confused about crewing

[megofearth]

I’m 22 and living a couple of hours from the CA coast. I don’t have big savings or any connections to any of the boating industry. I took the ASA 101 course earlier this year and gained about 25nm. I’m about to sign up for an STCW course, since I’d be open to working internationally. I’m wondering what the impact of an STCW vs an OUPV is?
I don’t have a lot of resources or support in my life so I’m trying to figure out how realistic my dream of breaking into the yachting industry is, especially as I’m specifically interested in eventually getting in to the sailing side. I’m aware I’ll probably have to work hard on other vessels for a while before working on yachts. My ASA teacher recommended signing up on crewing pages in local sailing magazines. Internet research has consistently led me back to the same advice- move to Fort Lauderdale or Mallorca and dock walk. I’m not opposed to these options, I’m just not convinced they're my only ones. Looking for some real talk and literally any advice.

[boatman61]

STCW..

[Shrew]

Two different things and completely unrelated to one another.

Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessels (OUPV) is also known as a '6pack' license and is issued from the USCG. This allows you to be the captain on a charter boat of up to, but not exceeding 6 paying customers on an Uninspected Vessel.

The International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) is for Any mariner who works aboard a ship that operates outside the U.S. Territorial Boundary Line must hold an STCW endorsement.

Certain vessels and the mariners who man them are not subject to the STCW Code. These include the following:

-> Uninspected passenger vessels as defined in 46 US Code 2101(42)
-> Fishing vessels as defined in 46 US Code 2101(11)(a)
-> Fishing vessels used as fish-tender vessels as defined in 46 US Code 2101(11)(c)
-> Pleasure yachts not engaged in trade
-> Wooden vessels of primitive build
-> Barges as defined in 46 US Code 2101(2) , including non-self-propelled
-> mobile offshore drilling units
-> Vessels operating exclusively on the Great Lakes or on the inland waters of the US. Inland waters means those waters shoreward of the Boundary Line.

[wholybee]

With the limited experience you currently have, I think crewing (dock walking) is a good option. Dock Walking isn't only walking docks anymore, there are Facebook groups for crewing opportunities, and local rallies and flotillas have crew lists. There are good opportunities in California. Latitude 38 (a local sailing magazine) maintains an online crewlist and has crew parities, social events for networking to connect crew and captains. Every November there is a large rally (the Baja Ha Ha) that sails from California to Cabo. And there are annual races from either LA or SF to Hawaii, which need delivery crews to get the boats back. Plus lots of deliveries up and down the coast between California and Washington state.

OUPV is for you to be a paid Captain in the United States. It means nothing outside the US, and isn't needed if you are not paid or if you are not Captain. So, while you might pursue it at some point, it is not helpful now.

If you want to go outside the US and work on larger yachts as a paid gig (think superyacht in the Caribbean) then the STCW would be helpful. If you are attractive and friendly towards guests, you could probably get into that quickly if that is the direction you want to go. But that isn't really "sailing."

[Chotu]

The ASA stuff and the STCW 95 Stuff are different.

I have a 100 ton master and an STCW 95 as well. I also have the sailing endorsement on the master.

you would be much better served to get that type of license (like the oupv) if you are doing this professionally. ASA is kind of for recreational people and people trying to prove that they know how to sail a little bit for charter boat rentals.

what type of positions are you looking for? Starting out, it’s usually deckhand and stew. Then through experience you work your way up to mate and captain eventually. But it takes several years. You can certainly achieve these dreams. I don’t think you need to go through that much on the sailing end of things, you don’t need that ASA at all. It’s nice. It will look good on your résumé, but you don’t really need it. Just tell the crew agencies you are looking to work on sailboats. It’s really the experience you gain working on the boat that will make you more and more attractive to captains hiring that run sailing mega yachts.

You should be able to jump right on a boat as a deckhand or stew right now. As long as you have the STCW 95. That’s typically very important for a boat to travel internationally. It might be mandated. I forget.

in any case it’s a wonderful course. You get to put out fires. Flash over fires. You have to find your way out of a ship with no visibility by feeling the walls as you go and remembering how to get out. You have to jump off high platforms into the water and use liferafts. Is a matter of fact that course would be good for anyone reading this post. Even though it’s for professional mariners.

