I'm going to give my perspective as a novice racer (although I did race Lasers as a teen), and what didn't work to keep me as crew.
I crewed on my neighbour's boat for two distance races, a two day regatta, and about half a dozen Sunday club races since the spring. My last race with him was a few weeks ago, which marked the third really difficult race in a row. Although it meant I would miss the last two distance races of the season, I knew I just couldn't do it again. I like the crew, but with me as the newest member, it wasn't long before I could see why they weren't as committed as they could be - the skipper has an explosive temper and yells at the crew far too much, and they told me that he has lost crew over this before. I know that yelling is necessary to be heard in 25+ knots, but abusive put-downs are not, and quickly undermine crew morale. Our last 3 races were in strong winds, which should have been great, but the skipper was reluctant to reef the main when we were clearly over powered, and I felt took too many risks with crew safety. There also seemed to be a lack of assigned duties other than helm and foredeck, and things quickly became chaotic when wind picked up, especially if we were short handed. I also found the boat layout was not conducive to quick action by the crew - there are 14 control lines led aft, yet the line colouring is fairly random, and labels are missing or hard to read. Simple stuff, but when I commented on it, I was not taken seriously. I learned a lot from him, and respect that he has a ton of experience (and like him when not racing), but the combination of too much yelling and fear for my own safety made it not worth it for me, especially since I would rather be on my own boat. There are a few other boats I would like to crew on, and maybe I will one day, but for now, I have signed up to race Callisto in our "Cruising Class", which so far has shown 10 boats interested in racing for fun starting in the new year. We'll see how it goes - we've been given a "club" rating of 175 based on main & 135 genoa and 3 blade fixed prop, no spinnaker. The other 35-2 in the club rates 145 with a folding prop and spinnaker. I guess I'll need some crew now... -- Shawn Wright shawngwri...@gmail.com S/V Callisto, 1974 C&C 35 https://www.facebook.com/SVCallisto On Tue, Dec 17, 2019 at 10:24 AM Andrew Burton via CnC-List < cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: > Sail with people you like! > > Let the guys on the bow do the bow; let the guys on the halyards and > sheets do the halyards and sheets. If you’re steering, steer! If they have > a screw up you can be pretty sure they know and equally sure they are > working to fix it. They do t need you to tell them. Ted Turners famous > “C’mon! You guys are making me look bad!” only works for Ted. > > Bring beer enough for everybody the ride in and if the weather is good, > sail in. > > We always got into race mode about half an hour before we got to the > course, but when we finished, the first beer came out immediately and the > conversations started. Not usually about sailing, either. Sometimes we won, > usually we didn’t—it was a tough fleet! But we always went out with the > intention of winning—and enjoying ourselves. Things occasionally got tense, > but not often. And when they did it was me who would mention that “it’s > just a sailboat race, it’s not life!” > We were a tight knit crew but we would always show up at the club after > sailing and hang with other crews. > > Another thing, get the chicks involved. At least two and give them > important positions, don’t just relegate them to the galley or rail. So > what if the jib comes in a hair slower than if some hefty guy was doing the > job if you drive well it won’t matter besides they’re fun to have around > and they like being part of the gang. And on my boat we always seemed to do > better and have more fun with them aboard. > > In the off season we would get together as a crew periodically for drinks > and a meal. One of the best times was a rainy cold Saturday afternoon when > we went bowling—something no one had done more than once—with regulars and > spare crew members all showing up. Most of us needed to take a taxi home! > > Andy > > (Just entering the Alligator/Pungo canal > And looking forward to getting back to > Masquerade in > Oxford, MD) > > > Andrew Burton > 139 Tuckerman Ave > Middletown, RI > USA 02842 > > +401 965 5260 > https://sites.google.com/site/andrewburtonyachtservices/ > > > > On Dec 17, 2019, at 11:26, Della Barba, Joe via CnC-List < > cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: > > > > Great idea. > > Also make sure you all have common goals. Having the super-intense rock > star who thinks his whole future career rides on finishing first no matter > what and the guy that wants the crew to give him space to cook a 4 course > dinner on the same boat is not always a good combo. > > > > > > *Joe Della Barba Coquina C&C 35 MK I* > > *www.dellabarba.com <http://www.dellabarba.com>* > > > > > > > > *From:* CnC-List [mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com] *On Behalf Of *Michael > Dean via CnC-List > *Sent:* Tuesday, December 17, 2019 11:20 AM > *To:* cnc-list@cnc-list.com > *Cc:* Michael Dean <md...@ca.inter.net> > *Subject:* [EXTERNAL] Re: Stus-List Tips for finding and keeping racing > crew > > > > I had a crew member who returned to school to work on a Masters degree and > eventually a Ph.D. He became president of the Graduate Students > Association at a local university. > > I had an almost unlimited supply of ideal crew members. > > > > · Graduate students are mostly a good age > > · Mostly single > > · No children > > · Have little money and are therefore around on weekends > > · Bond together because they have much in common > > · Are often from out-of-town or out-of-country so have few family > activities > > > > Ph.D students are ideal because they will be around for several years and > often end up doing post-doctoral research. > > > > M. Dean > > Kairos C&C 27 MkIII > _______________________________________________ > > Thanks everyone for supporting this list with your contributions. Each > and every one is greatly appreciated. If you want to support the list - > use PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray > > _______________________________________________ > > Thanks everyone for supporting this list with your contributions. Each > and every one is greatly appreciated. If you want to support the list - > use PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray > >
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