Camden from Mt. Battie

Need Crew? Want to Crew?

If you can’t take your boat or charter, why not crew on someone else’s boat? This is a substantial cruise over long distances and three weeks. GBH skippers may have trouble filling their boats for the entire time. In particular, note that boats joining the overnight passage are required to have at least three competent crew members to stand watch. Or, they may need crew for specific ports and legs of the trip. There is likely to be an opportunity to crew that fits your schedule. Getting yourself to the boat and back is easier than you think. Take a look at Easy Crew Change, below.

Just register below (Register CREW) and tell us your experience level and when you are available. Skippers, if you need to fill your boat, register below (SKIPPERS) to let us know when and where.

We will match skippers needing crew and crew needing boats.

How to Do an Easy Crew Change

 

I am one of those skippers always looking for crew. Most friends can come for four to 10 nights, requiring two or three crew changes in mid cruise. With just a little preplanning, it is surprisingly easy and avoids turning spouses into long haul taxi drivers.

I start lining up my crew in January, getting commitments as early as possible. Depending on where my first crew lives, they may leave their car at my house or at the Fairhaven marina. When it is time to make a swap, we are well into Maine. Arriving-Crew drives to our location in Maine, leaving the gas tank near empty and steps on board. He hands his car keys to Departing-Crew. Departing-Crew takes the car, gasses it up and drives the car back to Arriving-Crew’s home. Departing-Crew also fills the tank, again, just before arrival. Departing-Crew has a spouse or friend pick him up at Arriving-Crew’s house to take him to his car.

The process is repeated for each crew change. The cost for having the use of a car to drive home is only two tanks of gas. No spouse has to make a six to eight hour round trip. No cars are left in Maine parking lots. At the end of the cruise, I drive my last crew from my marina to his or her home. Their car is in the driveway with a full tank of gas!

I also had one crewmember that did the overnight but planned to go home on day 5. In Belfast he took a bus all the way to Logan airport, where his wife picked him up.

Easy-to-find towns for crew swapping include Boothbay, Rockland, Camden, Round Pond and Castine.

Photo: Camden from Mt. Battie (Kate Fuss)

More Information

OVERNIGHT CROSSING      DON’T HAVE THREE WEEKS?     BOOTHBAY RENDEZVOUS WEEKEND     QUESTIONS?

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