This guide is for anyone looking to join a boat as crew. It covers how crew matching works, what to expect, and how to prepare.
Organizing a boat? If you're a skipper or boat camp organizer, see the Guide for Skippers & Boat Camp Organizers for chartering, crew recruitment, budgeting, provisioning, safety briefings, fleet coordination, and more. You don't need to be a sailor to start a new boat!
| Contents |
|---|
| How Crew Matching Works |
| Finding a Boat |
| Boat Types & What to Expect |
| Your Responsibilities as Crew |
| Preparing for the Event |
| During the Event |
| Changes & Contingencies |
| After the Event |
The primary tool for boat and crew matching is the Roster Spreadsheet (link available in Telegram and on the website). It includes tabs for boats and their available spots, crew looking for boats, confirmed assignments, and contact information.
The Boats-Crew Recruitment topic in the Telegram group is where boats announce available spots, crew introduce themselves, and last-minute changes get posted.
Pyraegea participants often connect through the wider European burner community:
The Pyraegea community exists all year round — not just during the event. Members regularly organise off-season sailing trips, crew recruitment for deliveries, and casual meetups on the water. These get posted in the community channels and serve a practical purpose: building sailing experience, meeting potential crewmates before the pressure of the event, and staying connected between years.
Past examples include group trips in the Ionian (May), catamaran deliveries in the Caribbean, and crew calls for passages across the Atlantic and Mediterranean.
Participant feedback has highlighted that the process of finding boats and skippers can feel opaque, especially for newcomers. The goal is to make crew matching as transparent and accessible as possible, in line with the principle of Radical Inclusion. If you're unsure how the process works, ask in the General topic — there are no stupid questions.
Boats actively seek crew who bring diverse talents to the community — sailing ability is only part of the picture:
Larger boats have more space but may feel less intimate.
Most charter boats have a mix of cabins and a shared saloon. Don't assume you'll get a private cabin — on very small boats, one or two crew members may sleep in the saloon. It is standard to share a cabin. If having a private cabin is important to you, discuss this with the boat organizer early. Be prepared to pay a larger share of the charter cost in return.
As a crew member, expect to contribute to shared costs. Your skipper or boat organizer should discuss this with you before you commit.
Rough benchmark (2024 data): Crew members have typically paid ~€500 per person for their share of boat charter + insurance costs (excluding provisioning). This varies significantly depending on boat size, charter cost, and number of crew. Treat this as a rough planning figure — always confirm with your skipper.
On top of the charter share, you'll split provisioning (food, water, cleaning supplies) and possibly small anchorage or park fees (e.g., ~€10/person for marine park entry). Agree before departure what counts as shared vs. personal, and use a shared app (e.g., Splitwise) to keep it transparent.
The Art & Activities Fund is a separate voluntary contribution — typically €20–€25 per person, collected at boat level. See Art & Activities for details.
For full budgeting guidance, see the Guide for Skippers & Boat Camp Organizers.
A few things that experienced participants consistently wish they'd packed (or were glad they did):
Hat with a chin strap. A sailing week in the Aegean means a lot of time on deck in the wind. A regular sun hat will be gone within the first day. Bring one that ties or straps under your chin.
Clothes pegs / bulldog clips. Wet towels, swimwear, and sailing clothes need to dry somewhere. On a boat, that means clipping them to the rigging. Bring a handful of sturdy pegs — cheap, light, and enormously useful.
Marine toilet protocol. Nothing — not even "flushable" wipes — goes into a marine toilet. The plumbing cannot handle it, and repairs mid-voyage are miserable. Your captain will brief you on this, but it's worth knowing in advance.
Phone roaming near Turkey. If the event takes place in the Dodecanese — particularly near islands like Symi — your phone may pick up Turkish mobile networks. EU free roaming does not apply to Turkish carriers. Check your plan before you go and disable automatic roaming if you don't have free Turkish roaming, or you may come home to unexpected data charges.
Label your gear. Paddleboards, shore lines, fenders, and other water toys migrate freely between boats at anchor — especially once the raft-ups start. Label your personal gear and any boat equipment you'd like to see again or the security deposit of. A strip of tape with a boat name is enough.
Soft bag, not a suitcase. Bring a duffel bag or backpack — hard suitcases don't fit into boat lockers and there's nowhere to store them. A collapsible soft bag can be stuffed into a corner once unpacked.
Seasickness remedies. Seasickness is common, even for experienced sailors. Remedies like Dramamine, Stugeron, ginger tablets, or acupressure wristbands work best when taken preventively, before symptoms start — buy them before you board. If you're unsure whether you'll need them, bring something just in case.
Sailing week is close-quarters communal living with people you may have only just met. Meeting in advance is practical, not just nice-to-have.
Fly or take a ferry to the starting island (announced each year — check the 2026 Location & Dates for the current year's start point). Plan to arrive no later than Saturday morning — check-in and provisioning happen that day. Many participants arrive Friday evening and self-organise dinner or drinks via Telegram.
Your boat organizer will need your passport number for the charter company's crew list, usually a few days before departure. Have it ready when asked.
Check-in is typically Saturday afternoon — plan to arrive at the charter base by early afternoon or better in the morning. Your main provisioning run happens that day. Your skipper will handle the boat walkthrough with the charter company; help stow gear and settle in once that's done.
Your skipper will do a full safety briefing before departure. Pay attention — know where the life jackets and fire extinguishers are, and learn the man overboard procedure.
The anchorage is the playa. LNT applies just as strictly on the water — keep nothing loose on deck that can blow into the sea, don't throw food waste into anchorages, and follow your skipper's instructions on holding tank valves (no sewage discharge at anchor). For full details, see the Guide for Skippers & Boat Camp Organizers.
Pyraegea takes safety and consent seriously — on the water and with each other. Familiarise yourself with the community's approach before the event: see Safety & Consent.
If you want to sail for a day or more on a different boat during the event — be aware that in Greece, officially sailing as crew on another boat requires being added to that boat's crew list, which is filed with the harbour police.
Discuss with your skipper and the other boat's skipper if it's ok to switch boats. They might agree, since thorough port police checks are not very common.
Committing early is one of the most helpful things you can do as crew — it allows skippers to book charters, plan provisioning, and sleep at night. That said, late commitment (2–4 weeks before the event) is a recurring pattern. If you're still looking for a boat close to the event, spots do open up.
Boats occasionally get cancelled — charter issues, skipper illness, or not reaching minimum crew numbers. If this happens to you:
If you're hoping to join partway through the sailing week, be aware that this is nearly impossible in practice:
Plan to join from the start, or coordinate well in advance with a specific skipper who can arrange a realistic pickup point.
The community continues in the Burner Sailors Telegram group and the main Pyraegea channels. Many crews return together year after year — if you want to keep sailing with people you've met, that's where it happens.
For current boat listings and crew opportunities, check the roster spreadsheet and Boats-Crew Recruitment topic in Telegram.