Crew Available: 18 Year-Old Female Very Keen to Crew Anywhere from 1 December 2011 !

[Boracay]

Why not check out the local clubs that have races.

They love alert crew.

Start with short course races and then look for longer ones.

Once you have some experience on a boat with different kinds of crew you will be far better able to judge for yourself.

[osirissail]

It would be advisable to print out and keep copy of the countries where you can visit "visa-free" or actually on a "tourist visa". Some countries do require a pre-approved visa prior to visiting. Visa requirements for South African citizens - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Carmen Gee]

too late haha. jokes. i am actually 17 , which it makes it worse but will be 18 by december. Really hope i find some sailing, please let me know if you hear of anything.

[oldjags]

I swear, your Honor, she told me she was 18!!!

[capn_billl]

Originally Posted by ty.gregory

Don't believe it for a second??? That's a little harsh, don't you think? A second? Not all single-handers are rapists. As a matter of fact, I don't know one single-hander that's a rapist. I agree with being careful, though. Fine idea to be careful. You be careful, too, David M.

It doesn't take a rape or even attempted rape to make life uncomfortable, after a failed seduction, or even a privacy intrusion.

Anytime a man and a women spend a great deal of time alone together, the possibilty exists that the relationship, (or lack of one), may cease to be mutually agreeable, ending with some one standing on a dock where they did not want to be.

I would recommend anyone man or woman to have a little extra cash stashed somewhere for a one way ticket back home,...just in case.

And for a young woman to be sure whomever she sails with respects her bounderies, whatever they may be, before leaving port..

[rgscpat]

Carmen, with the qualifications you've already acquired, you might also look at paid positions -- maybe something like a hostess/deckhand job. Traditional service and hospitality skills such as cooking may also be useful for these jobs. Of course, I don't know if you have any interest in something like that.

It might be helpful to lay out for people here what you want out of voyaging. Is it a fun wanderjahr, or immersing yourself in different cultures, or the start of a marine industry career? What sorts of boats and people would you like to sail on and with, and where would you like to go, and what would you like to see, experience, and learn?

There are plenty of threads of a "how to get on a boat" nature about getting on club website crew lists, walking docks, volunteering for sailing events, etc; for you they would be relevant in building your sailing resume and reputation. If a voyaging boat drops by your part of the world with a need for crew, and the local harbor master, yacht club commodores, racing and cruising chairpeople, yacht club manager, chandlery clerks, etc., know that you have a good reputation as a conscientious, cheerful, punctual shipmate, that may be your ticket.

Also, once you get to that point, there are threads about how to size up a boat and skipper and ask questions and make arrangements for everyone's mutual benefit and your safety.

The caution is not just about horny skippers chasing your around the boat (but if the skipper is more interested in your picture than your references and sailing resume, you definitely have an Official Clue!) -- you want to know how well kept, safe, equipped, and competent the boat and crew are. And how tolerant and compatible your crew is, and whether you or they have habits or vices that clash. Little bitty quirks that don't matter much on land, where you can get away from people easily, can loom large in the confines of a boat. Financial arrangements and boat budgets are also all over the map, so you'll want them to be known so you don't wind up with a nasty surprise leaving you broke halfway around the world from home. And you'll want to know where you'll fit in on the crew and what duties and chores are expected and what you can grow into. New crew may get most of the dirty work, but you presumably expect to have some interesting jobs and fun as well.

[Capt. lulz]

Originally Posted by Carmen Gee

too late haha. jokes. i am actually 17 , which it makes it worse but will be 18 by december. Really hope i find some sailing, please let me know if you hear of anything.

Chris Hanson is after sailors now :O

[NCountry]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

LOL

I'm a single pirate too
I gotta agree with David and Carl that its even harder to sort out if a solo sailor is the right oportunity to crew.

But as the others have said, don't tar us all with the weirdo brush

Just a bit off center.



Mark

Yeah, cause we've all already been tarred with the weirdo brush cause we like to sail..... hahahahaha rofl....lol.....

[rgscpat]

On some forums we could name, many respondents might suspect that the original poster was an internet troll or someone playing a joke, and a fair number of the responses might be a bit rude. The forum gets all sorts of "interesting" new posters, and to some the post might be suspected of being in the "almost too good to be true" category, given that competent young female sailors are not exactly numbered in the millions. As "they" say, your mileage may vary.

Here, the tendency is to take posters at face value and try to be helpful. That may be in part because this forum is more carefully moderated than some, with the mods clamping down rather firmly on inappropriate posts and responses, and there tends to be less trolling and silliness in the first place. So, in this forum, discussion is a bit more serious and stays somewhat more on track than in other places... believe it or not!

It would still be helpful for the original poster to try to be as specific and detailed as possible in saying what she wants to get out of voyaging, how she came to be interested in it, background, etc. That will allow advice to be more targeted and useful, given that "one size fits all" advice DOES NOT. And, she might be able to quell the doubt of skeptics about her actual qualifications and seriousness and "yes I'm really who I say I am" without compromising her privacy too much.

[sailor49]

In this CRAZY World where kids as young as 8 years old are committing cold blooded murder, it behooves each and every person to exercise common sense and take every precaution. If ya decide to take a long walk on a cloudy day with out an umbrella or so much as an hat, chances are you're heads gonna get wet and who knows where that can lead. No whistleling please.

