Lesson Learned - Get to Know Your Crew Before You Step On Board

[Christopher]

This year I decided to crew on a boat skippered by a gentleman I work with.  He's quite an accomplished sailor at the age of 28 and a heck of a nice guy to boot.  He was most accommodating of my inviting myself along on just about every trip he was making.  The most interesting to me was the Queen's Cup.  This is a race held by a local Yacht Club in Milwaukee and it runs from the South Gap of the downtown breakwater 68 miles across the lake to Grand Haven, MI.
The race started out with plans for a crew of 6.  However, the first short course race of the season would be 2 of the 6's undoing.  It was blowing well in excess of 20 knots and the skip put the two guys who'd never been out on a sailboat in their lives on the bow to keep them out of the way of the work under the boom and at the trimming positions.  These guys got soaked by 50 degree water on a brisk early June run.  Needless to say, it was the last I saw or heard from them.
The Queen's Cup race was now going to be crewed by 4.  It was an overnight race so that meant we would have two shifts of two men.

The skip, as I have said is a guy very much my speed.  I'm 30 years old, married, and fairly settled into my comfortable, easy going lifestyle.  I'm not much for getting wildly drunk and partying into the night.  These other two guys cared about little else than getting themselves completely ripped and making sure that everyone else on the boat was just as loaded as they were.  Their supplies for our two to three day trip were comprised primarily of Pabst Blue Ribbon, which was warm halfway into the trip.

Being stuck on a boat for that length of time proved to take all of the romance out of this trip for me.  I had looked forward to it with great anticipation, but these guys constantly insisted that I have a fresh, warm, Pabst Blue Ribbon in my hand and it became quite an annoyance for me.  I soon managed to convince the guy running the main to let me take his position.  I affixed myself to the stern rail and tried to get comfortable.  We were on a beam reach the whole way across as winds were out of the south, so there was little to do with the mainsail.  Unfortunately, the stern rail was the bathroom of the boat, and when you get a bunch of guys drinking on the boat, you find you have to vacate the bathroom often.  Most disappointing, the sunset was absolutely gorgeous and it would have been an amazing moment had it not been for the swingin d1cks running to the back of the boat every 8 minutes.  I've attached a pic of the sunset, without the anatomy.
After the drinking died down well after midnight, I finally got a shift of peace with them sleeping below.  The morning found us in Grand Haven, we completed the 68 mile trip in 11 hours, 59 minutes.  As you might have guessed, arriving in a new port at 6 AM was sufficient cause to get drunk and celebrate!  Of course!

Grand Haven is not a friendly port.  The accommodations are completely absent short of a public restroom.  The worst part of the public restroom was that the urinals shared open space with the toilet.  So for those of us who had to do more than the average business, it was a bit uncomfortable.  This was compounded by the fact that soon after I began, a dad and his 6 year old came in to wait for the facility I now occupied.  He kept asking his dad why I was taking so long which only intensified the embarrassment of the situation.

Anway, it soon began to rain and we were forced into the confines of the cabin.  One of the guys asked me if I wanted to play Yahtzee, which I agreed.  Soon after, I was informed that this was the drinking game Yahtzee, not just regular Yahtzee.  Here's where the fireworks started.  Stuck in a tiny cabin with drunks who were incredibly insistent that I play drinking Yahtzee with warm Pabst Blue Ribbon beer.  One of the guys decided to tell me what he thought of me and my refusal to drink, profanities were exchanged and I went aloft.

After that tensions were apparent, but they left me alone about the drinking.  The trip back I spent at the stern.  They had long since run out of beer and they spent most of the trip, in the midst of a nice storm front, below decks sleeping it off.  I have always appreciated sailing as a great escape, a chance to slip away into the clear blue, far from the reach of cellphones, light pollution, and the stresses and rigors of the city.  I looked forward to this trip with great anticipation of this very escape and found the trip over mostly cluttered by the great discomfort imposed upon me by my crewmates.  The skip remained cool through it all and he and I have enjoyed many more great sails throughout this last year and remain friends.  Now, I sharply observe those I step aboard a boat with, especially if it will be for more than a few hours.

[AdriftAtSea]

Nice sunset....too bad the guys on the boat wouldn't leave you alone about the drinking....to drink or not is a personal choice.  Personally, I see no point in getting drunk on a passage... since you can find yourself quickly in over your head doing that.

