Crew Available: Crewing as a female. Sketchy vs. Otherwise

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by Auspicious

Two? TWO? You only have TWO?

Yes! and one was on my HR 35.

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

Yes! and one was on my HR 35.

Well, you have given us the teaser, how about the rest?

[Sailing August]

Trust your first instinct. There are many legitimate boats and skippers out there that would be grateful to have you as crew....If ANYTHING seems dodgy. Walk away.

[Albinvega27]

Originally Posted by LakeSuperior

A consideration in picking up strange crew that doesn't seem to get mentioned goes under the heading of admissibility to the destination country.

Imagine a two week cruising passage within Europe only to find out your crew will not be admitted to the destination country because they had been deported in the past. Customs may tell you to immediately return to your port of departure.

Luckily we headed that one off via some key questions to the crew member. He had seemed very anxious to get passage.

We also showed up in Canada at midnight on a wet and foggy night only to find out they were not going to let us land because of a crew member. We were told to head back to the US. Fortunately, after some negotiation all was resolved.

Anyway, all this falls under "lessons learned."

As European, haven´t seen so far this one, not to be admitted as per 1 Crew member denied. Simple solution! Crew member denied goes into custody and rest of the boat continous. Some in the US, btw...

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by Uncle Bob

Well, you have given us the teaser, how about the rest?

I won't tell you the recent one which was the crew from hell...But I will tell you the earlier one. I was in my mid 30's and single. An attractive woman was walking the docks in Halfmoon Bay in Northern Ca. looking at the pretty boats. My dockmate suggested that she ask me for a sail as I went out on the weekends. I so obliged. Little wind and mild chop made for a wobbly ride. I could see her starting to get sick. I asked if she was ok...thats when the projectile vomiting started, I turned around, fired up the engine and motored back the 3 miles to the harbor. She asked me what my sails were made out of and I told her, Dacron. She stated she was allergic to all synthetics and that was the reason she ralphed and that I should inform people I take sailing that I have carcinogens onboard.

Upon my return, my dockmate said..."Well, well?". I looked at him and said F#*% you!

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by Albinvega27

As European, haven´t seen so far this one, not to be admitted as per 1 Crew member denied. Simple solution! Crew member denied goes into custody and rest of the boat continous. Some in the US, btw...

Costs money to process and put someone into custody.

The person responsible (ie vessel's captain or airline etc) for carrying the undesirable to the border crossing is responsible for returning the undesirable back from whence he/she came from.

Standard immigration practice at international entry points which is why airlines are insistent about your paperwork before boarding international flights - they don't like wearing the cost of flying the person back home.

[jtsailjt]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

Please don't make me tell my 2 CCC stories!

Please! [emoji120]

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by jtsailjt

Please! [emoji120]

Start a CCC thread and I might.

[jtsailjt]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

Start a CCC thread and I might.

Maybe one of the mods could help us out with this and split this off so those with nominations for membership into the CCC creepy crew (or captain) club can put them forward without further drift in this thread? Or, since we’re pretty far adrift already perhaps this is as good a place as any, considering that the OP’s situation has already been so thoroughly discussed?

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by jtsailjt

Maybe one of the mods could help us out with this and split this off so those with nominations for membership into the CCC creepy crew (or captain) club can put them forward without further drift in this thread? Or, since we’re pretty far adrift already perhaps this is as good a place as any, considering that the OP’s situation has already been so thoroughly discussed?

Agreed

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by Albinvega27

As European, haven´t seen so far this one, not to be admitted as per 1 Crew member denied. Simple solution! Crew member denied goes into custody and rest of the boat continous. Some in the US, btw...

In my experience, crews are treated as an entity until cleared. If someone were to have a significant issue such as a past deportation I expect without having experienced it they would be treated individual. My understand the captain/owner is still responsible for that person's repatriation.

One issue that does trip up new cruisers is the visa waiver program (VWP https://travel.state.gov/content/tra...r-program.html). The problem arises from "prior to boarding a U.S. bound air or sea carrier." Again, it comes to repatriation for which commercial carriers accept responsibility. That does not apply to private boats or aircraft. I have seen EU citizens fly from Bermuda to the US or take a ferry from BVI to USVI because of a missing visa, leaving the boat to catch up.

