Hello CaptTL,
Though I'm not sure of the your intentions contributin to this post, I stil think it deserves a detailled response.
Maybe the problem here is that you are considering the people as workers on the boat. It is not the case for me! I'm looking for a fellow sailors motivated for cruising.
If you are a professional skipper, you are getting paid to bring the boat from A to B in a certain timeframe, usualy short, and I know this kind of job : you have to go at sea because it's time, sometime no matter if the
weather is good or not, the season adequate, sometime motoring all the way, and to keep a fast pace. I know some pro skippers from France, and it is definitly a job. One of those I know was leaving France in the same time than me last year to bring a boat to the
caribbean, and they went from the French coast to
Gibraltar in only a few days. Usually 5 days at sea, 2 days rest, 5 days at sea, and so on... This is what I call a delivery team. And the skipper gets paid (and I know the economics are hard), but his crew wasn't. But on the other side, I have time so I'm going from A to B trough C & D...
So I'm definitly not offering the same thing, I plan on cruising in Bermuda, and then again in the Acores. Also, I consider people applying for small
parts of the trip. And I'm not a rich owner having his boat delivered, I'm taking my boat myself. And I cook, and I clean as the rest of the team, as this boat is my house as well.
Now about the cost: it is illegal for a non-professional skipper to charge for sailing in France too. However, the "ministery of sea" has decided to define
it more precisely : if the person is a passenger and that a full
price is applied, the skipper must be a licensed skipper. However, if the person is a crew or just a friend or co-sailor, the owner is allowed to ask for a crew contribution.
Then it gets a bit more complex, but I think the
rule is good so I will explain it: the crew contribution is being defined by a share of the yearly cost of the
boat. The yearly cost is the total of the upkeep charges,
winter storage, plus
insurance and all consumable costs. The share is then simply to divide the milles made by the team by the total number of miles made in the year, and split per person. So the yearly cost of a $200.000 ship is easily reaching 10.000$, as the upkeep can be 5-10% depending if you're doing it yourself or not.
No need to make a calculation to say the crew contribution could be high. But again, I'm not asking this (and I think it should also apply differently for long distances) but simply a small one, just as a positive and respectful sign of sharing from the crew. In no way it's going to cover boat costs NOR to pay the captain! This system is widely in use in France, and it alows less wealthy people to have a boat and to sail it with friends that help. My friends and familly spontaneously offer it when they come to sail with me (tough I wouldn't accept it if I was rich). And I have this verified with my insurance (@scottuk)
I think the change you reffer to is realted to more people sailing, more people
having experience. And not all of them having a lot of
money... while
boats don't get cheaper. But yes, lots of things have changed since the 90. Major disc companies
lost profit over the online
music,
movie industry is evolving with the
internet, sailing with
gps devices and maps makes it easier,
safety is better...
But hopefuly, sailing will still being that fun. And this trip is intended to be.
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