Lars Molin started the Palma Yacht Crew group on Facebook a number of years ago. His initial idea was simply to exchange (local) knowledge between yacht crew in Palma. Today it has over 31.000 members which is amazing. It has also become more than an exchange of knowledge. Crew agents use it to post jobs, crew and wannabe crew post their entire CV’s on it. When you scroll over the page you also get an idea of the issues that live amongst crew as topics are posted to fuel discussions. A number of times I have been disappointed though, by the quality of the conversations and by offensive remarks posted. I guess it is in the nature of online forums to attract people who are very brave when they’re sat behind their computer keyboard… But I was hoping that, since it is a forum for the professional yachting community, people would be a bit more courteous in this amazing group.
When I first entered the yachting industry it really struck me how all the crew were so sociable and nice to each other. I particularly remember one season in the Catamaran Marina in Antigua were we made friends for life. Helen, who runs the marina, really looked after us all and made sure we all had a good time and were enabled to do our jobs. There were yachts of all sizes. From 15m sail yachts to the 95m Kismet. There seemed to be a general consensus that there was no space for ego’s or attitude. The Kismet crew organised an amazing dock party and otherwise we would hang out in the marina bar. One evening my wife and I drove back from provisioning in Jolly Harbour when we had a head-on car crash. It was in the days after that crash that I really valued the little community we had built there in such a short time. Sure, the guys still wind me up today about what caused the crash – Antiguans drive in the middle of the road to avoid potholes, so how was I supposed to remember to hang left,… not right(!!!) – though at the time everybody was very concerned about us.
Then, early October, something special happened on Palma Yacht Crew. Lars decided to use the group to drum up support for Gareth Pullen’s brain surgery. If that wasn’t great enough, it inspired other members, some of them don’t even know Gareth, to take further initiative to support the friendly dude.
All this goodness doesn’t only help Gareth’s cause, it also highlights that we are all part of a unique community of people who share a passion for the sea, for hospitality, travelling and people.
Two thumbs for all the PYC members and all others who have pitched in!
Learn more about Gareth’s situation and how you can support him on https://www.youcaring.com/gareth-pullen-658454