[alan_za]

Originally Posted by ty.gregory

Don't believe it for a second??? That's a little harsh, don't you think? A second? Not all single-handers are rapists. As a matter of fact, I don't know one single-hander that's a rapist. I agree with being careful, though. Fine idea to be careful. You be careful, too, David M.

Here you go:

How a rapist was caught - In The Paper - Mail & Guardian Online

[captainKJ]

Do a forum search on crewing and you will find tons of information. This topic has been covered several times over. Lots of good advice and what to look out for in the other threads.

About the bikinis,,,,, optional on some boats in the middle of the atlantic,,,get the picture,,,BE CAREFUL and do your homework

[atoll]

Originally Posted by alan_za

Here you go:

How a rapist was caught - In The Paper - Mail & Guardian Online

may be owners/single handers should be aware as well,i think the term is "honey trap"

Update from Hans Klaar after his release from South African Prison ...

I've been in contact with Hans since his release this June after serving several months in a South African prison for a rape he claims he did not commit. The other side of this story has been all over the international news and sailing blogs since his arrest in New Zealand in 2009 and his extradition back to South Africa where he had been convicted of rape in 1998. Han's statement is below:

"My arrest and subsequent extradition to South Africa to serve my sentence is by now old news; I am however saddened and shocked at the outcry and cheap sensationalism it has sparked amongst the sailing community and even some of my friends. I have decided it is time to break my silence and tell the truth about the events of that evening.

I had met the complainant, Ingrid Marteen, the previous night at a party hosted by a mutual friend and we hit it off immediately. We agreed to meet the following evening at a prearranged place in order to spend some time
together. Ingrid Marteen arrived at this rendezvous as a completely voluntary and willing participant in what was to be an evening between lovers.

With her agreement we took my small dingy out to the middle of Durban's harbour and before long were kissing and fondling in the way mutually consensual lovers normally do. Ingrid removed her clothes on her own volition. What followed was that she was an active willing participant in a sex act that did not include intercourse. We got dressed, I started the outboard motor and proceeded back to the quay. I noticed that she was all of a sudden very quiet and broody, but ignored it, putting it down to disappointment on her part really.

You cant imagine how many times I have wondered why this woman lied about and exaggerated this incident and took it so far. I believe she had an axe to grind with men in general and had recently been dumped by some man. She also slept with my good friend two weeks prior to our incident and basically kicked him out of the flat by morning. He was quick to point out that he was amazed at her aggressiveness.

We were somewhat alcohol influenced - 3 beers at the time. But only thing I can come up with was the girl friend she was flatting with was a school mate of my wife and somehow jealous of our family and felt she should encourage her friend to make an example of me. It was this woman who went with Ingrid to the police and basically prompted her to such an extent that Ingrid couldn't back down without losing face to her friend. She seemed to be easily lead.

She was somewhat mentally unbalanced, just considering her reactionary conversations concerning men. Today I would run a mile if some woman started talking about men like she did or at best tap my head but then I was 32 and filled with the firm belief nothing would harm a good easy going guy like me.

I was convicted and sentenced to imprisonment by a lower Court who had ostensibly ignored the following:

1) The medical statement was inconclusive – no proof of penetration whatsoever had been established.

2) The official from the police who took the statement came forward on her own accord and testified in Court that she didn’t believe that Ingrid Marteen had been raped.

3) The statement of this alleged complainant was so crossed out, rephrased, and rewritten as to render it, quite frankly, ridiculous.

4) The Court ignored the evidence of a maritime expert who testified to the fact that such a small boat would have been swamped with water, if not capsized, had two people of the size of Ingrid Marteen and I been entangled in any struggle, let alone the type suggested by rape.

My legal team appealed against the conviction and sentence: the High Court found that there wasn’t enough to set aside the conviction, but did reduce my sentence to only three years imprisonment. This ridiculously low sentence for
such a serious offence is obviously indicative of the views of the Court of Appeals on this incident.

I have had several legal experts look into the proceedings who have all shook heads in disgust as to the miscarriage of justice that occurred here, and I was advised to take my plight to the European Court of Justice in Strasbourg.

As for my running away, well my fault is I just did not give it the gravity it deserved. The whole thing was an attention seeking fracas from the beginning. It wasn't much of a secret either as many of my then close friends knew all about it. And by the time we got word of the verdict, we where in Namibia and I was sure as hell not going to fly back and leave my wife and three small children alone in the middle of nowhere.

As for being a fugitive, well I never in my wildest dream thought that the SA police would bother with such an expensive quest and they didn't till January 2008. Also my then lawyer told me not to worry, that nothing will ever happen about it. I didn't act or feel like a fugitive either. I should have gone for a third appeal - might have taken another two years but I wasn't going to chuck any more money down this stupid hole.

In the end, penny wise pound foolish, I had a cheap cooperate lawyer and should have got my self a proper criminal lawyer. But at the time I thought why should I when I didn't rape anybody. But I completely under estimated what a rape obsessed country like SA is and how tired the system was of convicting all these black on black rapists. Can you imagine how happy they where of being able to handle their first European case - a real Swiss sex tourist, that's how I was portrayed."

Hans Klaar

[grasspack]

Wow...that was a costly dinghy ride. Being new to the forum I didn't know anything about this.

[capngeo]

The OP was soliciting for a crew position, not advise. This thread has run way out of the channel!