Hello All

[Cinemaphile]

Hello. I'm a twenty year old male born and raised in the city of Tacoma, Washington, U.S.A.

I've got sailing in my blood and am looking to keep it going strong. I am completely new to the world of sailing and hope to remedy this, partially with the aid of this fine site.

My current lofty goal is to make a voyage from the Western US coast to as close to Wellington, New Zealand as soon as possible.

Now comes the nerdy part, the reason behind this voyage would be so that I could somehow join WETA Workshop and help in the production and filming of The Hobbit.

Once there I intend on finding part time work to afford living so I may volunteer the remainder of my time to WETA. What a dream that would [s]will[/s] be!

For now I think my smartest move is to join a local sailing club and get well acquainted with both the terminology and techniques behind sailing.

As for my marketable skills, talents and attributes

I am;

young

a quick learner

independent

morally forthright

the eldest child of four

very hard working, with no job being too menial

very calm under extremely stressful situations

respectful

resourceful (as can be seen by my joining of this site )

not prone to motion sickness

capable of eating just about anything

capable of working long hours

positive

devoid of any serious allergies or medical conditions

a decent cook with some formal training and years of experience making large meals for my family

a diverse person with diverse learnings and diverse interests

not a drinker of alcohol or user of drugs, my only vice in that aspect is the occasional bowl of tabac enjoyed in my handmade pipe

diplomatic

caring

first aid and cpr trained

can swim reasonably well

nonviolent

open minded and opinionated

not particularly religious

flexible

good with rope and knots

motivated

one of the seemingly vanishing people who are familiar with the concept of common sense

a vertebrate

not a knuckle-dragger

well spoken

thoughtful

worth it

I look forward to the knowledge and opportunities I will gain and the friends I am bound to make.

[JeanneP]

If you're planning on hitching a ride on a sailboat west, I suggest that you move quickly or you'll have a year to wait. Check out Latitude 38's Pacific PACIFIC PUDDLE JUMP web site for information on this year's crossing of the S. Pacific leaving from west coast of the Americas. By May the pickings will be slim.

Your intention to work to support yourself is admirable, but you might not know that all countries require some form of work permit or visa to work in a foreign country. Certainly you're aware of the great to-do about "illegal aliens" working in the US (I can't help but wondering how little green men are so successful at getting jobs here and not being recognized for what they are). Well, that's pretty much the rule wherever you go. Australia has some sort of student visa program that allows some work, perhaps New Zealand does also. The work is pretty much the same kind of stuff that citizens in this country don't want to do - picking fruit for example.

The Kiwis are some of the nicest people around, so you will love visiting their country.

For more help, check out our Crewfinder, and the many, many topics regarding learning to sail and hitchhiking/crewing.

Good luck, and don't forget to keep us informed of your adventures.

[SCUBAKiwi]

You'd be VERY lucky to be able to get much work here, about all a US citizen could get is either expert work where the employer has to prove there is no-one with the required skills in NZ and proof of having advertised here first, OR a Workign Holiday visa, which basicly means unskilled seasonal fruit picking while hitch-hiking round the country type jobs.

[Cinemaphile]

Thank you both. Some very crucial information there. I have some Maori friends that could possibly adopt me. Perhaps they need some manual labor eh? Just have to keep myself open to any and all possibilities.