When to advertise for crew?

[Ainia]

I have a general question since we are starting a circumnavigation in a few months and will be looking for crew for various legs. For captains ... approximately how far ahead of a leg do you advertise for crew? Does this depend on the leg - e..g Florida to Panama would require less notice than Ecuador to Galapagos? For crew, how far ahead do you look>

Thanks

[mfelner]

Hi! Some of my personal thoughts from someone that has joined boats as crew and has responded to a fair amount of ads of skippers looking for crew:

If you already have the boat and are ready to leave then you can post a crew wanted ad with the passage details (brief but informative) as soon as you know that you need crew and when you are leaving (weather permitting). The farther out the better but two to three months is ideal. That allows for crew to make arrangements to be gone from home and get things in order. On the flip side, crew is often available with little or no notice and they may be walking the docks looking for a boat to jump on. The advantage of a few months out is that you can better screen prospective crew and find someone that will be a good match for your boat. Ask if they smoke, drink, take drugs (prescription for what?), eating habits, sleeping habits, sailing experience, etc.
If the boat is not ready to leave or the boat has not been purchased either don't post or clearly state in the ad that the boat is not ready and/or boat has not been acquired.
As prospective crew it is nice to be able to plan out my winter or spring and plan to be gone for two weeks, two months or two years. While great crew is available from all over you may want to try to meet your crew prior to sailing off for three weeks with no land in sight. Finally, keep the communication lines open (both ways crew and skippers). Respond to all inquiries (assuming they are legit) and let folks know where things stand. If you have found crew update your posting to reflect it or add that you have found crew for leg 1 but are looking for crew for legs 2-4.
Good luck! M

[Robert]

Check out references very, very carefully. We used crew MA to Nova Scotia. Complete fabricated experience.....totally incompetent despite 3 references. Took 2 months to check references.

We used crew Norfolk to BVI's and checked references much more carefully including person to person interview prior to committment. Again, took 2 months to check references. This crew was excellent.

In conclusion, I would try very, very hard to sail all legs alone or with partners experienced & knowledgeable before adding crew. I would hesitate before adding crew for long sea passages unless we took a shorter trip first ..................... lets say 3 weeks or so to actually confirm experience, knowledge, compatability by all concerned.

There are numerous horror stories that worked out with terror w/loss of life and/or boat. You can never be too careful in checking out references and validating experiences. Take all necessary time before the trip to satisfy yourself and all other normal crew members.

[CharlesFCook]

I have a general question since we are starting a circumnavigation in a few months and will be looking for crew for various legs. For captains ... approximately how far ahead of a leg do you advertise for crew? Does this depend on the leg - e..g Florida to Panama would require less notice than Ecuador to Galapagos? For crew, how far ahead do you look Thanks

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