spence9302
New Member
Hiya,
I’m looking to crew a sailboat beginning this November or December. My goal is to live and work on a boat and to see as much of the world as I can until I’m too exhausted or too broke to continue. I’ve been reading listings on cruising websites such as crewseekers, sailingnetworks, findacrew, floatplan, and crewbay, and I have one fundamental question:
What kind of certification should I acquire (competent crew, day skipper, coastal/offshore skipper), if any, before I start contacting skippers/owners or yacht delivery agencies?
I have come across quite a few listings that are seeking crewmembers with little or no experience or certifications. My fear, however, is that I will not be able to sustain a long-term endeavor financially seeking these types of contracts, or that I will run into difficulty finding work against a host of other applicants. Am I better off investing the time and money into proper training and certification and seeking out more highly-skilled positions, notwithstanding my lack of experience? Or would I do just fine getting on somewhere as a deckhand and learning by doing, taking my limited budget into consideration?
I have between 50-100 hours of skipper experience on boats in the 18-24 foot range. I plan on cruising internationally anywhere that I can find meaningful work. My tentative plan is to start in the Caribbean this upcoming winter. I am very flexible on the type of vessel, duration of voyage, and compensation structure.
Any feedback you would be willing to share with an unseasoned seafarer would be so greatly appreciated!
-Spencer
I’m looking to crew a sailboat beginning this November or December. My goal is to live and work on a boat and to see as much of the world as I can until I’m too exhausted or too broke to continue. I’ve been reading listings on cruising websites such as crewseekers, sailingnetworks, findacrew, floatplan, and crewbay, and I have one fundamental question:
What kind of certification should I acquire (competent crew, day skipper, coastal/offshore skipper), if any, before I start contacting skippers/owners or yacht delivery agencies?
I have come across quite a few listings that are seeking crewmembers with little or no experience or certifications. My fear, however, is that I will not be able to sustain a long-term endeavor financially seeking these types of contracts, or that I will run into difficulty finding work against a host of other applicants. Am I better off investing the time and money into proper training and certification and seeking out more highly-skilled positions, notwithstanding my lack of experience? Or would I do just fine getting on somewhere as a deckhand and learning by doing, taking my limited budget into consideration?
I have between 50-100 hours of skipper experience on boats in the 18-24 foot range. I plan on cruising internationally anywhere that I can find meaningful work. My tentative plan is to start in the Caribbean this upcoming winter. I am very flexible on the type of vessel, duration of voyage, and compensation structure.
Any feedback you would be willing to share with an unseasoned seafarer would be so greatly appreciated!
-Spencer