Updated September 27
Ongoing, vessels in the Ocean Nomads network put out a call.
Some are crossing oceans. Some are sailing slow seasons in the Med. Some are working on boat projects in a yard somewhere and welcome an extra pair of hands. Some are paid, some are paying, some are somewhere in between.
Here is a snapshot of open calls and projects, from the Netherlands to Tasmania, from the Ocean Nomads member network. Alongside our own and partner trips, like this season’s loop around the Atlantic on SV Twister.
Plenty of members with boats never post a call at all. They simply welcome crew and an extra hand when it fits: a day sail, a delivery, a week between islands, a weekend of sanding. You find them on the member map and in the people directory, where everyone shares where they are and whether there is room on board.
The full details, as well as tips and tools to sail as crew or captain, live inside the community. Personal intros, routes, costs, timing, references, chats, and the quiet calls that never make it to a notice board.
Ocean Nomads is not a crew-finder service but more of a purpose driven ocean lifestyle network that happens to include a lot of boats.
“What I hoped to gain from this community was the option of finding crew. Instead what I found is a collection of people who get what I do, who understand why we make certain choices and who are willing to support each other. And that is something I needed way more than just someone to sail with.”
Michiel
Sailing crew wanted: Canary Islands, now until Christmas 2026
Posted by Keith, Retired RYA Ocean Yachtmaster Instructor
I am at the Canary Islands and looking for company to sail with me between them, and also spend some time exploring ashore. Cruising around bays, staying at anchorages or harbours, learning new skills, remembering forgotten ones and having some time to enjoy life afloat in warmish climates. Also a little exploration ashore and trying local cuisines.
This is a knowledge, skills, activities and cost sharing adventure. I will be meandering around the Canary Islands from now until Christmas, and I have berths available for people interested in joining me.
Also in the Canaries this December: SV Twister sails from Tenerife to Cape Verde from 18 December, with Christmas at sea.
Support Crew wanted: Zeeland, Netherlands
Posted by Menno, Skipper, Trip Organizer and preparing a world voyage
The boat is now at the shipyard in Vlissingen and getting ready to go back in the water. Hands on deck wanted! Longer term volunteers especially welcome, with sleeping spots (for helpers) on the boat in the harbour from October. Then we’ll also do test sails!
Sailing crew wanted: Netherlands to Canary Islands and beyond, autumn 2026
Posted by Thomas | 57 ft Ketch
After years of boat work, Thomas leaves the Netherlands soon, sailing south to the Canary Islands as the beginning of the project towards the far north. In January she also sails from Cape Verde as the support boat for a kitesurf crossing of the Atlantic.
For the first passages the crew is complete, with longer term ocean nomads and helpers on board. Crew will likely be needed again further along, so this is a good one to follow and get in touch with early.
Heading the same way, with a berth you can book now: SV Twister sails from Amsterdam to Madeira from 12 November.
Atlantic crew wanted: Cape Verde to the Caribbean, December 2026
Posted by Lovisa
An all-electric sailboat is looking for crew for the Atlantic crossing from Mindelo, Cape Verde, to the south-east Caribbean, leaving with the first good weather window in December 2026.
You do not need to be a pro sailor, but you do join the watch schedule, nights included, and you should be fairly confident you do not get seasick. In harbour you get your own cabin in the V-berth, and on passage you take turns in the saloon sea berths. Food costs are shared, and travel to and from the boat is on you.
Same harbour, same season: SV Twister leaves Mindelo for Martinique on 31 December, right after the Ocean Nomads New Year gathering there.
Sailing crew wanted: South Coast of Tasmania
Now at anchor in the Whitsundays on a fully refurbished old steel yawl, heading south to spend the southern summer 2026/27 in Tasmania and sail the South Coast. Looking for crew along the way and in Tasmania. Get in touch.
Crew wanted: tall ship positions in Amsterdam
Posted by Julie
The tall ship where I am currently working has quite a few open positions: captain, officer, hospitality manager, housekeeper and experienced deck crew (with STCW Basic Safety Training). If your skills are a match, I can forward your CV to the HR person in charge.
Free project vessel: classic 1952 steel motor sailer, Netherlands
Posted by Suzanne
A classic Dutch steel torenkotter from 1952, a motor sailer with a raised wheelhouse, 11.20 m long and sleeping six. The owners are giving her away for free to someone who will take on (or commission) the work on her deck, topsides and antifouling. A project for someone with time, skills and a soft spot for old boats.