Your ASA teacher doesn’t have the slightest clue about how to get a job in the yachting industry. Don’t listen to them. They don’t know what they’re talking about.

in order to get a job on a megayacht, you need to contact accruing agencies in Fort Lauderdale and Palma de Mallorca. if you are in the United States, just use Fort Lauderdale. You don’t even have to live there necessarily. Although it helps. Get your résumé together and get it to them now. you might be able to go from living wherever you do now, straight to working on a boat. And I don’t mean some little piece of junk. Like our boats. I mean an actual mega yacht or a mega sailing yacht.

you don’t have to have experience on small boats to work on large boats. That’s not true. in fact, many megayacht captains prefer that you don’t have a lot of experience so they can train you properly.

I have worked in that industry for a few years in the past.

ask more questions. Happy to help.

By the way, there are also crew houses in Fort Lauderdale that you can use. Look those up. If you want to just go there for a few weeks to try to land a job you can always stay in a crew house.

these dreams are not at all hard to achieve. There are less barriers than you think and don’t listen to the ASA teacher they don’t know anything about the industry. All you have to do is a very, very good job when you get your first position. And do a good job for the rest of your career as well, but the more you shine in the more effort you put in from the very start, the more momentum your career will have..

you can move to other positions like mate, engineer, etc. And often the boat will pay for your courses. So you don’t have to do all of that now. Just get on the boat and start working at the bottom. That’s the stew or the deckhand.

[JPK]

You don't say where in CA you are, but if you're near the SF Bay check out the Sailing Anarchy forum. There's a crew pool subforum with a fairly large SF bay contingent on there that's always looking for crew.

[Chotu]

One other detail that I didn’t add because I don’t know your desired position is you can go walk the dock in Fort Lauderdale and start doing boat maintenance work. As in, polishing things. Cleaning villages. And I don’t mean in small boats. I mean on mega yachts and mega sailing yachts which are kind of rare actually.

just walk right up and ask them if they need any help. It’s called a day worker.

if you do a great job doing all of the tasks that they assigned you as a day worker, they will be interested in hiring you as crew.

[Chotu]

Oh yeah. And finally, trying to build sea time if you haven’t been on boats for many years can be difficult. You only need to see time if you are going for one of the US Coast Guard licenses. if you need that, do something simple like work on a ferry. You can build up sea time so quickly by doing that. It’s ridiculous. You can literally be the person on the ferry selling the ticket to someone and because it’s going back-and-forth you get sea time.

Happy to answer any questions. I was in this industry.

[NorthCoastJoe]

Try here :

https://www.latitude38.com/crew-list-home/

If you're within reach of the bay area there are plenty of boats you can crew on. I'm available to sail almost any day out of San Rafael on my Pearson 30.

[Chotu]

i’m sorry, but don’t listen to people telling you to look at places where we sail and we look for crew. It’s not right. we do not have mega yachts and we do not have professional crew.

Follow my advice. I actually did this before. I was a deckhand at first then a mate on a mega yacht for a bit.

I did that to learn about how to do great charters then did them on my own boat later.

these are not professionals here. This is kind of the wrong place to be asking your question, even though you got thr right answer.

https://www.dockwalk.com/jobs/traini...yacht-deckhand

Check out dockwalk.com. Also just reach out to all of the crew agencies.

read through all of these articles also

https://www.dockwalk.com/jobs

[Uricanejack]

If you want to work on the water.
Don’t waste your time walking along docks. Hey it might work.
Do the STCW courses.
When looking for a training course provider ask if the have a job board or contacts with employees.
If they don’t give them a wide berth.

Proper bone fide training establishments will tell you up front what prerequisite you need.
Get medical first. Don’t waste time until you know you are able to pass marine medical.
US also requires drug test make sure you won’t have problems. MJ might be accepted some states but not in any marine positions.

Bone fife training programs cost a bit but employers contact them specifically looking for entry level crew.

PS now’s the time to get started we typically hire in spring starting around March April.

We have limited requirements for entry level deck crew. Pre training and certification give you a big head start.?

Or lesser cost to you start in non deck non STCW positions ie cleaning or customer service.
If we liked you.
Then we might pay for the STCW training.
If you get down time and come and request a bit of help and show an interest in learning it helps a lot,

Sorry I can’t hire you. We need Canadian(G Card). STCW crew. But US operators have similar requirements.

Be flexible be willing to work in less popular locations.
It’s easy to find crew in prime locations.
Not so much in more remote less popular spots.
Getting the first job is the hardest.

[Auklet]

Originally Posted by megofearth

I’m 22 and living a couple of hours from the CA coast. I don’t have big savings or any connections to any of the boating industry. I took the ASA 101 course earlier this year and gained about 25nm. I’m about to sign up for an STCW course, since I’d be open to working internationally. I’m wondering what the impact of an STCW vs an OUPV is?
I don’t have a lot of resources or support in my life so I’m trying to figure out how realistic my dream of breaking into the yachting industry is, especially as I’m specifically interested in eventually getting in to the sailing side. I’m aware I’ll probably have to work hard on other vessels for a while before working on yachts. My ASA teacher recommended signing up on crewing pages in local sailing magazines. Internet research has consistently led me back to the same advice- move to Fort Lauderdale or Mallorca and dock walk. I’m not opposed to these options, I’m just not convinced they're my only ones. Looking for some real talk and literally any advice.

