Do you drink and sail?

[photodog]

I spent a fedw weeks on a boat in the Caribean a few years back... doing the ASW etc... were we had mistakenly laid in a vast excess of Caribs and Mount gay... that for the last seven days we had to work a a quota system to ensure all the beer had been consumed by the time we got back to Guadaloupe....

IIRC it was one can of lager/hour/crew member from 10am until 6... then we started on the rum...

By that time on the trip all thoughts of persnal hygene and good manners had broken down on board anyways.... and the only Vitimin C we were getting was from the limes in the Rum and Cokes.

 

[glashen]

Most of the boats I've sailed on have been dry. A few beers ashore when in harbour OK but how many times have I seen the people on a neighbouring boat say 'Oh We are off at the crack of dawn to get the tide' then we go out, do our trip, come back a week later and they are still there, still pissed, having an imaginary gale or whatever...

So long as they're enjoying themselves and not putting others in danger what's the problem.

My own attitude is to be pretty restrained in my drinking when underway, for one thing it makes it all the better when safely moored.

 

[Slow_boat]

Yes.

Maybe a beer when under way, no more. Mostly tea.

Safe on mooring or anchor I may have more than enough whiskey (on whisky) to fail a breath test but don't like being falling down, out of control drunk at any time.

 

[glashen]

Yes.

Maybe a beer when under way, no more. Mostly tea.

Safe on mooring or anchor I may have more than enough whiskey (on whisky) to fail a breath test but don't like being falling down, out of control drunk at any time.

Neither do I, but I do enjoy a drink.

The problem here IMO is the dinghy trip, many here clearly do drink when moored and may well be prepared to risk the dinghy in suitable conditions I certainly have. The danger is that if you have everyone in a dinghy, all falling over drunk then you have a tragedy waiting to happen. I tend to the Darwin principle here but it is an area where personal responsibility and awareness of the possible dangers are important.

 

[Sixpence]

Very important thing to remember when sailing is to get organised, always remember to pass the whisky from the left hand side, I say pass the whisky from the left hand side

 

[Long John]

i dont drink and sail it's irresponsible....

....altho i do smoke crack and inject heroin

 

[cliff]

My boat has 2 fridges for a reason. The smaller one gets food in.

My boat aslo has two fridges - the larger one for beer and the smaller one for more beer - oh, and as someone once commented she does not have bilges - she has wine cellars

 

[abedwell]

im always drunk

 

[bobgoode]

I drink and I sail but never together.
Occasionally I may sail the morning after...not sure it's a good thing but the crew are always competent and sober on those occasions.

 

[Jamesanderton]

I do drink and sail, I don't drink much! I think it's fine to have a beer in the afternoon sun but obviously not overdo it. A pint or a couple of stubbies is no issue IMO.

 

[puddock]

I insist on a zero alcohol rule until tied alongside/moored/anchored. After that, a few drinks are fine (exception being, if anchored and an anchor watch is expected).
If a shore run is on the cards, then moderation again.
Common sense approach I would like to think.

 

[uxb]

I gave up drinking and sailing- I was spilling too much.

 

[silver-fox]

When we sail, I have a drink (or two) with lunch and dinner.
Beer mostly, sometimes a glass of wine.

There is a difference between having a drink and being drunk.

Well put Guapa!

Sums it up for me too!

 

[Danny Jo]

It depends what you mean by "sailing". A day sail in clement weather in familiar coastal waters is one thing, and I can usually be tempted to have a glass of wine. But for any real sailing, offshore, passage making etc, where clumsiness or lapses of judgement could put the crew at risk, I apply the Guardian reader test, which goes like this:

If something goes wrong here, what would the average Guardian reader think if he learned that the skipper had been drinking?

 

[webcraft]

Yes

.
Usually a beer with snacks mid-afternoon - small tins of weakish lager are the usual 'boat beer'.

If on a long passage maybe a glass of wine with the evening meal.

And - changing watches on a long night passage - perhaps occasionally a very small dram before getting the head down for two or three hours.

Not exactly excessive, and if any of you disagree then fine, you won't be coming sailing with me.

Morning after early tides when we've been ceilidhing at some island music festival - well, that's another matter altogether. And yes, I know the dinghy is a dangerous place, but that doesn't usually stop us. Done it so often we're pretty good at it now.