[Christopher]

Agreed.  What's more is later that night in Grand Haven, after the two guys and the skip got completely loaded, they decided to sail for another harbor.  This was in the midst of a storm.  There were 4 foot waves even in the channel from that nastiness out there.  I tried hard to talk them out of it, but resigned my position and decided to simply drive the boat to this other harbor, a 20 mile jaunt North.  By the time we arrived, the weather passed, it was past midnight and everyone was sobered up and ready to sleep.  In the morning we headed back home.  I got the peace I had longed for on the trip home...

[Sandy]

How did you do in the race?

[Christopher]

Hey Sandy,

We took 78th overall, out of 180 or so I think?  I'd have to look at the results.  I think we'd have done a lot better, but when the skip and I went below to sleep for two hours, the other two were up and had the sail trim all wrong.  We held off a number of boats throughout our shift, but when we woke for our next shift, they had all passed us.  They were sheeted in tight as could be on main and had the genoa pulled tight to the shroud.  We were on a beam reach as the wind was coming almost directly out of the South, so we lost a lot of ground in those two hours.

Either way, it was great experience.  I'm working on getting a different boat lined up for next year's race.

Were you in the race this year?

[Pappy Jack]

I agree with Adrift. There should be no drinking when on board or only in moderation. If those guys can't be sober for 12 hrs. they shouldn't have been on board. It has been said that a captain should run a tight ship but I don't think this is what was in mind when it was said. I think a can of beer, one mixed drink, or a glass of wine per hour should keep a person legally sober and out of trouble. From a physical point of view, this amount doubled on a daily basis is even healthy. Any more and it becomes a detriment. There, that's my 2 pence worth.

Fair winds,

Pappy Jack

[Fortis]

I learned to sail with a man that was probably three steps along to being diagnosed as having a real drinking problem. But when it came to sailing, he had a policy that I have embraced and enforced on board my own boat.

If the anchor is dry, so is the boat.

In short, the boat was strictly no drinking when under way. Once you got into a marina or dropped anchor, the after locker and its brewed, distilled and fermented contents got opened and shared around with largese.

Alex.

[AdriftAtSea]

If the anchor is dry, so is the boat.

The only problem I have with it is that if you are anchored out...and everyone is hammered, what do you think is going to happen if the anchor starts dragging??? Drunk people working on the moving foredeck of a boat that is being bounced by waves and dragging is a recipe for disaster. 

One of the captains I learned to sail with had a one drink a night rule when anchored out.  If we were in a slip or a mooring, it was different, but anchored out... he figured we might need our wits about us in an emergency, and one drink won't impair anyone critically.

[CharlieJ]

On board Tehani, we allow one drink ( or beer) in the evening with dinner or just before when at anchor.

If we are at sea, I almost always skip that as does Laura. 

When in her slip, that doesn't apply.

When taking people sailing, offshore zero alcohol is allowed, inshore they may have a reasonable amount, I abstain as does Laura.

Strangely, most of our guests have absolutely no problem with our rules. If they do, they get to stay ashore..

[Godot]

Ten or fifteen years ago, in the party years, keeping a sober ship would have been difficult for me.  Now, I rarely drink, my wife doesn't drink, and most of my friends have become responsible (and largely sober) adults.  Not to mention, I usually single hand which generally keeps me busy enough not to think of booze.

However, that said, when sailing with crew in moderate weather I have no problem with the occasional beer.  Drunkenness has not been a problem.  The somewhat lively action of a small sailboat may be all that is required to keep crew in line. 

[newt]

I run a dry boat. The challenge and brotherhood of the sea is enough to get me talking- usually to much.
I will stick to my warm cocoa and chicken noodle soup. Now that is nice on a chilly night! ;D

[thistlecap]

I can't help but say that I really appreciate the sense of responsibility, accountability, and maturity I see evidenced on this site most of the time.  You folks sound like people I'd greatly enjoy sharing a cruise or anchorage with.  Also, I echo the sentiment about knowing your crew.  I delivered vessels for a number of years, and even being a stickler about crew, still got caught unawares a couple times with bad results.  In the long run, however, I sailed with a lot of great people.

[AdriftAtSea]

Fortunately, the odds of getting good crew are generally in your favor, as there are more good eggs than rotten ones out there. :)