My wife and I are now empty-nesters. We dropped our youngest crew off at college last month, and we're on our own. That leaves us with a Hallberg-Rassy 53 and two mostly empty cabins (we'll have our 18 year old on board from late May-August).
We've been married twenty-five years- college sweethearts - and we're in our early fifties now. Since 2012 we've been cruising full-time, when we set out from the U.S. with our
kids (fifteen and twelve at the time). We got as far as
Australia with the
kids on board, but now we're just two most of the time.
We're looking at bringing on one or two crew members as we move over the next 12 months or so. Our longer term plan is to get from
Sydney,
Australia back to the
west coast of the U.S. by sailing via
French Polynesia and
Hawaii. Roughly speaking, that's:
- Late Jan/Feb 2019; sail from Sydney area to New Zealand, most likely landing in Nelson.
- March/April 2019; Leave Wellington NZ headed to French Polynesia. Probably clearing in the Australs and cruising through to Tahiti or the Marquesas.
- November 2019; leave French Polynesia for Hawaii
- May/June 2020; Leave Hawaii, probably for the Pacific Northwest but maybe Alaska first. Still fuzzy on that last one.
My philosophy on crew is, I think, straight-forward. We don't pay crew as we're not looking for pros to sail the
boat for us; we're mostly looking for help on watches. But we're not looking to charge people either. For passages - when we really need crew - we'll cover
meals on the
boat and other expenses. Crew is expected to carry their share of watch,
cleaning,
work along with the rest of us. I won't ask anyone to do more than we do, we're not looking for free labor either. We'll cover clearing in
fees and expenses, but you'll have to post your own bonds and special visas when required.
You need to get yourself to the boat, and have the means to get yourself away from the boat when you're ready to leave or we're ready for you to leave.
When we're in "tourist mode", e.g. for almost six months in French Polynesia when we don't need crew and you're someone just staying in our house, there are different expectations. We'll never ask for a per diem or rent, or for any contributions for
repairs,
fuel, etc. But at that point you're living in my house when I don't really need you there, so it's expected you'll cover your own expenses and
pitch in around the house. You can stay with us, but I'm not going to support you or pay for your
vacation. And of course you can take off and do your own side excursions and catch up with us later, too.
We're headed back to the U.S. for a bit between now and January, but this is the time to start talking to people, conducting interviews and lining someone up to join up with us after the new year. We view the NZ run as a good "shake down"
cruise, but we'd love to find someone compatible to stay as long as they can. We'll take some coastal trips together before we
head off shore, to make sure we can stand each other's company in a seaway.
We don't *need* more than one person, but we have room for more than one. We have a V-Berth with a double, and a bunk room with two singles (reminder - my daughter
will be coming home for summer break). I've got...trepidation...about taking a couple, as I've heard some nightmare stories from other skippers about relationships disintegrating on the high seas. I won't say no, flat-out, but I'd be happier if any couples that are interested had been together and doing this for a while rather than discovering the bloom is off the rose 500 miles off shore with us.
As far as experience goes, of course I'd love someone with more than me that can strip and
service a
winch blindfolded in a 40
knot squall. Practically speaking, we're more interested in your mindset, your aptitude, and your attitude than than how much
salt you have in your drawers. If you've got the sense to ask for help in the middle of the night on watch when something concerns you but not wake us up every time you need to trim a sail in an inch, we can probably
work the rest out. You may be the saltiest sea-dog on the high seas, but if we annoy each other it's not going to work.
A few things to know about us.
No illegal drugs. Period. It's a
legal issue, not a moral one; I'm not judgmental. But I will not have my boat impounded at the border by a crew
member being dumb enough to try to bring illegal drugs into a country. Or holding drugs in a country I'm not a citizen of.
We do drink alcohol at
anchor, not generally to excess. We don't drink on passages, as a
rule. Motoring in dead calm with a nice meal, we might waive that for a
single glass of wine, but that's about it.
We're not smokers. So we'd prefer non-smokers. There is no smoking down below, so you're outside and down
wind and probably outside the hard
dodger - no matter the conditions.
Before we make a decision we'd like to meet in person, or if that's not practical conduct one or more chats with Skype. Also we'd love to talk to
references. If you've never sailed before that's OK, but we're still bringing a random stranger off the
internet into our home...so character counts.
There's more information about us in our blog, as linked. The earlier posts - pre 2017 - are more interesting as we've been kicking around Oz for a while doing projects.
Feel free to comment here if interested, or send me a PM with a little about yourself, or go to the blog and submit a contact from there.
Sail Evenstar