Crew Available: Hard time finding opportunities...

[VanuatuMarc]

We do not need anymore websites that try and suck you into paying for a subscription to get ahold of a captain that may or may not still need crew. Boats, please do not advertise on these sites as it is bad for our community as a whole. Cruisers Forum is the only website I have ever found crew on and we should stay away from any paying websites.


Quoting this reply above/..........
... Find Crew® - findacrew.net by NAUTYCAL - SSL Secure, Worldwide matching of Marine Crew and Boats. worked great for me. Will start working in the Bahamas next weekend with my spouse :-)

Good luck!

Carsten

[VanuatuMarc]

After a lengthy application process to register (120 questions or so) you think maybe you have a chance at contacting the captain.... but no... you can "wave" for free but not message unless you become a premium member and give them money. Are the owners of this site even sailors? I bet the guy who replied was working for this webste. Stay away.


When I finally wanted to send a message I got this message.
A message can only be sent by Premium Members and may contain personal text (a pre-written text that can be over written by the member), exchanging as little or as much info and contact details as desired. Messages are sent instantly as an individual email to the member and always have the member's email address in the reply field. A 'Reply Yes' or 'Reply Maybe' message can be sent by Free Members who received a 'Contact' wave or message from a current Premium Member.






Deceptive website stay away. Money trap.

[VanuatuMarc]

What does it cost???? As if sailing wasn't expensive enough?

30 days - $82.50! 1 year - over $450

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[NoQuarter79]

Originally Posted by Greenhand

When you asked for advice about finding opportunities, one piece of advice was to be specific about locations and/or willingness to travel. You responded, "We are willing to travel as far as necessary, within our limits, of course." That doesn't mean anything. No one has any clue what your limits are. The question was posed in the first place to probe what your limits might be, and you just stated that you have limits.

We are currently in West Virginia. We could easily get ourselves anywhere in the Chesapeake Bay, NC, and possibly Florida. If someone offers us a position on a boat in CA, no, that's not within our limits, simply because we can't afford to make it to CA on our own.

[CarstenWL]

@VanuatuMarc: 'Thanks' for contacting me via PM and letting me know that you don't think I am on the Bahamas right now and found a boat through Findacrew ...

Well ... Maybe I was fortune or maybe I just had the right resumé but I took the chance to register for free on Findacrew as stated somewhere above and soon after registering I paid for a 90 day subscription (why I actually liked the 'way they are handling requests, not sure why anyone who is seeking to crew longer on a vessel would sign up for longer), for me even the 30 day subscription would have been enough ...

Again, could have been pure luck or based on my past experience but I found a job with my girlfriend onboard a vessel in Bahamian waters through Findacrew and had to decline a second offer.

Your mileage may vary ...

Good luck!

Carsten

[mrlee]

Yes this is an interesting slant...I fall into the latter catagory...I will need a boat moved and my funds after refit are LOW!!! I am kinda looking for a trade off where they have a good sailboat to sail and they just sail in a specific direction...to me! I can help with funding the trip etc...and probably will have some cash to help with travel...How would you go about this?

[mrlee]

I have an opportunity for you...PM me and we can talk about it.
L8R

[VanuatuMarc]

Originally Posted by CarstenWL

@VanuatuMarc: 'Thanks' for contacting me via PM and letting me know that you don't think I am on the Bahamas right now and found a boat through Findacrew ...

Well ... Maybe I was fortune or maybe I just had the right resumé but I took the chance to register for free on Findacrew as stated somewhere above and soon after registering I paid for a 90 day subscription (why I actually liked the 'way they are handling requests, not sure why anyone who is seeking to crew longer on a vessel would sign up for longer), for me even the 30 day subscription would have been enough ...

Again, could have been pure luck or based on my past experience but I found a job with my girlfriend onboard a vessel in Bahamian waters through Findacrew and had to decline a second offer.

Your mileage may vary ...

Good luck!

Carsten

Please stop plugging this pay to use website

[SailRN]

I appreciate your sharing your experience with Find a Crew. I like the way they sort/match requirements/wants with needs/expectations. They are too expensive though, and maybe results will be good, or not. I like this and the other forums where there is no cost, other than the advertisements. I am free to make my own decision and wonder why anyone is so opposed to Find a Crew? They aren't forced to use it, so why so vindictive?

[Wannabe-007]

I agree, there's certainly some hot heads in this thread.

re: FindACrew.
I've used it in the past had various contact with people as a result.
The 'wave' thing is a smart and simple way to manage early communications and prevent unwanted mails. If a skipper is interested in a candidate, they can go to the next step, exchange messages / emails etc without any need for the budding crew member to pay anything.
From memory, skippers have to pay to register a boat / opportunity, and crew can choose from various options that start at free - which is perfectly adequate for crew seeking opportunities.


I agree that the payment options are prohibitively expensive for a lot of cruisers. However, I certainly do not begrudge the owners of the site for trying to offer a service and receive money for it?!
I've certainly recieved a lot more than I paid for the serice .


