What happens when you use an app to pick your next sailing adventure?

PYC member Mark Castle-Smith, owner of Anomaly, a Bente 24 based at PYC, has been using the Crew Finder app to take his sailing far beyond Poole Harbour - with experiences ranging from the exhilarating to the decidedly less successful.

His adventures have taken him to Canada, across the Atlantic from Bermuda to the Azores aboard a Lagoon 42 with the ARC, and most recently to Alaska, where he joined the 78-foot Beowulf as a Yachtmaster for an extraordinary passage from Valdez towards Portland, Oregon, via the Inside Passage, Glacier Bay and Desolation Sound.

Mark will talk about the boats, the passages and the wildlife he encountered along the way, as well as the realities of using Crew Finder: what works, what doesn't, and what you need to know before signing up for an adventure with people you've never sailed with before.

Whether you’re tempted to broaden your own sailing horizons or simply fancy some armchair adventure, this should be a fascinating and entertaining evening.