For anyone thinking of crewing on a C Nut Delivery/Trip this is for you..
Please read all of this to help avoid misunderstandings on a trip.
I always try to pick
very compatible crew members and so far it's been mostly wonderful and I am still friends
and keep in touch with most of the crew members who have made a trip with me.
I don't think anyone would
say don't sail with Robbie but you never know so feel free to contact ex crew members.
Logs of Past trip are in the Left Nav of
C Nut Homepage
We have always had a good time overall with some trips having a few small issues.
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What it Is and is Not
Some people pay Thousands of dollars a day to charter a sailboat and visit islands..
Some people get paid a couple hundred dollars a day to deliver boats for owners..
A C Nut trip lies in between.. you only pay your own travel and entertainment food expenses and on some trips,
the really easy fun ones, some boat expenses. But
you don't get to choose the schedule as on a charter. But then the schedule is always more relaxed,
interesting and fun than a paid delivery. But it is not a party boat. Arrghh I'm gonna drink a bottle of rum is NOT
happening when the boat is underway. Pirate wanna be's need not apply. A few people have gone on to be paid boat crew
and others have gone on to cruise themselves or crew race boats etc. There is nothing like 5 or 6 days or 3 weeks
on the Ocean to build your confidence. We also always stop at islands or cool places every couple days on average
hang out ,rest, party and see the local sites. And people are welcome to stay on the boat a week or two
in whatever locations the end ends up at as long as they take care to keep it neat and clean..and do laundry before
they leave. :). When possible and schedule allows we stop at islands every night and the larger ones sometimes 3 days or so.
Once during a 9 day open ocean sail on a very calm day we stopped in about the middle of the Atlantic for
a day to swim and relax. No one got eaten by a shark. We generally have a line out the back for fishing and
will detour a ways for a good beach or snorkel. There are some middle of the ocean places that are amazing.
For the not so fun part.
I am both Owner and Captain of C Nut. as such the care and responsibility of all the occurs on the boat is on my
shoulders and except for safety this overrides everything.
As Well EVERYTHING on the Boat is My Business although
I try to not be controlling or intrusive and pretty much let people do what they want all the time as long as it does not risk the boat or safety
So there are a few Stone Hard Rules:
I will normally ALWAYS explain why some things need to be done for safety reasons. Please listen and follow instructions and don't be offended etc. Such as when I say hatches need to be closed and you don't and a wave breaks over the entire boat as happened 600 miles off the coast of Africa..I have learned a lot of things the hard way over the years so you won't have to.
The Authorities/Customs/DEA/Police in the islands and the US and SA take themselves very seriously
and though you don't hear about it they have no problem confiscating boats so everything is done legally.
NO DRUGS on BOARD!! NADA!! NONE!!
I will throw them overboard, If you complain I may lock you up. I will leave you the first place
I can safely and legally do so and will have you arrested before I lose my boat because you think "oh it won't matter" and
I lose my boat. Did I stress this enough?
You can party all you want on shore..no problem but do not bring it back to the boat.
Ditto, No Guns unless we decide to deal with the customs hassles before hand.
Did I mention Customs? This has caused me my greatest problems over the years. You need a passport! For Foreign nationals even from Visa Waiver Countries you MUST have a Visa for the US since it is a Private boat. NO ONE except a Citizen of the country/island is allowed to simply get off the boat with out a ticket taking them to their home country. Americans included! I am responsible to make sure you get out of the island/country I have brought you to or I can't leave. Yes the islands track these things with crew lists and passports when we clear in when we arrive. Islands have confiscated boats for not clearing in. Do people get away with it yes but I will not try to do it I could lose the boat.
Last Major Thing... NO strangers on board. If there is someone at a destination and you ALREADY KNOW them this may be ok if you check with me. Meeting your new best friend(usually drunk) and inviting them onboard or back to the boat is not allowed. Let me know( so I know you are safe) and go home with them no problem. I am not your Babysitter. There is too much valuable equipment and things on the boat and in the event someone you invite onboard does cause problems it can become expensive and huge very quickly. Best Avoided. Ditto on loaning boat equipment and resources unless there is a safety issue/immediate need.
Simple things...
Keep the boat reasonably clean and undamaged. This is a no brainer usually but you would be amazed..two biggest problems are
experienced racers/sailors who do deliveries who say "the boat can take it" because they are used to racing boats
or paid deliveries
where money is not an issue/problem and drunk people.. Just the Latch on a door that breaks if it's slammed is $160 dollars...
Water is expensive and difficult to make when cruising the island so needs to be conserved..But I am not a water Nazi.. I did nay say the girl who said.. "I'm not going to shower for a week" ..see reasonably clean above..
Electricity needs to be conserved as well.
Toilet paper always goes in the trash. Every thing that rots goes overboard if we are more than 12 miles out per international law.
Plastic never goes overboard.
The overall point is Safety and Care of the boat are of Prime importance with Fun and Adventure and strong second and while we do Party( what happens on the boat trip stays on the boat trip) it is safely in port....
The Sailing...
No Experience Needed..The Best Crews have always been a mix of experience and novice..so you don't need
to know how to sail.
You can learn how to sail no problem and I and any other experienced people are always willing to explain and teach
sailing, weather, snorkeling, marine life , navigation, whatever.
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What is needed is a willingness do your share to help the boat get from point A to B.
Experienced sailors/cruises know about keeping watch schedules at all hours, helping with anchoring, docking, sail handling,
sharing cooking, cleaning etc all of which is done by every one on board usually.
You simply have to be willing to pitch in as asked.
The main chore is watch keeping. Someone MUST be on Deck and awake at all
times and actively vigilant looking for other boats.
I usually ran a very relaxed watch before but since C Nut got hit last year
the watches will now need to be more actively vigilant..looking around the sails etc.
Generally in Bad weather I stay awake for the duration of the bad part and I am fully capable of handling the boat myself
so lack of experience sailing is not a problem.
So that's it in a C Nut Shell.. I will add to this as things come to mind but it pretty much covers the basics. I am sure everyone who has crewed with me looks back on the trips as a good time and experience not to be missed except maybe last years trip.