I've been browsing around in these forums for a while, and I'm really interested in exiting my little world for a while and going on an ocean stint, but I have no experience or background in this kind of thing. I have some travel experience, but nothing really out there, and zero boat experience beyond kayaking and taking the ferry to Vancouver Island.
If I want to be serious about this, what do I need to know or have in order to be part of a crew? Do I need certification in anything (I've seen adds for sailing schools)? How easy is it to land a crew spot? How do you know if a crew is reliable and responsible? What kind of boats hire crew (as a paid job) and what kinds take on crew with payment (where you pay for the priviledge of joining)? How safe is it to be a passenger on a cargo ship? How much do you have to worry about gangs and pirates?
Has anyone ever been "stranded" somewhere, when you part ways with one ship and can't find another to get you where you want to go? How does it work with customs in other countries, if you land and say something like "I'm don't know where I'm going next, I just know I'm probably giong to be here for two weeks"?
I've got so many questions, if someone could offer a few tips or even just direct me somewhere to read up on this on my own that would be fantastic.
Starspy, many of your questions have already been asked on this forum....... crewing is such a varied way of life, few who do it regularly have time to answer similar questions more than once............ One TT-er was kind enough to say people should read my old posts. I posted a reply to a related question on the Pacific Islands branch a couple of days ago, that will give you some avenues of research plus, of course, you should do some local sailing to see if you actually like being afloat! Get on anything that floats, on a pond, lake or bay..........
You ask has anyone been 'stranded'? Voyages don't always go to plan, out of 16 voyages on small yachts, I have jumped ship three times usually because I won't stay on board where there is a sub-optimal relationship. The space is too small to share with other peoples' problems. I jumped off in Bali and stayed on for 7 weeks, a wonderful holiday I wouldn't have taken otherwise. Once in the Ha'apai Group (Tonga) where I stayed for 3 weeks...... even more incredible and I was happy to get back there last sailing season. The third time was in Tenerife in the Canary Island, I stayed on for 8-9 weeks! Each time I had to fly home, but then I have to do that at the end most of my voyages anyway.
If you fly to join a vessel, you need a 'Crew Letter' from the skipper, that gets you onto the plane and into the country where you are joining the yacht. Arriving by sea the whole crew is checked in by Customs, Quarantine and Immigration who either visit the boat or the skipper takes the paperwork ashore and visits them. When you leave the vessel in another country, you have to be removed from the ship's crew list. I have never had to show an onward air ticket or even dash out and buy one but most skippers insist on proof that you have funds for this possibility.m And you need to make sure your passport and credit cards are valid for the long-term.
That's all I have time for today.
My roommate (0 experience) went down to the docks at Granville Island and asked around for fishing boats to be a deckhand on. Someone quickly told her (she was lucky to find this out so fast) that she needed to look for a small boat to start with, where the captain was an experienced old hand who would have the time to teach her. She asked around, making contacts, telling everyone she was looking for experience and work. Before too long she was taken on as a deckhand, and the boat went up to Rupert for that year's season. She didn't learn as much as she'd hoped about handling a boat, but still picked up tonnes of knowledge.
Most docks, she told me, are full of skippers working on their boats... doing everything from preparing the nets for the next trip to painting to surfing the net looking for the best GPS system. A majority of them, she told me, would be happy to give you knowledge and tell you stories in exchange for labour.
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