Competent crew, Delivery Crew, Deckhand, Atlantic crossing: available for the foreseeable future
Competent crew (about 6850nm and 7,5 months of boat-life under my belt):
Sailing experience:
• i double-handed a 40ft catamaran from Puerto Rico to Florida (about 1100nm) together with the captain
• i volunteered on the delivery of a traditional tall ship from Saint Martin to Panama (about 1255nm)
• i crewed on a 43ft steel monohull from Martinique to Bermuda (about 1200nm) with a sailing instructor
• i crossed the Atlantic on a 38ft catamaran from Saint Martin to the Açores (about 2400nm and a LOT of experience gained with necessary repairs and maintenance during that crossing)
• i crewed on a 39ft monohull from Zakynthos/Greece to Licata/Sicily (via Syracuse)
..so I have a good amount of experience with multi-day offshore passages, solo day- and nightwatches, maneuvers, setting and dropping the various sails, sail trimming, reefing, hand steering, basic knots, boat maintenance, repairs, line handling, basic VHF radio communication (got some practice in the ICW in Florida), anchoring, mooring (always caught the ball on the first try so far) and docking.. Depending on the size and setup of the boat, i can perform most maneuvers either solo or take the lead with other crew-members assisting..
• i also crewed as a linehandler on a Panama Canal transit and worked as a cook on a 39ft catamaran that does 5-day tours for backpackers between Panama and Colombia (so I know I can cook and do the dishes for 15 people in a tiny hot galley while underway without getting seasick)
• i also sailed several weeks on various monohulls in Turkey, Greece and Panama and spent 3 weeks on a monohull at anchor (broken engine) in Guadeloupe
• 9 days of solo-boatsitting the 40ft catamaran in an anchorage in the Bahamas
• i can safely drive the dinghy
• altogether about 6850nm and 7,5 months of „boatlife“ on 13 different boats since September 2023
• very enthusiastic about learning everything boat- and sailing-related
• very motivated to help with any tasks around the boat, from boat-maintenance and -repairs, to provisioning to cooking and cleaning
• survived the 40ft catamaran getting full on hit by a tornado in a mooring field in Florida (luckily only minor injuries and minimal damage to the boat)
Personal attributes:
• 41-year old cultural anthropologist, experiential/outdoor learning facilitator and social worker from Vienna, Austria
• well travelled and educated, many stories to tell
• i don’t get seasick and i’m a good swimmer
• not arrogant or entitled, responsible and reliable, good team-worker
• fluent English and German, fluent but currently rusty Indonesian, intermediate Spanish and basic/passive knowledge of French
• good communication skills, highly self-aware and self-reflective, very observant and critical thinker
• introverted extrovert (i can be very social and usually connect to people easily, but i get sensory overload from constant noise and need quiet me-time to recharge my social batteries - so a crowded party-boat wouldn't be a good fit for me)
• pro-active and often trying to over-deliver on what is expected of me
• i usually get very invested in the boats i’m sailing on, and i’m very dedicated to taking good care of them
• physically strong and fit, and don’t mind getting my hands dirty (i grew up on a farm)
• i enjoy things like servicing winches, climbing the mast or scraping the hull :)
• “whatever it takes“-attitude when it comes to sailing
• adventurous (I’ll volunteer to jump into the water in the middle of the night to check on the anchor with a flashlight or climb your mast in the middle of the Atlantic to replace a halyard and things like that..)
• I stay cool under pressure (e.g. when we had to take down a sail and it’s rigging in the middle of the night in 30 knots headwinds and very choppy waves because the wind was unfurling it.. or when a tornado ripped us off of our mooring and the boat almost smashed into a bridge..)
• decent cooking skills, no allergies or food-restrictions, but a preference for healthy and unprocessed foods, leaning towards a pescetarian diet (but also eat meat every once in a while)
• i don’t smoke (and prefer a smoke-free environment) and i’m not a heavy drinker
• i prefer to be part of a crew where there is no place for sexism, alcoholism, mocking, (passive) aggression, crossing boundaries and power-tripping; I value consent and respectful communication
• references from other captains available on request
The best fit for me would currently be either paid positions (deliveries, deckhand) or volunteer-crewing-positions on cruising boats where i’m actually needed and where i’ll be put to work in exchange for food and a cabin.. I might also consider great opportunities on a shared-costs basis.. ⛵️
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