Crewseekers

[cocktail]

Re last week's discussion on Crewseekers, which I missed because I was away.

I have used Crewseekers in the past as crew and sailed on a variety of boats, with a variety of skippers - some good and some not so good. Generally I paid my own travel expenses and on some also a contribution to living expenses.

I generally found it a good way to gain experience on different boats.

I cannot remember how much I paid to be a member but on checking the price recently appears to have gone up quite alot as I don't remember paying nearly as much as the £85 they are charging now.

As an aside I am currently based on the west coast of Scotland and am always looking for crewing opportunities. Perhaps a bit late in the season now as most of the boats near me appear to come out of the water at the end of this month, but if you do happen to sail all year round and would like an extra crew member send me a pm.



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[tcm]

questions from a know-nowt

hi

1. What range of boat sizes ask for crew?

2. as far as i know, on crewseekers you don't get paid - is that right? If so, i mean, erm is crew moral all okay? Presumably some crew sort-of join and then sort-of leave whenever they like? You must have some excellent stories!

3. How long do crew stay with a boat? Is it usually for a specific passage, or is it for an amount of time?



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[andy_wilson]

Re: questions from a know-nowt

You can (or could) look on the site for free to see the sort of sailing 'offers' that abound.

Crew pay to register, boat owners get it for free.

Most are (were) owners sick of being let down by 'mates' who found something better to do at the last minute, usually due to the weather.

Crew are usually mile builders and or dead keen to sail/learn so don't let you down, even if the weathers a bit iffy.

Could be for day sailing, weekends, X-channel or passage making.

Haven't looked there recently so all the above may be out of date.

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[cocktail]

Re: questions from a know-nowt

I agree with everything Andy says and can't think of much else to add other than some delivery skippers use Crewseekers when looking for extra crew for boat deliveries - these are the ones that often cover travel and on-board expenses, though not all do. The rest are generally recreational skippers not wanting to single hand and usually expect you to cover your own travel expenses and make a contribution to the on-board expenses, though there are always the exceptions.

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[Dave99]

I suggest sailcrew.co.uk although most of the responses i have had were at the begining of the season - it's free

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[Sea Devil]

Re: questions from a know-nowt

Crew join all sorts of boats from crewseekers - My boat is an oldish moody 36ft. I have had crew join just for the passage from UK to Gib a couple of times - to the Canaries - x atlantic - From Trini to Florida Keys - Trini to Panama and onwards. Some just do the passage and get off - some cruise for a while - some get off soon after joining - not often - I kick some off -
The deal on Crewseekers is there is no deal - Mainly the crew pay their own fare to the boat and pay a share of running costs - fuel/harbour dues/ food/ etc etc.

because I frequently also single hand the crew is a bit of a luxury and I only want them on board if they fit in and make me happy - if they do not then I prefer them to leave. If they find me a pain then they can leave too.
Having said all that macho stuff I have friends who were crew dating back for 10 years plus and mainly had a very good experience with them. In the end though its my boat, my dream, and the crew are getting a fantastic deal in terms of the relativly small amount of cash to see far away places in a cruising boat.

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