Quote:
Originally Posted by Maka
Good advice. Plz dont stop here. More if you have it.
Thanks
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Yachtmasters that couldn't tie a Bowline, Vegetarians that kept the fact secret until at the supermarket,10000 miles of ocean experience, on Virtual sailor 5!
I kid you not...
lessons learned: Don't believe anything crew say on their cv / sailing resume everyone exaggerates. No more than one married couple on the boat, enthusiastic amateurs are trainable, old salty sea
dogs are not.
You all need to eat together, the same
food at the same time. Good personal hygiene is expected even in week three of the ocean
passage.
Look for a good mix of skills set on board complimentary to your own. if you cant cook or engines are your weak suit then find crew with those skills.
You have to have common interests on long voyages you cant talk about squalls and knots for three weeks.
My earlier post on this suggests skype and a trial sail add to this get a reference from someone they have sailed with before.
Be really upfront on whats expected ,detail in writing responsibilities and any costs or remuneration involved. Give the responsibility of handling the 'kitty' to a crew remember. Cant over emphasise how important it is to be upfront and transparent about
money issues. I have had crew try to take off ' their share' of the
medical kit bought for the voyage for example. Be clear what happens to any
food left over at the end of the trip, is
engine oil paid for by the owner. Try and avoid any of these type of discussions at the end of the voyage.
Have a proper watch system posted so that the crew knows for example Breakfast is at 8.00, on Thursday at 9.00 its their turn to clean the heads, but they get to sleep in on Friday, no arguments no exceptions.
Its your boat even if you may not the skipper!
To repeat my earlier post: Skype or meet up, do a get to know us and the boat sail week or weekend, must be a minimum of an overnight at sea.
Set you crew a task to fix something , prepare a meal, organise a
passage.
You tend to only hear the negatives on crew.I have met some great people through Crewseekers and similar sites and have a band of shipmates now with whom I would happily sail again.