Experienced British married sailing couple looking for a fit, active, non-smoking couple, or two single people, to join us as crew, preferably for the entire trip, aboard our 48-foot catamaran.

Experience not necessary but a good nature, enthusiasm, common sense and a willingness to learn are most important.
We are nearing the end of an extensive refit and would appreciate a helping hand not only for the practical help but also to make sure we are compatible.

This is a long trip of 7000 miles and it’s important for all of us to know we are compatible before we depart. We are not okay with some unknown person (people) merely jumping on at the last minute. We all need to get to know each other and the best way we can think of is with a shared endeavour. This is why we are asking you to work with us in preparing the boat.
This is an unpaid position and crew must pay for own flights, food contribution and their visas.
Drop us a line for further info but please only contact us if :

You are free immediately or by mid May at the latest.
You are aged between 22 and 40 years old.
You can do the whole trip.
You are willing to help us prepare the boat prior to departure.
Climbers, Expedition Cyclists, adventurers and the like plus people with practical skills are most likely to be our preferred options.
Couples are also preferred unless we can find two individuals willing to share.

comfortablevery safeshare experienceface challenges

Malaysia to New Zealand

We are Richard and Dawn, a married British couple with racing and multiple trans-Atlantic passages of experience. Our catamaran is a Catana 48R, which has gone through an entire refit over the past 3 years. It has 4 cabins and 2 heads and highly appointed with new navigational electronics, lithium batteries, solar panels, galley, and a magnitude of other upgrades.

We are looking for one or two persons, a couple or individuals to join us as crew at Pangkor Marina in Malaysia and be part of the preparation getting the boat ready for departure in `June/July 2025, arriving in New Zealand by the end of October 2025.

Our provisional route will be Pangkor(Malaysia)/Singapore/Borneo/Indonesia/Papua New Guinea/Solomon Islands/Vanuatu/Fiji/New Zealand. Be mindful that this trip is more about sea time and less about island hopping so we may be one or two weeks before we stop from one place to the next.

(Important to note that once checked into Indonesia, regulations require we leave Indonesia with the same exact crew we entered with.)

We are looking for fit, healthy and active people to join us immediately or by mid May to help finish off the refit. This will give us a great opportunity to get to know each other and for you to learn about boat stuff (solar power, lithium batteries, electronics, and overall preparing a boat for blue water sailing).

Any practical skills you can bring to the table are favourable but are not essential as we are keen to teach the right individuals who have an easy going and enthusiastic nature.

Prior to departure, during the final preparations, we will cover the cost of private accommodation of a rental apartment for you in return for your help until we all move onto the boat where you will have your own cabin.

While we will pay for the apartment, your food and entertainment costs are your responsibility. You may wish to rent a moped (which is very cheap here) so you are independently mobile and can explore the local area on off days.

Once onboard, there is plenty of room for you to have your own cabin.

As this is our shared home, we will share the chores, cleaning, fixing stuff, cooking and washing up. While a 48-foot catamaran is not small by many standards, it’s a relatively small place for 4 people and it’s important that everything be stowed in its correct place. This not only ensures we can find what we need immediately but also in terms of safety. `Thus, it is important that you be tidy and pay attention to details.

As for boat operating costs, you are not expected to contribute towards diesel, marina fees, boat insurance or anything else that we would pay for should we be alone. You will be responsible for your share of food expense. Having looked at our food bills for the last year, we figure that in SE Asia to be approximately £200/US $260 per month per person because we do like to eat good quality fresh food.

That figure is a best guess as food could be more expensive or cheaper depending on where we are, but all food bills are transparent and will be divided equally. This applies for food while on the boat whilst on passage or on the rare occasion we don’t fancy going out and savouring the local delights in a new country or anchorage.

When we go ashore everyone will pay for our own meals. Of course, you may be talented at fishing and have free source of food.

We run watches whilst on passage 24/7 and you will be expected to fully participate in these watches, under the supervision of the Captain including watch keeping, navigation and sail changes. Usually we do 4 hours on and 4 hours off, although this depends on location and weather conditions.

You will need travel insurance to cover repatriation back to your home country should the unthinkable occur. Additionally your passport needs to be valid for the duration with a six month expiration buffer, therefore, valid until at least May 2026, but later is better.

We will need ongoing medical disclosure, including details of any prescription medications, so we are aware and can cater for issues as and when they happen/develop before they become more serious. `Note that Dawn is a United Kingdom registered Nurse with extensive experience.

We also require family or preferred contact details should we need to liaise with family or officials in case of emergency We will provide ours as a point of contact for yours.

We run a dry boat and do not allow consumption of alcohol while on passage and absolutely zero non-prescription drugs.

To summarise:
Crew Costs
Estimated food costs to be approximately UK £200/US $260 per month per person. `If it costs less you pay less more you pay more.
Bring own personal choice/luxury foods (chocolate etc) for personal consumption.
Pay own immigration fees
Pay own air fares/transport
Must have travel insurance
Must have valid passports
Wet weather gear
Own personal meds/toiletries/sun tan lotion for duration of passage
NO alcohol during passage
NO drugs and travel light as we have no space to store your bike or a double bass.
Richard & Dawn cover
All marina/mooring fees/maintenance
Fuel
Gas
Boat insurance
Boat repairs
Our share of food

About the boat
The boat is a recently upgraded 48ft Catana catamaran originally built in fibreglass/carbon/kevlar in 1992. She has a 76ft air draft, twin daggerboards, twin 35hp Beta diesel motors, Spectra Catalina 300 watermaker, 2kw solar power, 500 litres of water, twin 130 litre diesel tanks,
VHF radio, SSB radio, two EPIRBS, Liferaft, satellite communications for weather

Richard and Dawn’s Experience
Richard (Skipper)
8x Fastnet yacht race campaigns.
3x Around Britain and Ireland yacht race campaigns.
2x Azores and back 2 handed and single handed races
1x UK to Iceland 2 handed yacht race.
3x Trans-Atlantic yacht races and deliveries.
Professional skippering experience Numerous National/International yacht deliveries
Extensive cruising and racing Iceland Ireland UK Holland, Belgium, France, Spain, Caribbean, Mediterranean, Atlantic Ocean, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand.
RYA (Royal Yachting Association – UK) - Yacht Master and Cruising Instructor
Yacht racing instructor.

Dawn `(Galley Slave )
2x Fastnet yacht races & campaigns.
1x Around Britain and Ireland yacht race & campaigns.
Azores to Spain delivery.
UK to Portugal delivery.
Pleasure cruised France, Spain, Azores, Turkey, Caribbean, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand.
RYA `(Royal Yachting Association – UK) - Coastal skipper and RYA Ocean Master theory.

clean & tidydiligenteasy-goingenthusiasticfit & healthyfriendlyorganisedrespectfultrustworthyconfident swimmerrarely/unlikely seasickgood communicatoreager to learn & workpositive outlooksense of humorcan pay own expensesdon't mind cleaningwill not bring a bicycle

We are looking for someone who is easy to get along with, sensible, reliable and trustworthy who doesn’t mind some hard work. Mechanical/electrical aptitude is desirable but not essential.