Skipper and crew available: Canary Islands, November 2026
Posted by Mario
I’m a sailor and available for any interesting projects after 25 October. I’m comfortable skippering (and crewing) any yacht and have ocean experience. In 2022 I crossed the Atlantic as crew.
Things I’m particularly interested in: doing the RYA Offshore Yachtmaster in a warm area, deepening my skills with radar and celestial navigation, and collecting sea miles on a motoryacht (100 NM in 5 nights at sea, for a licence requirement). I’m thinking about heading to the Canary Islands in November and would be happy to connect with anyone planning passages, sailing around, training or trips around that time. If you’re working on something that could use an extra pair of hands (or a skipper), drop me a message!
Network beyond the posts & boats
Not every call in the network is about a passage.
One member is preparing for an Atlantic crossing by kitesurf. Another is getting a boat ready in a Dutch shipyard and welcomes every extra hand. Someone else is searching for a filmmaker for an expedition story. Citizen science projects are looking for support. A freediver is trying to get more skilled. A rooted nomad is looking for volunteers. A boat owner is looking for or sharing maintenance advice. And a whole bunch of us will meet in Mindelo, Cape Verde, for New Year.
Members find each other through the map, the people directory, the chats, and the meet-ups when paths cross in real life. Most matches happen quietly, between people who already know each other. The public board you see in this digest is the part that surfaces.
See the map and meet the tribe
Some members even team-up to co create their own trips! Like Carine and Brianna with Salty saddles: a horsebackriding, surf and sail slow travel adventure, or Maciej and Thomas with their sailboat manouvre training. Or Koen and Thomas who found each other for their ocean impact missions and will sail (& kite) across the Atlantic together from Cape Verde this January. Lots of ocean entrepreneurial people to team up with!
Ocean Nomads Trips & Adventures
We also organize trips. A few times a year we organize something special and rather spontaneous at sea. Ocean Nomads events and expeditions connect people to each other and to the ocean. Nothing brings people together like actually bringing people together. And nothing triggers more than actual experience. We add nature and adventure into the mix, and we have a recipe for creating a big dose of positive energy and accelerating change for a common good. We provide ocean adventure and encourage low-impact travel.
We live up to the Ocean Nomads’ slow sailing philosophy. We strive to have an onboard environment that inspires adventure and play, with a strong emphasis on skill building, health, simplicity, local, teamwork and environmental consciousness. Learn more about our trips here.
This season our big one is the loop around the Atlantic on SV Twister, a classic 36 metre schooner built in 1902. Eight legs take her from Amsterdam via Madeira, the Canaries and Cape Verde across to the Caribbean, and home again via the Azores, from November 2026 to March 2027. You can join one leg or several, members get a discount on every leg, and every booking includes lifetime access to our Zero to Ocean Nomad course.
Open
Sail Azores to Amsterdam on SV Twister
Sail the Azores to Amsterdam on SV Twister What makes this special The Route What it feels like Wake up…
Open
Sail Martinique to the Azores on SV Twister
Sail the Atlantic east on a 1902 schooner, Martinique to the Azores. Around 2.300 nautical miles in 23 days, standing…
Open
Sail Amsterdam to Madeira on SV Twister
Sail Amsterdam to Madeira on a 1902 schooner, 21 days down the Channel, across Biscay and into the open Atlantic….
Common questions about Ocean Nomads crew calls
What is a crew call? A crew call is what happens when a member vessel welcomes other members on board for a passage, a season, or a boat project. Some are cost-share, some are work-exchange, some are paid. Some get posted to our public notice board, like the ones in this digest. Most happen quietly between members who already know each other, through chats, meet-ups, and word of mouth inside the network.
How is this different from your trips? Our trips and expeditions are organised and run by Ocean Nomads, with set dates and full support. Crew calls are member-led: a captain in the network puts out a call to other members for a passage or project they are running themselves. The trips are the flagship experiences. The crew calls are the year-round movement happening between them. Many Ocean Nomads who’ve joined our trips, team up later for more ocean adventures.
How do I respond to a crew call? The captain’s contact and the rest of the details sit inside the Ocean Nomads network. Once you are in, you can message the captain directly, see their references from past crew, read their full route notes, and apply. We hand-review every membership application, so there is already a layer of care before people connect.
Crewing opportunities come and go. And change, as sailboats go with the weather.
Join the tribe and see new crew calls first
Every crew call you read about here lives inside the Ocean Nomads network, along with the many more opportunities that never get posted. Members see the captains, the marinas, the cost shares, and meet each other in chats, on the map, and at meet-ups around the world. Come join us.
Already a member? Log in.