- W

 

[snowleopard]

.
Usually a beer with snacks mid-afternoon - small tins of weakish lager are the usual 'boat beer'.

If on a long passage maybe a glass of wine with the evening meal.

And - changing watches on a long night passage - perhaps occasionally a very small dram before getting the head down for two or three hours.

Not exactly excessive, and if any of you disagree then fine, you won't be coming sailing with me.

Morning after early tides when we've been ceilidhing at some island music festival - well, that's another matter altogether. And yes, I know the dinghy is a dangerous place, but that doesn't usually stop us. Done it so often we're pretty good at it now.

- W

Sounds like a pretty sensible approach to me. I would sum up my approach as - when under way, no more than if I was driving, i.e. not enough to feel an effect. While moored a little more, possibly above the drink/drive limit but NEVER enough to be called 'drunk'. I think a total ban on drinking aboard is OTT.

 

[lw395]

It depends what you mean by "sailing". A day sail in clement weather in familiar coastal waters is one thing, and I can usually be tempted to have a glass of wine. But for any real sailing, offshore, passage making etc, where clumsiness or lapses of judgement could put the crew at risk, I apply the Guardian reader test, which goes like this:

If something goes wrong here, what would the average Guardian reader think if he learned that the skipper had been drinking?

Some of the worst over-indulgence seems to be in 'familiar' waters. I particularly recall being carved up by a yacht watching a Fastnet start. The helm was either quite drunk or a total idiot, probably both. This is a typical situation where due to so many boats milling about I would not want any alcohol at all. Same with the Round the Island Race, you may need all your judgement right at the finish, so we just used to have a small beer on the way home, then spend the rest of the afternoon at the pub or club.
In more relaxed places a glass of wine is ok, but even at that level of drinking I give other boats extra space and don't go seeking colregs confrontations! Perhaps a small dose of ethanol helps me relax and let the other boat pass?
If I'm tired and the dinghy ride is at all challenging, then the water taxi becomes good value.
I've been known to shun a dodgy, crowded anchorage, where alertness at night might have been required and a lot of my mates were drinking a lot, in favour of a mooring buoy in the next port.

 

[Doghousekeeper]

I do become a health & safety bore when conveying crew from shore to boat at night in a dinghy, which is where the statistical evidence tells us the real alcohol related risks are.

Where are these statistics? I have been looking unsuccesfully for serious research into this for some time, and so far the only stats I've found have been of rather dubious credibility. If you have a good solid source of real info - could you please share it? Ta

 

[Refueler]

I do have a drink while sailing. Nothing excessive, but odd beer here and there. It is known that in the past I would have a number of "stubbies" ... in fact nicknamed Helming Beer by me for years. They were the cheapo weak Euro stuff that supermarkets sell.
Good beer of normal strength is in moderation.

I applaud those who are tee-total and don't drink and sail, but the do-gooders that preach 'don't drink and sail' I don't have much time for TBH.

When people come on my boat - I am more than ready to accommodate their fair and reasonable view. That means odd trips have been sans alcohol when the crew have said they don't agree. If I get lectured unreasonably - then they are not invited aboard again.

As some know I am presently waiting a Court case ref. My alleged drink / boating. Alleged because Latvia does not recognise helmsperson / person in charge of a boat under 14yrs (motor), 16yrs (sail) .... the person running my boat was under that age and Latvian authorities are ignoring the fact that boat is UK registered etc. etc. So I have unlike most - first hand knowledge of Police action with regard to Drink Boating. May not excuse my having a beer in some peoples view ... but certainly focuses the brain-set ! ( FTI - Police here are pushing for 400 quid fine + 3 yrs loss of Latvian Boating Licence .... nice one !! )

 

[pjobson]

If it was good enough for the British Navy then it's good enough for me. On passage we limit input to a single sundowner followed by a headbanger for the one who is going off-watch. This is purely medical of course to allow a quick fall into dreamland and therefore a refreshed member when they awake 6 hours later.

At anchor then anything goes as long as we are not disturbing our neighbours. This is never usually a problem since they are either on our boat or we are visiting them - the more the merrier.