I also agree that Cruisers Forum provides a nice option for skippers/crew to make thier intentions known.
However, I can also see why some prefer a place where their approach will not be critiqued and dragged over the coals of anonymous public opinion!

[Wannabe-007]

Originally Posted by Delancey

...Check out the poll. Have yet to see a single person with the balls to say that they should be paid by crew because they are worth it. Maybe you should respond?

Delancey, where is this poll of yours?
I've looked, but can't find it.

If you read the crew wanted section, you'll find hundereds of people with the balls to say that they are looking for crew who will contribute to costs.

In aviation, a private (non commercially rated) pilot is allowed to charge an equal share of costs to a passenger. This is called "Not for profit or reward".
I expect the same practice would generally be accepted worldwide.


In my experience, the following options are around:

Option 1: Crew pays reasonable costs of having them on board

This is, in my experience, by far the most common.
Crew member pays something in the vicinity of $20-$30/day.
Crew member pays own costs to get to/from the boat, any alcohol, any shore excursions or meals, etc.
Crew member is expected to contribute to life on board, often as an equal party, doing watches, cooking, cleaning etc...
The boat will feed and look after the crew member.

There is a plethora of people willing to do this. Usually low-time sailors. They are not paying $1,000 per day for a charter, they are not paying for sailing lessons, they are not paying for time in thier log book, they are not even paying for accommodation.


Some skippers take this a little further and also allow the crew member to pay for thier share of things like fuel, marina fees, etc... It is still cost sharing, but will get a few more forum-folk offside.



Option 2: You crew on my boat, I feed you.
Same as Option 1, but you don't even have to pay for your food.
The skipper would be expecting someone with more experience, much more to offer, and could be more picky about who is selected.


Option 3: Skipper pays crew, including air fares, food, etc...
Same as Option 2, but the crew member is flown (at least one way) to/from the boat.
Again, the level of experience, qualifications, professionalism, etc is increasing substantially. The crew member is effectively being paid and could reasonably be expected to behave as an employee.


Option 4: Professional crew, and I charge $x/day + all costs etc...
Crew member is an employee.


Be realistic about what you offer, and what you're getting in return.

[Wannabe-007]

NoQuarter79 - I suggest you post your FindACrew name or profile ID here and you may get some suggestions on how you could make your profile more appealing to prospective skippers.

Originally Posted by NoQuarter79

These are very good and easy questions. We are willing to travel as far as necessary, within our limits, of course. We are definitely willing to take a risk, but it would be nice to know that there's at least 90% certainty in the plan. That being said, our schedule wouldn't be very rigid. I know a very important thing we've heard repetitively is that when sailing you can't really be on a schedule. When it comes to cost, that would take a little bit more discussion, but we are in no way greedy people. We are not getting into sailing to make money, but it is important to be able to maintain our financial obligations. We are very open minded people.

As someone has already said, these are terrible answers.
You've said that these are 'easy questions', but you have not answered a single one of them

I know people who have flown, at thier own cost, from the States to Tonga to crew on a boat (for free) - is that 'within our limits' ? Does that suit your schedule?
You have said you want to maintain your financial obligations, but elsewhere said that you don't expect to be paid?

I think you're in the same boat as many others. You don't really know whats expected. You don't really know what you are worth, or if you need to pay to get the experience that makes you worth something.


My gut feel is that... how do i put this...
As a low time sailor, I took the approach that I would happily pay to go and 'work' on other peoples boats, but with an attitude of "I'm being paid big bucks to be here". I used to say that I sailed the best kind of boat - 'other peoples boats'. I never had to spend a boat buck - not even one.
Subsequently, My wife and I have been paid to do various bluewater deliveries and finally gave in and bought our own hole in the water to pour money.

Finally, if you are any good, the best way to get on boats is word of mouth.

[Delancey]

As far as I know there are no laws that prohibit individuals from requiring crew to pay.

However Cruisers Forum has rules that prohibit asking crew to pay.

Originally Posted by SaucySailoress

The membership category 'Marine Service Provider' covers everyone offering a marine related service or product. This includes charities, members with free products, members simply operating only on a non-profit basis to benefit other cruisers or to help cover costs, and full scale commercial operators.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...st-105198.html

Here is the poll. As you can see from the results the only person with the balls to say they should get paid to have crew was someone promising bikini eye candy for the trouble.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ys-139030.html

Maybe others see it differently. I can accept that. Obviously it gets my goat a bit. Oh well.

[SailRN]

Originally Posted by Wannabe-007

I think you're in the same boat as many others. You don't really know whats expected. You don't really know what you are worth, or if you need to pay to get the experience that makes you worth something.

Aye, there's where we be.

[Wannabe-007]

This thread keeps showing up in my subscriptions as having new posts, but it doesn't have any. It says the last post was by some guy who has '0' posts!? Perhaps a spammer, and now the subscription system is confused...

Hopefully this post will fix it.