Your goals seem a bit nebulous to me. If you are seeking employment in the yachting industry that is one thing, if you wish to learn sailing or cruising on your own or other’s boat as a goal, then that’s another thing. Regarding the former, if you are a two-hour drive from a harbor that has vessels, you might be taken aboard as crew for harbor day-cruises, especially if as a volunteer. Maybe sign on with a sailing charter company to work as a weekend dock (not deck) hand to get started, then maybe earn the privilege of going out on some of the boats from time to time. Meet people and make contacts. You might meet a boat owner who wishes crew from time to time, etc.

If you need a job aboard; sounds like you might, then you need a skill. Can you cook/prepare a menu? Galley is a place where skippers sometimes need help. Here again, a couple chartering a sailboat might want a cook aboard just to go to Catalina Island for a week or weekend. There are a couple of famous recounts of a sailor getting started by signing on as a cook for a sailing voyage. So, you might have to be able to do what many “seasoned sailors” cannot—work below while underway. That is, w/o getting seasick. I would not go to Ft Lauderdale unless you desire the Caribbean as a destination. Ask around LA first if you wish to try working on cruise lines, such as Princess.

One other idea is to find a yacht broker willing to take you on as a trainee. Potential employers can be persuaded by enthusiasm, evidence of commitment, and punctuality, etc., as a substitute for actual work experience. There’s no starting at the top. Get in line and stay there until you get what you seek.

Skippers signing up for the annual overnight Newport to Ensenada race. There is usually a crew wanted Board there. It’s Friday to Sunday in April. Sometimes the skippers are looking for crew weight and minimal watch-standing help during the return. Maybe also food preparation/getting stores aboard.

[Tsuru]

https://www.csum.edu/index.html

[Auklet]

Originally Posted by Auklet

Your goals seem a bit nebulous to me. If you are seeking employment in the yachting industry that is one thing, if you wish to learn sailing or cruising on your own or other’s boat as a goal, then that’s another thing. Regarding the former, if you are a two-hour drive from a harbor that has vessels, you might be taken aboard as crew for harbor day-cruises, especially if as a volunteer. Maybe sign on with a sailing charter company to work as a weekend dock (not deck) hand to get started, then maybe earn the privilege of going out on some of the boats from time to time. Meet people and make contacts. You might meet a boat owner who wishes crew from time to time, etc.

If you need a job aboard; sounds like you might, then you need a skill. Can you cook/prepare a menu? Galley is a place where skippers sometimes need help. Here again, a couple chartering a sailboat might want a cook aboard just to go to Catalina Island for a week or weekend. There are a couple of famous recounts of a sailor getting started by signing on as a cook for a sailing voyage. So, you might have to be able to do what many “seasoned sailors” cannot—work below while underway. That is, w/o getting seasick. I would not go to Ft Lauderdale unless you desire the Caribbean as a destination. Ask around LA first if you wish to try working on cruise lines, such as Princess.

One other idea is to find a yacht broker willing to take you on as a trainee. Potential employers can be persuaded by enthusiasm, evidence of commitment, and punctuality, etc., as a substitute for actual work experience. There’s no starting at the top. Get in line and stay there until you get what you seek.

Skippers signing up for the annual overnight Newport to Ensenada race. There is usually a crew wanted Board there. It’s Friday to Sunday in April. Sometimes the skippers are looking for crew weight and minimal watch-standing help during the return. Maybe also food preparation/getting stores aboard.

Also, consult the publication Latitude 38. Every year the Baja Haha rally from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas lists the skippers signed up. A crew-wanted section is posted there too. It’s 7 days aboard with one or two stops. Leaving soon in November. Might be risky if you do not know your susceptibility to mal de mar. You’ll need a passport. If you don’t have one, better get working on that right away b/f heading to Lauderdale. Long lead time these day.

[flee27]

Everyone has given great and relevant advise. megofearth mentioned "I don’t have a lot of resources or support in my life so..."

megofearth. Always remember you can accomplish anything as long as you are willing to work hard and be persistent. Having a good attitude and being willing to go the extra mile will lead to opportunities. Taking advantage of opportunities will lead to success.

Good luck on your journey.

Foster