Crew Available: Crewing as a female. Sketchy vs. Otherwise

[250224]

Originally Posted by jtsailjt

One thing crew can do to put family at ease and to document a connection to the vessel is, soon after arriving at boat to crew on, post some selfies on social media or sent to friends that include you and your your skipper and his boat and boat name and perhaps even the registration number carved into it. For me, a skipper who didn’t want to be photographed with me would be a red flag.

There are people who have no interest to have photos on social media. Another person (among good sensible things) wrote that you could sneak in an InReach without telling... (btw. what if such a device broke in the middle of the sea, all fine on the boat but relatives terrified? InReach is ok, but please be open about it!)

There must be a way to establish trust without intrusion of the host. Would you also plant microphones? Or - once Elon launched all those satellites - hidden cameras?

Another point: I'm sure the above mentioned sv Shenanigans had a proper register number, was on social media and everything.. but still there was "a problem".

As many have said, trust your guts (but also properly assess the boat (e.g. why is there no AIS, what about liferaft, self-steering etc.) and the person/papers). I liked the thought from the lol "sneaky-poster":

Originally Posted by CarlF

But in this case. I wouldn't go. What sort of guy wouldn't have anticipated that the OP would need some sort of ID before locking herself up in a small boat offshore with a guy she just met?

Btw, nice question/discussion. It seems that (in Florida, Mexico and MED) there are more weird people on boats than I thought; in northern Europe it feels rather peaceful

[mako]

Originally Posted by Shawna

Is it a red flag if they don't want to give your family their boats registration number? I had a boat owner tell me someone could take a loan out against his boat and screw up his credit

The people screaming "creepy serial killer" in this thread may be over-reacting. Perhaps the guy actual believes what he says. He has the inalienable right to believe whatever he wants, even if it's wrong. Also you didn't specify if your bunk had been confirmed or if this was just the first communications you two had made. Perhaps he's not comfortable giving out info to a total stranger on the phone until he confirms you.

Having said that, I also believe that you did right to trust your instincts and not join up with a questionable vessel. Don't risk your safety.

[Lodesman]

Originally Posted by blu3534

Btw, nice question/discussion. It seems that (in Florida, Mexico and MED) there are more weird people on boats than I thought; in northern Europe it feels rather peaceful

Umm, all people on boats are weird

[Scorpius]

Originally Posted by Lodesman

The requirement for registration is usually predicated on tonnage or length. In Sweden all vessels over 24 m must be registered in the Register of Ships. Vessels between 15 and 24 m must be registered in the Register of Boats; shorter vessels may be so registered but don't need to.

Well, that's essentially the same as we have here - except any vessel 15 tons or more (usually much smaller than 24m) must be registered - and smaller vessels may be registered (Scorpius is 12.24 tons). There doesn't seem to be a specified lower limit.

[Jeff L]

Greetings and a little advice from a retired cop. Trust you instincts! A boat in the ocean is not a good place to determine someone else's moral character. It is not worth the risk. Besides, if he can't trust you with his boat number, how could he possibly trust you to sail his boat on a night watch.

[Sea Wings]

Trust your instincts- irrespective of whether you are male or female there must always be transparency and you must always make sure a reliable, competent and proactive shore based person knows where you are and the coarse itinerary and contact info is clear..

I had two very close shaves in my early crewing days with three crew dead when the captain of a boat I opted out of went schizo just outside Mauritius and the other one was similar but between Cape Town and St Helena a year later although no fatalities.......

Tread carefully and do the research.....

[jtsailjt]

Originally Posted by blu3534

There are people who have no interest to have photos on social media. Another person (among good sensible things) wrote that you could sneak in an InReach without telling... (btw. what if such a device broke in the middle of the sea, all fine on the boat but relatives terrified? InReach is ok, but please be open about it!)



There must be a way to establish trust without intrusion of the host. Would you also plant microphones? Or - once Elon launched all those satellites - hidden cameras?



Another point: I'm sure the above mentioned sv Shenanigans had a proper register number, was on social media and everything.. but still there was "a problem".



As many have said, trust your guts (but also properly assess the boat (e.g. why is there no AIS, what about liferaft, self-steering etc.) and the person/papers). I liked the thought from the lol "sneaky-poster":







Btw, nice question/discussion. It seems that (in Florida, Mexico and MED) there are more weird people on boats than I thought; in northern Europe it feels rather peaceful

I think there’s quite a lot of middle ground between including your skipper and his vessel in a selfie and hidden microphones or hidden spy cameras so let’s try to not get carried away with hyperbole.. My thought is that if the worst happens and you are among the missing at the destination, at least your loved ones will have undeniable photo proof that you were indeed on that particular vessel with that particular skipper. Yes, there are other ways of establishing that but I don’t consider including someone in a selfie to be terribly intrusive. Being photographed and put on social media isn’t my favorite thing either (I’m MUCH better looking in person than in a photograph [emoji6]) but if someone is seriously put out by being included in a picture or two, they’ll probably be seriously put out by lots of other things that I consider to be rather trivial so I’d rather not go to sea with them anyway.

