What Makes Good Crew (Part 3)

Crewing on Longer Cruises

When you are looking for a longer ride or maybe being considered for some offshore race/cruising, sailing skill is important, but don’t sell yourself short. Sometimes it is the other skills that can tip the Captain’s decision in your favor.

Here are some skills that rank high on the list of things that would be valuable on a longer boat trip:

1. Cooking – If you are a good cook and are willing to make those arrangements, you can bet everyone on board is going to want to sail with you!
2. Medical Training – Boats bite, and sometimes they bite hard. Having medical training can be a real added bonus to any crew.
3. Deisel Mechanics – This is one thing that may seem counter-intuitive on a sailboat, but the diesel runs the electrics and no electrics, no fridge, no water maker, no lights…very bad stuff.
4. Fitness Trainer – As part of a more serious race team, this skill can be helpful getting everyone ready for their jobs at sea, as well as keeping everyone limber and safe underway.
5. IT – What? IT? Yeah, on most boats now there is a computer or 3. They are used to do Nav, communicate via email, etc…

These are just a few…the point is when you are talking to your potential skipper, don’t leave out the special skills you have. They could make the difference between making the cut and being left on the dock.