Updated October 25
Right now in the Ocean Nomads network (member cards, 29 October 2026)
- 7 boats welcoming crew, 4 of them looking for crew right now
- 40 sailors available to crew short term, 20 for the long haul
- 12 captains and mates available to sail
- 37 members open to meetups and hosting, 18 with a basecamp or a bed to offer
- 161 members with a pin on the map, from Tenerife to Grenada
Crew spots and boat calls go to members first. Join the network and we meet at every new moon.
Ongoing, vessels in the Ocean Nomads network put out a call. Here is a snapshot of open calls and projects, from the Netherlands to Tasmania, alongside our own and partner trips.
Last-minute crew wanted: Belgium to Lanzarote, leaving 2 November 2026
Posted by Thomas | 57 ft Ketch
After years of preparation the boat is ready. Leg 1 of the trip around the world goes from Blankenberge, Belgium, to Lanzarote in the Canary Islands. In January she also sails from Cape Verde as the support boat for a kitesurf crossing of the Atlantic.
Thomas is looking for one adventurous crew member with some offshore sailing experience. Join on 2 November in Blankenberge, or on 28 October in Almere, Netherlands. No sailing fees, you share the onboard costs for food, diesel and marina fees. Expect offshore sailing, night watches and life at sea.
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.
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!
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.
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!
Volunteer wanted: citizen science at the ARC, Gran Canaria
Posted by Suzanne
A citizen science sailing project needs a hands-on volunteer based in the Canary Islands for the ARC rally in Gran Canaria. You help test and deploy ocean sensors and show the participating crews the sampling kit. You do not need to be a scientist. Good English and feeling at home around boats and sailors is what counts. Flight and accommodation are covered, plus a whale-watching trip and a place on a 2027 sailing trip collecting ocean data at sea.
Network beyond the posts & boats
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.
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
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.
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.
Alongside the crew calls, we run our own trips and partner voyages on tall ships and member boats, from coastal sails to ocean passages.
Partner trip: freediving and breathwork in Lanzarote, 20 to 25 November 2026
Six days in a villa above the ocean with Momo (freediving) and Charlotte (breathwork). A session in the pool or the sea every day, eight people at most, no experience needed. Members get a discount.
Last Spots
Deep Dive: freediving and breathwork in Lanzarote
Six days of freediving and breathwork in Lanzarote with Ocean Minded. A daily session in the pool or the ocean,…
Express Interest
Sail Azores to Amsterdam on SV Twister
The last leg home: Azores to Amsterdam on a 1902 schooner, around 1.500 nautical miles across the North Atlantic and…
Express Interest
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…
FAQ
Crewing opportunities come and go. And change, as sailboats go with the weather.
Join the community 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.
Come meet your people
Boats welcoming crew, crew looking for boats, meetups when paths cross, and a map of sailors, vanlifers, hikers and basecamps in all the wild corners of the world. The people who say yes when you need a hand are inside.
More tips and tales to live a little wilder
- Member spotlight: Keith, liveaboard sailor welcoming crew
- Ocean Nomads skipper Blair: world sailor, surfer and marine biologist
- The crew behind Thomas’s Atlantic and Arctic expeditions
- Why you should sail the world as crew instead of buying a boat
- Coastal vs offshore sailing: the reality for new crew
- Sailing across the Atlantic as crew: 10 tips for a happy, safe crossing
- Julie: from zero to sailing the seas
- Why we created Ocean Nomads
