Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Boat Cards

I designed some new boat cards yesterday.  Cruisers use these in the same way landlubbers use business cards.  We made a set of cards before we left in 2010 on Rasmus and they came in handy lots of times.  You meet so many new people on the water and, believe it or not, it can be difficult to keep everyone straight.  Writing down the email address and/or blog of everyone you meet isn't practical, so people often just exchange these cards.  We probably collected a hundred or so different cruiser cards.  What you chose to put on your card is up to you, some things we've seen are:  radio call signs, satellite phone number, cell number, crew credentials (welder, bosun, electrician, rigger, USCG Captain 200 ton...etc), and some just have the basic information - like ours above.

I realize I did not include Isla on our card.  The reason for this is that we plan on having more kids sooner than later and I don't want to make a new card every time we make a new crew member!  I ordered these on Vistaprint and they cost less than $20 for 250 cards.  I designed this card myself using a photo I took in Rum Cay, but they have plenty of nautical-themed stock designs that are easy to customize for those that are not up to the task of creating something from scratch.

In other news, we had a little BBQ last night with some great new friends that we made through this blog.  Say what you will about the the world wide web, but there is nothing that can bring together a random mix of people who would not otherwise cross paths quite as well as the internet.  It's so neat and such a pleasure to not only meet some folks through our blog, but form legitimate life-long friendships because of it.

4 comments:

SailFarLiveFree said...

Good lookin' boat card. I imagine the cruising community probably uses cards more these days than many businesses, given the increasing popularity of digital contacts.

ourjourneytothesea said...

This is a great idea! I might use it myself when it's our turn to head off on our journey. Thanks!!

Unknown said...

A boat card is a must when sailing long term. A few tips:

- Add a QR Code or “mini barcode” on your card. It is then easy to get to your web site and contact details.
- The QR Code or “mini barcode” can also be made as a small film and fitted on your hull next to the SSR number.

QR Codes are getting more and more common. Most people can quickly scan them with the iPhone. We are starting seeing these barcodes more and more in magazines and different adverts.

- Make a yacht crest and create a “paper stamp” holding important yacht details. You can then easily stamp different document from crew or official document when visiting different marinas and countries. It looks professional and will in some cases even speed up the yacht clearance.

Drena said...

hey brittany! a long time ago, you posted about your first boat cards. you put yours and scotts pic on them and i thought that was a great idea. this time, you did not. any particular reason why? also, any particular reason you didn't include a pic of your boat? your card is lovely, just wondering if you had reasons behind your choices! thanks in advance, drena

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