I expect we'll soon hear reports of visa issues for travel between the UK and EU once COVID-19 border closures are behind us. Wishful thinking?

[MicHughV]

I'd love to chime in here, but my tale would read like this..

" so she walked down the docks, sashaying her #$%$$@%$%$#$!@#$!^%
climbing aboard, it was immediately apparent, she had *^&*%&^*%^&*% for brains
nonetheless, with misgivings, we took off, and were less than an hour out, when she
started to %^*%^^&^%&^, soiled everything within sight and begged me to turn
back, but I was having none of it....and had to endure *&^^&*^&* words I had
never heard before...a little later, taking a bucket, she pulled seawater from the ocean, ripped her soiled clothes off in the cockpit, throwing them every where and proceeded to give herself a salt water bath...this display buying her a reprieve, but it was short lived. Later that evening came out to find her ^&&*% passed out while standing her watch...
her ability to just boil water to coffee was &%&^&%$^laughable. The next day, found her, naked as a jaybird, sitting on the bow pulpit, talking to the waves...
her ability to sail was nil, her ability to do anything was nil, and while her proclivity to spend the day au natural provided something to talk about at the bars later, her value as a crew was nil....
on arrival at our destination, she immediately jumped off the boat, thank goodness, to find her next victim....

[Auspicious]

Crew from Annapolis to Nassau Bahamas. Male. 500 GT coastal license. Great resume. Did not disclose that he could not hear the autopilot alarm when it kicked out. Thought my preventer on close reach was silly and took it off so he could trim. Middle of the night he sat in the cockpit with no autopilot watching the main gybe three times before I got on deck. Broke three battons.

Woman administrative law judge. Came a day early and I invited her to stay in my home. Ate our food, slept in our bed. Got on board and announced that without a private cabin and private head she would not sail. Sent her home.

Woman who had been cruising for several years with her now ex-husband. I don’t have many hard and fast rules on delivery; one is no one out of the cockpit without someone else on deck and alert. She would wander around the boat alone at all hours. Had a halyard problem at the mast that I went forward to resolve. She got bored (fortunately I had another watch) and decided to adjust another line. Electric winches. The rope burn on my calf took three months to heal and I have a permanent scar.

Lots more stories.

Here is a good one. Owner family aboard. Husband, wife, ten year old son. Vegetarians. Insurance company wanted someone to sign off on them being competent. I brought crew, a physically large woman, moderately experienced who turned out to be great with people. The wife could not stand a watch due to extreme sea sickness. The husband was sick but could stand his watch, mostly. The son turned out to be great. He stood two hour watches twice a day. Good kid. Crew stood her watches, shared cooking with me (vegetarian boat by the way), and really helped with the morale of the kid. We bailed and the owner sold the boat. Really wonderful owners just signed up to more than they could handle. The crew was wonderful.

Another good one. Warm water delivery. Early in my career and some crew issues and one very sea sick crew to look after. Another crew, female, Dutch, stepped up and took over the galley. Bless her she was great. Just one good meal after another coming up the companionway. I'll never forget her face beaded with sweat and a great big smile handing up plates and bowls. She was interested in everything and would devour manuals on watch. Her questions really kept me on my toes. MARPA will forever be "Martha" because of her.

Small boat day sailor who came with me on a range of deliveries. Learned quickly and well. High point was Annapolis to Narragansett two up. Deep fog. Crept into Point Judith Harbor of Refuge at two knots with Chip on radar and me steering. I couldn't see the bow so Chip was in charge. West entrance and anchored in dark and fog entirely on radar. Best crew ever.

I've had a lot of good to great crew. The bad ones surely stick out.

[MicHughV]

...I've had both men crew and women crew for me....and there is without a shred of doubt, a mountain of difference between the two...maybe a mountain and a chasm or two...there always seems to be an ulterior reason or motive to take on feminine crew..c'mon, I know this to be true...for sure they can add some spice to a trip....or they can be the devil from hell.....but on occasion have also proved to be good shipmates...

[Albinvega27]

I expect we'll soon hear reports of visa issues for travel between the UK and EU once COVID-19 border closures are behind us. Wishful thinking?[/QUOTE]

Watch at Noonsite, the first requirements are already up.