Experienced Crew Needed - Mexico to Australia

[gabeandrews]

Hello, I am a worried mother (in Australia) whose 26 year old daughter has bought a 39ft Ericson yacht and I know nothing about sailing. She is in Ensenada Mexico and really wants to sail back to Australia (Brisbane) and she needs help to do it. My husband would love to help her but it would be like the blind leading the blind. By the way she is not an experienced sailer. Was wondering if anybody in the yachting world would like to help get her home safely...she estimates about 8 weeks all going well and leaving in about a month I think.....she has all the safety gear, and is intelligent (I thought..???) and is as keen as mustard..any ideas???

[Hud3]

Hi, Gabe. Welcome to CF. I moved your post to it's own thread so more would see it.

[gabeandrews]

Thank you for doing that...as you can see I am new to this...hope we get some positive response..very interesting and informative site

[Minggat]

I am in La Paz Mexico and will mention this on th cruisers net this morning. You might check with her to see if she is doing the same there in Ensenada. I would advise her to get the boat down here for better chances of finding crew and help with outfitting advise. Starting with finding crew from Ensenada to here would be a good thing and much easier. And I encourage your husband to be a part of the crew (optimum crew of 4 IMHO).

BTW, I was on the Bundamba water project there in Brisbane last year. I am grinding this thru the remaining gears of my brain as a way to get back there.

Please PM me.

[gabeandrews]

Thank you so much for your reply Minggat...really appreciate your advice and will pass on. We are currently working on trying to get hubby there to lend a hand even though he has not sailed before. Would be a wonderful experience/challenge for them both. Sarah is a spatial scientist so hopefully will be able to find her way home as long as nothing serious goes wrong..By the way what does IMHO mean and also PM??? please excuse my ignorance... cheers (are you sailing to qld from mexico??)

[Minggat]

As I understand it, IMHO = In My Humble Opinion, and PM is Personal Message. That's available thu this forum.

Another thought occurred to me. I'm sure she's trying to save $, but a delivery skipper could save her life and money in the long run. In addition, she gets to learn under a seasoned professional.

I will PM you.

[gabeandrews]

Any ideas approximate cost of a delivery skipper??? btw appreciate your advice...

[Minggat]

gabeandrews,

At the top right hand corner of this page, below the globe, you will see your user name. Under it is a link to your PRIVATE MESSAGES (not persomal messages like I stated earlier). Click that. I have PM'd you.

Since you will be responsible for air travel back to the skippers dispatch point, you might as well find one there in OZ and he and your husband can fly together to Ensenada. That way you can personally interview him before you hire him.

Other readers- Any response re the cost of a skipper from Ensenada to Brisbane?

[bvimatelot]

Originally Posted by gabeandrews

Any ideas approximate cost of a delivery skipper??? btw appreciate your advice...

I've sent you a pm! Tony

[Toys_with_time]

Agree re comment on professional skipper. Either way the boat will need to be prepared for water sailing">blue water sailing and I dont know whether it has previoulsy been a blue water yacht or coastal cruiser - there's a bit of a difference in gear levels and set up. It's not just about safety equipment (although that helps) its about all that you have to do to prepare and equip a boat for sailing across a fairly large expanse of water. 4 weeks may be too short a period depending on the state of yacht.

Think the 8 weeks might be optimistic - you need to build in time for R&M and probably R&R en route and setting out against a bad weather forecast to keep to a schedule is not recommended plus there's an awful lot of beautiful islands to visit between Mexico and Oz.

Good luck and wishing fair winds for your daughter

[gabeandrews]

Thank you taking the time to reply... have passed on message. I too am hoping for fair winds...by the way what does R & M mean....

[Toys_with_time]

Originally Posted by gabeandrews

Thank you taking the time to reply... have passed on message. I too am hoping for fair winds...by the way what does R & M mean....

Repairs and Maintenance, a constant companion for all sailors Does help you to get to know your boat backwards though

If your daughter gets to somewhere closer and needs new crew let me know - I cant do the whole trip but can do a leg closer to home e.g. NZ to Oz.

[Guigue72]

Hello Gabe!!

I am in Mexico, if the timing is wright I might be able to help you sail the boat if your husband can come too, will be much better, because of to rightnow is just me, I could talk my wife in it to it, but she depends on the time also.

I have never crossed an ocean but I have some experience in long distance sailing.

Because what read on the thread seems to me that some issues have been overlooked, so I suggest the following:

1.- The boat has to be prepared to do an ocean crossing, the most important issues are the following:

-Deck and Hull joint has to be inspected.
-Hull has to be sound.
-Standing rigging also has to be sound.

Basically having a sound hull and rigg is all it takes to be safe, cosmetics and conforts of the boat is another issue that has nothing to do with safety.

Without fancy electronics I will advice to have at least 3 people on board.

If you have not find any solid help yet, you are welcome to contact me I can find a way to assist you.

[swami maximus]

The daughters vessel was destroyed... And from what I've heard, now she has the swine flu in Mexico...

See the following links:

gabriel pictures by blowhole1 - Photobucket

Geraldton sailor’s dream ends in Mexico : thewest.com.au

Anyone that can lend a hand might offer to step up...

[CharlesFCook]

I'm very sorry to hear this. Thank god they lived to tell the story. Luck is a gift.

I don't want this to sound like "I told you so" but sailing from Mexico to Australia is not something to be taken lightly. The odds an inexperienced sailer would make it are very small. I know I would not have crewed on this trip.