George Matthew Allen once said that "People with many interests live, not only longest, but happiest." I think this can apply to people with many experiences as well. Have you been on the look out for more sailing adventures? Most people don’t know that there are oftentimes numerous opportunities to gain more crew experience just within your own yacht club. All you have to do is volunteer to crew on other boats with skippers in need of an extra man for one race. Talk to the commodore of your yacht club or commodores of some of the fleets and let them know that you are interested and eager to race. These crewing adventures will give you experience in boat handling and will also show you another aspect of racing.

But for those of you who are really looking for something outside the box, for something truly exceptional and thrilling, here are a couple more ideas. Whether you are a C15 racer, or a big boat sailor, you could become part of a team that sails in the Newport to Bermuda Race. Depending on the sailing vessel, this race can last anywhere from 3 to 7 days and the teams are always in need of more crew, especially for the return trip. All you have to do is go to http://www.bermudarace.com/ and fill out an application. You can either race your own boat or there is a place to post an ad expressing your desire to crew either for the actual race or to sail the boat back home. Since this is such a popular race, many sailors from all over the country apply to be crew. In order to be a competitive application in either of these races, you should exemplify the unique qualities and talents you would bring to the team in your resume and be open to the idea of flying to Bermuda and sailing the boat back home. As it is such a long race, most of the racing team does not stay to sail the boat home so there are many open positions for the return journey. The Newport to Bermuda Race is only held every two years so if you can’t make it for the June 18, 2010 race, you should definitely plan on going in 2012.

Alternating with the Newport to Bermuda Race is the Trans Pacific Race, which spans 2225 miles from San Pedro, California to Honolulu, Hawaii. Many of the same types of boats race in both events. The application process is very similar to the Bermuda Race in that by visiting http://www.transpacrace.com/ and filling out an application, you can volunteer as an available crew and join an existing team. The next TransPac Race is on July 4, 2011. Both of these races would provide priceless experience in boat handling, ocean racing, and navigation. See you on the water!

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