How do you treat your crew?

Karouise said:
My crew is excellent, well trained, polite, seems to be able to read my mind on everything, produces tea, chocolate just when I want it so never any need to shout. Then again I sail singlehanded!:rolleyes:
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Perfect! Snap!


Mike

P.S. The trouble is, when I do have friends crewing/sailing with me, I forget to ask them to do anything. I am reminded eventually that all I have done is smile, provide food etc and make conversation whilst doing the boat things without comment. Oh dear.
 
I've crewed blue water for a few captains. The ones that shout, demand, and yell didn't gain any respect. They also were the ones most useless at conveying to the crew what to do. The best captains were the ones that we not control freaks. A happy crew brings a happy passages and life long connections.

IMO, part of my job as captain is not to lose it over petty things.
 
I'm blessed with crew who seem to have almost completed every task before I've even thought of asking them to do it.

But the original post suggests that it may have been prompted by a row, a particular incident or a series of incidents. I think we should be told, blow by blow.
 
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Wot's the point of paying for the boat if you can't dish out abuse as skipper!

Seriously, though, one of my regulars - daughter of a Russian sailing coach - jokes about the fact that I say "please" and "thank you" in my skipperly requests. Apparently it's not traditional in Russia.
 
Freestyle said:
I'm blessed with crew who seem to have almost completed every task before I've even thought of asking them to do it.

But the original post suggests that it may have been prompted by a row, a particular incident or a series of incidents. I think we should be told, blow by blow.
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No, it's a chap who posted in the lounge who said his SWMBO is marvellous, provides cups of tea, chocolate, meals etc., all whilst the galley is rocking about. All that, he said, even though she's frightened, wet and he shouts at her. I said he shouldn't shout at her. He said he's the skipper and he'll shout all he likes and stamp his feet! So I just wondered what anyone else thinks.
 
Mrs Sea Mist II said:
No, it's a chap who posted in the lounge who said his SWMBO is marvellous, provides cups of tea, chocolate, meals etc., all whilst the galley is rocking about. All that, he said, even though she's frightened, wet and he shouts at her. I said he shouldn't shout at her. He said he's the skipper and he'll shout all he likes and stamp his feet! So I just wondered what anyone else thinks.
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He sounds a delight to sail with.
 
Mrs Sea Mist II said:
All that, he said, even though she's frightened, wet and he shouts at her. I said he shouldn't shout at her. He said he's the skipper and he'll shout all he likes and stamp his feet! So I just wondered what anyone else thinks.
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I like the style of the late 19th-century RN Captain, addressing a young lieutenant who had made a mistake:

Lieutenant: "I'm sorry sir, I thought I was acting for the best"

Captain: "Thought, sir? What business have you to think? If there's any thinking needs doing aboard my ship - I'll do it!"

He must have been a jolly old cove. :D
 
Nico said:
There's theory and there's practice. I've never known anybody to recommend shouting but I seem to hear a lot of it when racing. Could it be that those same skippers espouse the calm and informed school, same as the rest of us?
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Ah well... sailing with son no1 who is addicted to the racing way.. on a dinghy - I get shouted at if he's on the helm. Now we also have a yacht things seem to have mellowed - or he has!- I will confess to not being very race oriented - but I enjoy sailing fast if I get the chance. I don't need to shout - and most things seem to get done without asking :-DD

For the bulk of the time I and SWMBO sail together, very much a joint effort, without much drama or aggro, copious cups of tea and jaffa cakes help!
I find it pays to discuss what is happening next before it happens....

Graeme
 
I'm from a completely different school of sailing, if somethings not being done quick enough, shout until it's being done at twice the speed you want it done. :)

That's only during racing mind.

Normally I'm very relaxed, 90% of the people I take out sailing are Freinds who are non sailors. I'm very keen to groom them into being a regular crew so I make lots of tacks and gybes whilst explaining what needs to be done. When the basics are done, it's easy enough to go onto other things. The first thing they all say is, I didn't realise it was that easy, can I come again.

The only person I get frustrated with is the Father, he's got more sailing tickets than he knows what to do with but is slow as hell. Normally it takes about 4 orders from "command" with the last one usually being "DAD I NEED THIS DONE, NOW" :D[/QUOTE]

Ever wonder why your foredeck crew shout at the cockpit? You shout at them, they shout back, you get rude they don't do the gybe!! It's amazing the how people think its the helm that controls the boat when really it's us foredeck monkeys!
 
Shouting Skippers

hoverjumper said:
SWMBO and a friend did a Comp Crew Cse this year. The instructor constantly preached that he didn't believe in shouting on board, and then proceeded to scream and shout at every opportunity. Needless to say they didn't have a fun time!
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We meet Trevor in Gibraltar at Allaboard ..

Trevor never shouts .. Even with a totally novice crew and a newish 40ft Jeaneau with the crew playing at mooring in a marina. He just sat quietly most of the time and watched .. We had quiet explanations about what we were going to do .. How to do it .. Very quietly ..

We did try to gas him though .. One of the batteries was in the aft cabin where he was sleeping .. Everytime we came back we plugged the shore power in and the duff battery boiled away to itself ..

He had lost his voice by the time we found the cause .. :eek:
 
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