Find a Crew

Find a Crew
Type Private
Founded December 1, 2004 (2004-12-01)
Area served International
Founder(s) Raffael Gretener
Key people Raffael Gretener (CEO)
Knud Nexo (CTO)
Owner NAUTYCAL Pty Ltd
Website www.findacrew.net
Alexa rank = Increase309,251[1] (global)
Registration Site can be browsed without registering; to sign in registration is required as either a boat or a crew member.
Available in English, Italian
Launched December 2004
Current status Online

Find a Crew is an international online marine crew and boat network that offers a database to match boat members with crew. [2]
Find a Crew encompasses professional, commercial and recreational boating providing a platform for members to search for, and communicate with, people travelling, working on or exploring the oceans of the world.

Main features

Find a Crew has a network of members seeking to find a crew or become a crew member in more than 135 countries. Website visitors may view member information, but must become registered members to exchange contact information.[2] People that work as crew members may do so as volunteers or companions, where light duties are exchanged for room and board. Other non-sailing positions are involved in food service, teachers or nannies, language interpreters, scientists on research vessels, or water sports instructors.[3] Professional crew members include deckhands, engineers, and skippers. In some cases, nonprofessionals sign on as paying passengers.[4][5]

As mentioned in CNN's How to Sail Around the World for Free, crew members do not need to be experienced. Kylie Gretener of Find a Crew said, "A lot of boat owners are more than happy to have someone with no experience because it means they can teach them how to do things their way."[3] In other cases, crew members may be required to have a basic STCW-95 certification, which can be earned through a five-day course.[6]

Membership and site

Registration is free of charge, as is searching through matching profiles and showing an initial expression of interest by sending a wave to another member. Members can search for and be matched against other members using many parameters such as gender, age, location, position type, experience at sea and many more.

Members can upload photos to their profile, and personalise it with text sections to provide more information about themselves, what they are offering and what they are expecting.
Free members can also reply to any initial contacts they receive with a yes, no or maybe wave.
Once mutual interest is established, a subscription fee to become a Premium member is required for further communication. Other services such as a Personal Identity Verification process and increased messaging capabilities are also available to Premium members. Once contact information is exchanged, arrangements such as the duration, location, terms and expectations of the work or travel exchange on board are generally worked out in advance.

History

Find a Crew was launched in December, 2004. It was founded to match individuals who wanted to work on boats with boats needing crew.[7] In 2009, Nautycal Pty Ltd was founded as the parent company of Find a Crew and other marine based websites. It is based in Mooloolaba, Queensland. The directors of Nautycal Pty Ltd are Raffael Gretener as the CEO and Knud Nexo as the Chief Technology Officer.[8]
In 2007, Find a Crew became a registered trademark due to being able to demonstrate that the phrase was not used as a searchable phrase prior to December 2004. It has since become a frequently used search phrase by people looking for crew or crew jobs.

References

  1. ↑ "Findacrew.net Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved December 2014.
  2. 1 2 Coldwell, Will (19 November 2013). "Crew a ship and see the world for free (or almost)". The Guardian. Retrieved November 2014.
  3. 1 2 McKenzie, Sheena (28 August 2013). "How to sail around the world for free: Five ways to live the dream". CNN. Retrieved November 2014.
  4. ↑ Eagles, Jim (13 July 2006). "Stand by to weigh anchor (Search: Findacrew)". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved November 2014.
  5. ↑ Chaar, Nadia-Maria (20 July 2006). "Segelportal Findacrew: Per Doppelklick zum großen Törn". Spiegel Online (in German). Retrieved November 2014.
  6. ↑ "All for Nothing - Tips - Travel". The Age (Fairfax Media). 28 January 2007. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  7. ↑ "Entrepreneurs: Are They Born, Made or Raised in a Lab". Momentum (The University of Queensland Business School). Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  8. ↑ "About". NAUTYCAL. Retrieved 4 December 2014.

Further reading

External links

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