Talk about embracing the industry. Crew placement agency Crew Unlimited is hosting two Triton networking events on the first Wednesday in June, one in Ft. Lauderdale and one at its new office in Antibes.

Veteran crew placement agent and longtime Crew Unlimited office manager Sue Price has set up the Antibes office for the summer, so stop by and say hello on June 3 from 6-8 p.m. at
30 Rue Lacan in the Galerie du Port, behind The Blue Lady bar.

(Those who know Price will recognize her charming husband, Capt. Mike Price, there as well. Mike Price is part of The Triton crew and will be walking the docks across the Cote d’Azur all summer. Stop him, say hi, give him news and let him take your photos for exposure in The Triton.)

On the west side of the Atlantic, Crew Unlimited is hosting the June 3 networking event in the Maxwell Room, that groovy, cave-like spot behind The Downtowner Saloon on the New River in Ft. Lauderdale. (Enter through the courtyard, or pass through the saloon all the way to the back.)

Once again, our events are always from 6-8 p.m. and promise lots of camaraderie, a starter beverage and some tasty hors d’oeuvres.

Until then, learn a little more about Crew Unlimited’s new Mediterranean office from Price (Sue, that is).

Q. Why open an office in Antibes? With the Internet, can’t you place crew from anywhere?

We have wanted to open an office in the Med for years. This year just seemed the right time to do it with so many crew looking for work, and with boats coming out of being skeleton-crewed we knew there would be a place for us.

Yes, we place crew all over the world and our Web site can be used anywhere in the world, but it is always nice to be face to face. Some crew have never been to Ft. Lauderdale and we wanted to meet them, as well as be on the ground for captains who can’t wait six hours until our Ft. Lauderdale office opens.

Having an office here lets us give six more hours of service to all our crew and clients every day.

Q. How has it been going so far?

We’ve been cranking. There’s been a line out the door since we opened with crew coming in to update their profiles and register.

We have also been busy with job orders from captains here in the Med. They are all Med-based boats that might use us when they go to the Caribbean, but that usually use Med-based placement agencies when they are here.

A lot of crew are frustrated with no work and are tired of looking over their resumes again and again, so we’ve been giving helpful suggestions to highlight things about themselves that they may not have thought was relevant but actually is.

Q. How do you see the season going, both for your business and for the industry?

The season is off to a slow start but I have seen it picking up every day. 

Crew are getting interviews, captains are getting charters and boats are moving.

We will see it getting busier still, but perhaps not as busy as the last few years.

Q. What do crew need to know about your new office?

We are open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. every day, but interview hours are 9 a.m.-1 p.m. 

Unlike most French offices that close two hours for lunch, we don’t. Crew are welcome to come in and use our computers anytime during office hours.

Crew can register online and upload a resume, and once they do that, they can see our job list and show an interest in any job without having to come by. And there’s no fee.