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by jtsailjt

I think there’s quite a lot of middle ground between including your skipper and his vessel in a selfie and hidden microphones or hidden spy cameras so let’s try to not get carried away with hyperbole.. My thought is that if the worst happens and you are among the missing at the destination, at least your loved ones will have undeniable photo proof that you were indeed on that particular vessel with that particular skipper. Yes, there are other ways of establishing that but I don’t consider including someone in a selfie to be terribly intrusive. Being photographed and put on social media isn’t my favorite thing either (I’m MUCH better looking in person than in a photograph [emoji6]) but if someone is seriously put out by being included in a picture or two, they’ll probably be seriously put out by lots of other things that I consider to be rather trivial so I’d rather not go to sea with them anyway.

Funny, I feel differently about this. I think you should always ask whether a person wants their picture taken. To take it without permission is like stealing their image, and would be offensive to many people. I also would not assume they were being weird. One has a right to one's privacy. Many people don't care that much. But I can also see how jtsailjt could accurately use it as a filter for folks s/he might not feel comfy with.

Ann

[Boat Guy]

Originally Posted by StuM

.... Boat registry information is public information in many countries and is frequently available for online lookup.

USCG Doc vessels used to not only be searchable but also provided owner name and contact info. For the last few years they removed that info. Personally, I wish they left it available for people to see. Sure you can search the vessel but it only really provides that the documentation is current if it's USCG documented.


OP & others - This is a pretty serious thread. I mean discussions of crew safety, whether male or female, is paramount. I would think any crew and "owner" would want full disclosures and openess. Esp. if they don't have some common relationship with someone that knows them and can vouch for them.


Personally, I would want any crew to feel more than assured that I was capable, responsible, and stable, and visa-versa... I would want all contact information for everyone and would certainly share information on the vessel. In fact, if I was female, I wouldn't consider a crew position unless there were several others aboard and perhaps another female.


We are in the information technology age. Perhaps post up the name of the guy and vessel and someone here might know him and vouch for him.


Look, you don't want to leave port in a storm, so why take chances with your well being?

[Shawna]

Thank you all so much!! HIN Number has been found. Boat seems legitimate. When I get to know the owner better I will have a chat about this with him so he can avoid things he may not want to deal with. No worries if you were the guy who thought I was online asking him questions. Now you know this too. The numbers can all be found online. I just couldn't find them on the boat cause I've never been on this type of boat. If you converse long enough with someone and read into things enough, you usually end up on the same page.
We all can learn something from each other.
Again, thank you all for your help and input. And, as always, happy sails!

[visionsinsight]

I came across a couple sketchy ones on the GoSailing app. One claimed to have a particular boat (a three year old 50' Oceanis) But when I located the boat it was in a different port and was for sale. The add said nothing of this and he tried to pressure me into going. I contacted the broker but never heard back from either after that.
Other ones want money up front and leave very little info about themselves. Now I'm leery of getting on any boat I don't already know.

[Christmas Beetle]

Yes dodgy

[jtsailjt]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

Funny, I feel differently about this. I think you should always ask whether a person wants their picture taken. To take it without permission is like stealing their image, and would be offensive to many people. I also would not assume they were being weird. One has a right to one's privacy. Many people don't care that much. But I can also see how jtsailjt could accurately use it as a filter for folks s/he might not feel comfy with.



Ann

I think you have old school manners and that’s nice! [emoji106]. I also don’t enjoy getting my picture taken but put up with it only when necessary. However, we all get our pictures taken every time we walk into a store or bank or approach a cash register or even walk down the sidewalk past someone’s video doorbell. Also, where cameras used to be only brought out to document special occasions, now almost everyone walks around with a camera in their pocket, hand, or purse 100% of the time. So, I think that picture taking norms are evolving and being photographed isn’t quite as big a deal as it was 20 or 30 years ago. Yes, it’s a loss of privacy but I think we’re stuck with it. But your point regarding the etiquette of photographing someone is well taken. Oh for the good old days!

[Nibiruwayne]

How would you feel about being on the boat and working for the skipper? What is the cruising itinerary? Location- length of time, ports of call? As a female what would be your accommodation?
There could be many reasons for wish to not share boat info. Bitter divorce, unpaid taxes, unpaid slip fees, improper registration.
We’ve sailed our boats over 35 years- crew selection outside family has always been a critical process outside of family.
Follow your intuition and measure risk/ reward.

[Capt JS]

Whenever I do a delivery, or am hired to train the owner(s) of a vessel, I always ask the owner to complete the top portion of the USCG float plan. It has good information to leave with your land based support group and/or family. I have never had anyone refuse to use a float plan. If an owner refused to complete a float plan, I would probably not accept the work.

http://floatplancentral.cgaux.org/do...GFloatPlan.pdf