CrewSeeker
Join the Crew. Discover the Voyage.
Want to sail offshore, explore the Pacific, and experience real bluewater adventure — even if you don’t own a boat? Our CrewSeeker service connects sailors like you with skippers in our rally fleet who are looking for crew.
Island Cruising rallies are friendly, adventurous and supportive — and many boats love to welcome extra crew aboard.
Why Sign Up?
- Offshore and Coastal cruising opportunities
- List your profile for our active skippers who are looking for reliable crew
- Automatic email notifications when new opportunities open
- Full access to our cruising preparation workshops
- Discounts from marine sponsors & training providers
- Connection with a friendly Pacific cruising community
How It Works
- CrewSeeker is a free service for members of Island Cruising
- Become a Member for just NZD$129 per year
- Send us your sailing experience and a photo
- We'll create your crew profile on CrewSeeker
- You start receiving crew opportunities from rally skippers
- Get access to all our online training & cruising resources to help you prepare for the adventures ahead.
You choose the opportunities that fit your timing, budget, comfort level and adventure goals.
Who Is This For?
Perfect for sailors who:
- Want to cruise the Pacific or get some offshore sailing experience.
- Have some sailing experience and want to learn more.
- People who want to stay safe, and to sail with a skipper who is well-prepared and fully supported along the way.
- Travel light, are adaptable, positive and team-oriented.
- Love the idea of shared adventure.
If you're brand new to sailing — we recommend you start with a local course or day sailing first, and get some basic skills so your first ocean passage is enjoyable and successful.
Safety & Matching Support
We’ll help you:
- Create your own Sailing CV.
- Understand what questions to ask skippers.
- Know what gear to bring.
- Prepare for offshore conditions.
- Understand what is required of you as a watch keeper.
- Undertake our online training so you can feel confident, safe, capable and ready to contribute to the crew.
- Access some great discounts for additional training including Sea Survival, Offshore Medic, VHF Operator and RYA Navigation courses.
- Support you if you have any questions or concerns.
Ready to Start?
Your next big sailing story starts here.
Become a Member & Join CrewSeeker
The Sailing Season
The Pacific Rally departs New Zealand and Australia in May each year and spends six months cruising in Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu or New Caledonia. The rally participants return to New Zealand or Australia in October.
Many skippers take on extra crew for the ocean deliveries and sometimes crew are also taken aboard to cruise for longer throughout the Islands. With over 260 vessels registered on the 2025 Pacific Rally, our CrewSeeker service is the best way of finding a position on board.
November–April is South Pacific Cyclone season and vessels typically do not sail offshore during this time. However, we often have people cruising around the coast of New Zealand or Australia over the summer and there are still lots of great opportunities that come up.
Tips for People New to Sailing
An ocean crossing can sound like an exciting — and sometimes low-cost — way to travel from A to B, but it is not a suitable starting point if you have no prior sailing experience. Offshore passages from Australia and New Zealand typically involve a week or more at sea, often in challenging conditions. Seasickness is common, and discovering you are affected once offshore can be extremely uncomfortable and may compromise both your safety and the wellbeing of the rest of the crew.
Prospective crew should be cautious of skippers who are willing to take on completely inexperienced crew for offshore passages without providing appropriate training, support, or supervision. A lack of concern for crew experience can be a sign of poor preparation or unrealistic expectations and may increase risk for everyone on board.
Crewing on private boats found through informal channels or outside an organised rally can carry additional risks. Independent vessels may not be adequately prepared for offshore sailing, and skippers may not have been vetted or operate to recognised safety standards. Unfortunately, the wider cruising community does occasionally see situations where poor preparation, unclear expectations, or inappropriate behaviour place crew at risk. Before committing to any passage, crew should ask detailed questions, verify the skipper’s experience and safety equipment, and ensure expectations around watchkeeping, conduct, and emergency procedures are clearly understood.
Vessels participating in an Island Cruising rally operate within a structured, safety-focused framework. Rally boats are required to meet defined preparation standards, carry appropriate safety equipment, and take part in passage planning, briefings, and clear skipper–crew agreements before departure. Rally vessels are also supported by Island Cruising throughout the voyage.
Crew should also be prepared to supply some of their own personal safety equipment, such as suitable wet-weather gear, a lifejacket, tether, gloves, and seasickness medication. Some crew also choose to carry their own satellite communication device (such as an inReach) to stay in direct contact with friends and family while at sea. Flexibility is essential — offshore sailing often involves waiting for suitable weather windows — as is ensuring you have the correct visas and an onward air ticket from your destination country.
Most skippers are looking for crew who already have basic sailing experience and can assist with sail changes, night watches, and the day-to-day running of the vessel.
A great way to gain your first sailing experience is through your local yacht club. Many clubs offer learn-to-sail courses or have race boats regularly looking for crew. Harbour racing is an excellent way to build skills such as handling lines and winches, moving safely around a boat, and — just as importantly — finding out whether you enjoy being on the water.
If a yacht club isn’t an option, there are also many reputable sailing schools offering hands-on Learn to Sail courses with a structured curriculum. These courses provide valuable skills, confidence, and knowledge to help set you up safely for future offshore adventures.
We also recommend that crew do some additional safety training before heading offshore. Your CrewSeeker membership gets you access to all our online cruising training content, as well as a 10% discount on Advanced Sea Survival, Offshore Medic, RYA Navigation theory and VHF Radio operators courses. These qualifications will give you more confidence, ensuring you know how to keep yourself and the others on board safe, and be a more useful crew member while on passage. You can quickly recoup your membership investment with these excellent savings.
Join Now!
If you are interested, you can find some more information about all the inclusions and how to become a member on the link below.
Once you are registered, email us a few paragraphs about your sailing experience, qualifications and a photograph, and we'll get your profile all loaded up. Then you'll start getting notifications of all the opportunities as they come through.
Already a member? Sign up as a Crewseeker for free to create your listing
