Crewseekers

[GazzaUK]

Hello All,

Has anyone used Crewseekers (or any of the other 'crewfinders' sites)?
I'm a new convert to sailing (hooked already) and need experience! Any pitfalls to look out for?

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[ongolo]

Yes go for it, but it is not neccessary for you to pay. There are genuine free services offered. The question is rather the location, whether you and the boat are reasonably close together. If worldwide travel is no problem for you, I will look for a link for you where most people get lucky within a few days.

regards ongolo


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[bluejuice]

agree with other message posted, have had experience of crewseekers and have been very impressed, are other very good non pay sites which can be, or defintely could be easly found. crewseekers is doubtless the easy option however and many friends of mine have had success with it, but has taken some 'goes' to finally get a place. hope this helps.

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[Trevor_swfyc]

Gazza, welcome to the site, have you thought of joining a local yacht club. Many members find it difficult to get crew even for a days sail. If you havn't got a boat most clubs have a social membership and being crew is being socialable! and would cost far less than you might think.

Happy Sailing
Trevor

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[tom52]

If you want to be offered crewing opportunities you will need to be a bit less shy about who you are and where you are on your personal details

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[penfold]

sign up with <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.reliance-yachts.com/>these chaps</A>; I had a great time on deliverys organised by them. PM if you want more info.

cheers,
david

<hr width=100% size=1>Why'd he call me shortie?
Because you're small,...small,...S, M, all.

 

[Jeremy_W]

I've used Crewseekers and Club Crewit and had some excellent sailing from both. The guy who advertised "millionaire owner of brand new 65-foot yacht seeks crew. No contribution to expenses expected or accepted" was genuinely surprised how many replies he received!

I now tend to use this forum or BYM for crewing. I was looking for offshore trips and was able to offer a reasonable degree of offshore/ ocean experience. For complete novices, the only thing on offer tended to be day sailing or weekends between Brighton and Poole (the epicentre of UK sailing) at a rate of "daily contribution" pretty close to the rate payable at a sailing school.

Unless you're very far from the coast you'd probably get better value for money from joining a local club, which can offer a variety of other benefits such as dinghy sailing, talks and social gatherings. The RAFYC on the Hamble was advertising at the Boat Show. The Cruising Association runs a crewfinder service free to members.

Pitfalls:
(1)Don't set off on a long passage without having met and sailed with the skipper first.
(2) Clear up money matters before the event: If the daily rate is nearly the same as at a sailing school, go to the sailing school every time. They're paid and trained to teach you.

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[GazzaUK]

Hmmm, can't seem to find Club Crewit. What's the address?

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[Jeremy_W]

>>>Hmmm, can't seem to find Club Crewit. What's the address?
If you can't find it on Google then it may not exist any more.


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[alpha]

May I suggest that you ensure you get quality training to, say, Day Skipper standard as a minimum? If you're new to this and on someone else's yacht, you need to be able to be a safe and worthwhile member of the crew. You need to know enough, too, to take good care of yourself.

Good luck!

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[snowleopard]

just one comment about crewseekers- they advertise 'free to skippers' but i got no response at all despite offering the most popular trip in the world - the ARC. they made it clear that i would have to pay to get anything useful.

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