Recreational Crew for passage from Roatan, Honduras to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
UPDATE: One of the available crew positions for the first leg from Roatan to Panama has been filled and both of the positions for the second leg from Panama to Mexico have also been filled.
This leaves one position left on Leg 1 and both positions still available for Leg 3 up the Pacific coast of Mexico.
Zeppelin will be departing from Roatan, Honduras in early April, 2019 transiting the Panama Canal in late April and sailing to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico with an expected arrival in mid to late June. All together this will be nearly 3,000 miles, and will be done in 3 legs, each of which is expected to take about 3 to 4 weeks. There will be a balance of overnight and day passages with stops for rest days at various harbours along the way in each leg. Crew may join us for any or all of the legs, Leg 1 and leg 3 may also be joined for part of them as we will be near airports. We always hope to sail as much as possible however this route often requires a fair amount of motor-sailing in order to take advantage of good weather windows. Elly & Wayne, the boat owners, will be onboard and we are looking for 1 or 2 crew to help with the passage. Divers will really like this trip, we are both PADI Instructors, the boat is fully equipped with dive gear and compressor and we plan to stop at our favourite spots.
The Journey
First leg Roatan/Panama
Leave Roatan first week of April, stop in Guanaja & Providencia for a few days each to relax and dive, stay in Bocas del Toro, Panama about 1 week while we get the Canal transit arranged, 2 days sail to Colon, 2 days through the canal, 3 days provisioning in Panama City, leave end of April/early May. About 4 weeks in total, 2 weeks of which are in Panama due to canal transit.
Second leg Panama to Mexico
Leave Panama City, sail to NW Panama Islands, stop for a few days to dive & rest, sail past Costa Rica with 2 stops to rest overnight in remote anchorages, continue to Bahia del Sol, El Salvador. Assuming conditions allow bar crossing go into Bahia and spend 3 days relaxing. Continuing on to Chiapas Marina, San Benito, Mexico to check into Mexico and reprovision etc. at Tapachula, a nearby city with airport. Total about 3 to 4 weeks depending on departure from Panama and weather windows, leave end of May. If we are able to leave Panama early and get good weather we may check into Costa Rica so we can stop at the Oso Peninsula and Playa del Coco to dive but if we are pressed for time we will skip that.
Third Leg Coastal Mexico Chiapas to Puerto Vallarta
Leave Chiapas end of May with first good weather window for Gulf of Tehuantepec. Harbour hop up coast with possible stops in Huatulco, Acapulco, Zihuatanejo, Las Hadas/Manzanillo, Barra de Navidad, and other lesser known spots. Arrive in Puerto Vallarta/La Cruz during last week of June.
These legs have been set up to be about 3 to 4 weeks each and provide easy access to & from the boat at airports. First leg would probably be best to fly into Roatan and out of Panama City; second leg into Panama City and out of El Salvador or Tapachula; and third leg into Tapachula and out of PV. Likely the best flights would be to book round trip tickets out of major airports and short local flights from within the countries to meet the boat. Crew are welcome to join us for any number of the legs, they can also join us for a portion of Leg 1 or Leg 3 as we will have easy access to airports for crew to come and go.
About Us
Zeppelin is a beautiful 47 foot custom Stan Huntingford design that has been professionally maintained and is in excellent condition. She is a center cockpit sloop and is comfortable, fast and very well equipped for extended cruising, liveaboard and diving. We have lived onboard Zeppelin full time for over 18 years, with 24 years of full time liveaboard in total including our previous boat. We sailed Zeppelin from Vancouver, B.C. Canada to Roatan during 2009 – 2012 and have operated a successful Liveaboard Diving and Sailing charter business in Roatan for the past 6 years. We have over 10,000 NM of offshore experience, 35 years of sailing and boat ownership, extensive coastal cruising of the Pacific coast of North America, Central America, and the Western Caribbean, and coastal and offshore racing. We are both PADI Open Water Scuba Instructors. We are now moving our charter business from Roatan to the Sea of Cortez and are looking for crew to help with the trip on a shared expenses basis. The crew will be asked to contribute $20 per day to help pay the trip expenses, including fuel, marina fees, customs & immigration fees, routine maintenance costs, etc. Provisioning of food and drink will be on a shared cost basis separately from the daily fee, we will do the shopping together for the trip legs and divide the costs equally to ensure that everyone has food and drink that they are happy with. Please, no dietary restrictions or special requirements.
About You
Crew will be responsible for any of their expenses off the boat (restaurants, drinking, entertainment, etc.) and their travel expenses to and from the vessel. All crew are expected to help with all aspects of the passage including pre-passage preparation and post passage clean up. We are alcohol free underway and you will be expected to keep an active watch, sometimes alone at night, and participate in steering, sail-handling, cooking, cleaning, repairs etc. You may also participate in navigation and weather routing with the Captain if that interests you. This is an excellent opportunity for individuals or a couple looking to gain experience, cruising confidence and mile-building on a well found, very comfortable boat with a well experienced captain.
Please contact us and tell us why you want to take this trip and about your sailing experience. Let us know which leg(s) you are interested in, crew may join us for any number of the legs. Please mention any experience or skills that you possess that could be useful at sea, the ability to speak Spanish would be an asset. We are looking for crew who know they do not get seasick and we have a strict non-smoking policy while onboard the boat. Looking forward to hearing from you soon!
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