"Crew needed - Need to relocate my boat 1,000 miles. Regular crew broke leg. You need 30 years of ocean going experience to qualify but must keep mouth shut on how I operate my boat. Won't pay any of your expenses and you need to pay your own food on board. You'll sleep on deck and shower in a bucket. I charge $2 anytime you use the on-board head so get used to pooping over the rail. No smoking, drinking or snorers. You will cook, clean and take all night watches. One of us is gonna have a good time."

Yep. It cuts both ways.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by roland stockham

This is getting silly and I am going back to rant mode; to put it VERY Clearly for everyone

I DO NOT NEED CREW. I AM A SOLO SAILOR. MY BOAT IS DESIGNED THAT WAY. I HAVE SAILED THOUSAND MILE PLUS VOYAGES SOLO. ON THIS TRIP I AM INVITING COMPANY JUST BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE IT. IF NOBODY SUITABLE OFFERS I WILL SAIL IT SOLO.

So please stop going on about how I should pay my guests.

When I invite guests out, I expect to do all the work and I expect zero knowledge of how boats work. If they want to help trim the sails or take a turn at the wheel, that's nice but they are guests and there is no expectation. You clearly have expectations and that puts them in the relm of crew not guest. Crew expect to either get paid (if they have valuable experience) or they are trading thier time to gain experience.
- If you are upset over those with valuable experience replying, put it in big bold letters in the ad that you will not be paying for crew and it's on them to cover travel expenses and chip in for food and drink. That should thin out the experienced crew.
- If you are upset over those with no experience replying, put minimum experience levels required.

Of course if you put both of those in your ad, odds are no one who actually reads it will reply.

[roland stockham]

dpons and Delancey. Fair point to both of you. My apologies for shouting but it was about the 5th time someone had talked about wanting 'free' delivery crew. Yes I should have said want not needs at the start. Actually It's my wife that wants the crew, she worries more when I solo. I tend to worry less as there is no crew to worry about. That's the trouble with ranting, tend not to think it through to clearly.

This started because I have had several people say the definatly wanted to come then just dissapear on me without even saying, can't come because...

Just wondering if it is the destination, once people check regulations for US entry they find they will not be allowed in. We are all used to pretty free access to most countries and I know I was really suprised that as a Brit I needed a full Visa to sail into USA since I don't need one to arrive any other way.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

I've never really understood why people would want to crew on a passage. Isn't that like going along on someone else's vacation but only getting to help with the driving?

I'm too old, and frankly don't have the need to, but when I was younger and poorer, I could definitely see myself doing it, just for the experience. At one time I would have helped with the drive across country, just to see the country, so I think your example is valid.
Myself, I don't really see passages as vacations, that starts when the passage ends. I do understand that there are a very few that actually, really enjoy long passages, but believe that they are relatively few.
Not many of us are like Moitessier

[boatman61]

It is a put off.. catch a 2hr train to Lisbon... pay 144 euro's.. have an interview.. catch the train... and its hard to give an arrival date/time for a trans-Atlantic..
And.. having experienced Dept' HS's blinkered approach to everything I hate to imagine the result if you arrived earlier or later..
Cannot understand why Oz and the US have this antique policy.. does not have any effect on a boat that wants to just sail in and not clear in any more than the system of clearing in ports the rest of the world has.

[ozskipper]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

Never ever ever sign on 'couples'.... when push turns to shove and its still a few months to the next port the buggers will gang up on you.... once again... don't ask me how I know this....

Perhaps I missworded that.. I meant get a couple of back packers.. Not a "couple" as in partners .

[Delancey]

Crewing is expensive. My wife and I helped a friend deliver his boat across the pond last summer. He paid for food but I volunteered to provide our transport. It was a great trip but when you added it all up it didn't come cheap.

Figure three weeks but could take longer, so took a month off work which means two months lost pay. Meanwhile still carrying all our regular costs during that time. Bought a bunch of gear for ourselves for the trip. Rented a Sat Phone my friend couldn't fit in his budget but we decided we wanted. Add in one-way (almost as expensive as round trip) airplane fare across an ocean. All adds up.

Maybe your problem is assuming everyone else lives as carefree a lifestyle as do you and that people can just take a month off whenever to do whatever they feel like. Some can and you would be lucky to find them. Others can't but could be possibly be swung if airfare is provided. Why would those people want to go out of their way to be your companion? Just because you feel like it?

Blame shifting on your wife could possibly be an issue also. Maybe if you wanted to have crew instead of your wife making you get crew, you would have an easier time finding it.