How we vet members and passages

• An ID verification badge, optional. ID verification is optional, recommended and shown as a badge. Members who verify show an ID verified badge on their profile, cards and chats, and are listed first in applicant lists and crew search. A specialist provider checks a government ID; how it works and what we keep is on the identity verification page. The badge says who someone is, not how well they sail.
• Reviews only from completed passages. A review on the platform can be written only by the captain and crew of a passage that took place and was marked completed. Reviews stay hidden until both sides have written theirs or the review window closes, so neither side can write in reply to the other. Reviews a member imports from another site are labelled "Imported": they were not written here.
• A sailing CV and references. Crew can list sea miles, certificates, boats and watch systems they know. Sea miles from completed passages on the platform are counted for them; everything else is what the member says. Members can also ask people they have sailed with for a written reference.
• Safety kit and insurance, as declared. Captains can list the safety equipment on board and their insurance. It is always shown as declared by the captain, and insurance always says "not verified".
• Reporting and blocking. Any member can report a member, a boat or a passage. Reports are read by our team only, and the person reported is not told who sent a report. Any member can block another: a blocked member cannot message or apply to the member who blocked them.
• Safety at sea tools. A captain can file a float plan with the route, the expected arrival and a shore contact, and confirm arrival with one tap. Crew get a pre-departure checklist, with a way to report something that does not match the listing. A float plan is a way to let someone ashore know; it is not a rescue service.

• We do not check seamanship. Nobody tests whether a member can sail, navigate or lead a watch.
• We do not check certificates or sea miles against the body that issued them. They are entered by the member and shown as such.
• We do not inspect boats, surveys, registration or safety equipment. Captains declare them.
• We do not check that insurance exists, is in date or covers crew. Captains declare it, and so should crew for their own travel cover.
• We do not run background or criminal record checks.
• We do not take, hold or move money between captain and crew, and we are not a party to what they agree.
• We do not act as a crewing agency or employer. Captain and crew make their own arrangements.

A member who has the ID badge, good reviews and a long list of miles may still be the wrong match for your passage. A member with none of them may be perfectly good. Use what is on the page as a starting point for your own questions.

• Read the profile, the reviews and, for a captain, the boat page and the declared safety kit.
• Ask for a video call before you confirm. Ask what you want to know about the boat, the route, the weather plan and the other crew.
• Ask to see certificates and safety equipment, and ask about insurance, including whether it covers crew.
• Agree dates, route, costs and what happens if either side pulls out in writing. See Costs and crew agreements.
• Tell someone ashore where you are going, who you are sailing with and when you expect to arrive.
• Report anything that seems wrong, before or after a passage. You can do it from the member's profile, the boat or the passage.

You can also write to us at admin@globalcrewfinder.com.