References for Surfmachine

[doivey]

My daughter is considering a Sumatran sail with Keith Stirling of Surfmachine. Living on the other side of the world and away from big water, I'm concerned about her plans. Keith, you will probably come across this and I hope you take no offense. I'm just wondering if there's anyone reading who knows Keith or better yet, has sailed with Keith. Of course I'll be worried to send my daughter off with a stranger on a long sailing/surfing adventure since she has no experience in either one. Should I expect a safe journey? Will she be well cared for?

[tropicalescape]

Originally Posted by doivey

My daughter is considering a Sumatran sail with Keith Stirling of Surfmachine. Living on the other side of the world and away from big water, I'm concerned about her plans. Keith, you will probably come across this and I hope you take no offense. I'm just wondering if there's anyone reading who knows Keith or better yet, has sailed with Keith. Of course I'll be worried to send my daughter off with a stranger on a long sailing/surfing adventure since she has no experience in either one. Should I expect a safe journey? Will she be well cared for?

surf and sail ,why would she want to do something like that when there are so many grand oppurtunitys growing on trees...DVC ps this is not a reference,just a smart ass comment..

[atoll]

i dont know him personally,but over the last 2 years he has been posting i have never heard a bad word said about him from other cruisers he met.

i belive his own daughter sails with him occasionally and they seem to have lots of fun.

it is quite common for yachts to take backpackers as crew,those that have bad experinces are normally quite vocal on the net and the word soon gets around.

[benmarshall]

hello doivey .. ill be on board with keith for the entire trip this year .. i personally have not met him , but we have had some lengthy skype conversations and some of my friends from margret river know him personally as well . not one bad complaint has been said of him .. i get a good vibe from him and from what i can gather he has it all together .. hes just a cruisy surfer that wants, easy fun adventurous people to enjoy the trip ... as for myself , i have a open master 5 and med 2 , and spent many years working on all types of boats from live aboard sailing charters . to driving trawlers and more recently the south perth ferry.. i have spent many months in indonesia myself surfing and doing boat trips throught the the whole country ....so in saying all this , i have done alot of reasearch and am more than sure that he is a good character and has done this trip before .. as for my experience in working with alot of boat owners and companies , i simply do not tolerate cowboys in any way .. anyways thats my say ........ ben