Hey Shawn, Great, valuable response. Thanks and good luck racing. I hope you can find one crew w racing knowledge. The rest will fall inline. Best of luck.
Chuck S, Resolute, 1989 C&C 34R Pasadena, Md > On December 17, 2019 at 10:11 PM Shawn Wright via CnC-List > <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: > > 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 mailto: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 mailto: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 mailto: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 Ihttp://www.dellabarba.com > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > From: CnC-List [mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com > > > 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 mailto:cnc-list@cnc-list.com > > > Cc: Michael Dean <md...@ca.inter.net > > > mailto: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 > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > 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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