Couple looking for Sailing Experience in NZ, Australia region or Fiji
Hi there my partner Hylke Vader (also on Crew Finder) and I are looking for an opportunity to join a vessel as a Novice Crew, Deckhand or doing some Voluntary work. We are looking for a boat to join to develop our sailing skills and experience life at sea.
We are currently walking the Te Araroa in New Zealand's South Island, a 1400km trek. We have roughly 700km to go but can be very flexible in finishing up if the right boat comes along with a good opportunity.
We recently got married and have put our careers on a hold for a year to have some adventures.
I'm a West Australian with a Canadian mother. I grew up on a wheat and sheep farm and on the South West coast of WA. I have a bachelor in Social Work and a Masters in Art Therapy. I have been living in the East Kimberley working as an art therapist in remote Aboriginal communities. I love being creative, camping, spending time outdoors with my kelpie Tinda (named BEFORE the dating app!!), hiking and adventuring. I dont have much sailing experience aside from learning on mirrors when I was 12 and spending many a day on motor boats wake boarding and waterfall chasing in the Kimberley however I would LOVE the opportunity to learn. I am healthy, fit, adaptable, a fast learner and a social person. I love a challenge, am comfortable living in small spaces (one day my dream is to own a house truck) and am a hard worker.
My husband is a Dutch man who moved to Australia in 2011. He lived in Melbourne for a year before seeking adventure in the Kimberley where he has lived and worked for 8 years. He has been working with the Traditional Owners of Australia in conservation and land management in one of the most remote locations of Australia. It is his absolute dream to sail and hence this year we are having to seek sun, kind winds, and waves. He would have us buying a boat tomorrow if I wasnt set on gaining some sailing experience first!
We both have Police Checks in Australia and Working With Children checks (also for Australia). My partner also has advanced and wilderness first aid training. He has a coxswains certificate grade 1 near coastal that lets him operate a powered vessel up to 12 meter commercially 20NM offshore. He has also done the RYA day skipper practical course in 2019. I have a sense of adventure, an eagerness to learn, muscles to pull sails, a good sense of humor and can get busy in the kitchen when needed :)
Thanks for reading. Hope to meet someone and share time sailing, journeying and learning together soon.
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