Skippering for the first time this W/E - advice, anyone?

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muminator

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Come on, I'm sure you lot have some gems of wisdom to offer.

Himself is going to Puerto Rico, I'm organising the Club Rally.

Terrified, but I'm gonna do it anyway. Taking an experienced crew who says he'll stop me if I look like killing anyone. Which is nice.

Sue
 
The only advice I can give is to think very carefully before every manoeuvre you carry out, and particularly when mooring or casting off. Always make sure exactly what the wind and tide are doing and try to anticipate what effect they wil have on the boat. Otherwise, delegate as much as you can and enjoy. Good luck!
 
Dont

Best advice......................DONT.

Dont shout !

Dont be impatient !

Dont do anything your uncomfortable with !

Do

Do check all your chartwork !

Do remember to give clear orders !

Do enjoy the experience.

Do everything slowly??????????????????

You will have a greater respect for your next skipper after you have taken on these responsibilities. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Enjoy it, and don't worry about every little thing. Things go wrong for everyone, just put any mistakes down to experience. It's meant to be pleasurable, not terrifying.
 
make sure that you have the major parts planned nicely, and get yourself ready early so that you have time to think. When you delegate stuff, dont assume that it will be done, but make sure that you have feedback on it. and most important of all, remember that this is being done for enjoyment by all (except probbaly 50% of the SWMBO who are suffering in silence and wishing themselves elsewhere /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif)
 
Think through every manoeuvre in plenty of time - even putting the sails up. It's VERY embarrassing to be heaving on the main halliard with the sail ties still attached (T shirt available /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif )

Have a plan B for everything!

Now relax & enjoy it!
 
Prepare!

Get a big bit of paper and write all the tide times on it. Look at the charts and identify potential dangers .. always know exactly where you are .. don't mean overkill on chart but never doubt you'r position. If you muck up a manoevre do it slowly .. plenty of fenders + spare one ready JIC. Work out exit strategy in tight corners before entering. Above all relax and enjoy. Good luck
 
Delegate everything except responsibility.... especially if you have an experienced crew... they'll know what they are doing... you are directing activity, not doing activity....

My big mistake on my first (few) efforts at skippering was to try and do too much myself....

One other thing... you'll be well chuffed with yourself when its over and done!
 
preperation is everything
relax but be vigilant
allow others to enjoy themselves and make mistakes but monitor from a distance
if you are not sure of something dont bullshite - admit it and find out
look and feel confident ..... others will be looking at you

enjoy the experience /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
 
Just do everything slowly and calmly, and dont expect your crew to do what you ask first time. Expect them to get it wrong, pull the wrong rope or not hear you, If you allow for the delay you'll be fine.
 
First of all, to quote the Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy: DON'T PANIC!!!

Prepare your nav, but don't OVER prepare.
I've seen first timers with a perfectly prepaired, extremely detailed nav lose the plot as soon as one little detail didn't happen as they planned. One even got "lost" in the middle of the Solent.
 
One of my old mentors instilled this in me,
to ask yourself at every situation - whats the worst thing that could happen now and how you could prevent it or deal with it.

This isnt meant as a frightener, more an awareness tool to help with forward thinking. ie; you're about to leave the jetty, there are other boats around -what would I do if the engine cut out/ the halyard snaps/they fell in.
Yes I agree it seems gloomy and daunting but when you visualise these things and what you might do you tend to think of things that you ought not do, or ways/actions to prevent them from materialising in the first place.

This mode of thought has helped me through some tough situations and has kept me one step ahead of the crew with regard to their safety/ boat handling.
I'd love to say 'relax and enjoy it' but truth is ,ya cant relax, not as skipper, despite your well found crew you are wearing the hat that sez the buck stops here.
Do have fun 'tho and all experience is valid.
as someone regarded earlier, dont freak out.
with some forethought not much should take you by surprise I'm sure you'll do just great, good luck.
 
Difficult to add much more to this collection of great and good "old (sorry!!) salts but remember each trip is different - that,s one of the many delights of sailing - nobody does, or ever will, know it all. Remember your mistakes and keep a "Lessons Learned Log" it will prove invaluable and you will be unlikely to make the same mistakes again.
Above all, ENJOY!!!
 
Well, you've crewed often enough - so you know how to treat a crew to get the best out of them. You've seen the mistakes that others make - so you won't be too embarrassed if you make them yourself. If things start going wrong, take a deep breath and calm down - there's usually time to reason out the best way out of it. So stop worrying and enjoy it.
 
One other tip - whenever there's time, explain what you're going to do and how you 're planning on doing it in advance, and what you want each person to do. With an experienced crew this need only be, "We're going onto berth K3, nose first, starboard side to. Fred, roving fender, please, Bill, bow line, Jane, stern line." If they're less experienced, you'll have to go into all the ins and outs and remind Bill that he's also forward lookout going in. and what he needs to do with his bit of string.

Above all, ENJOY!
 
I'm only from Chi to Wootton, but I've never been there so I'm checking everything very carefully.

Thanks for all your advice everyone, it largely backed up what I was trying to do, and added a few extra tips.

I feel a lot better now...I'll let you know if the feeling lasts through the weekend!

Cheers all.

Sue
 
And, yes - I do know that Wootton dries!!

Or, as the guy I spoke to on the phone there said when I asked if the pontoon was accessible at all states of tide: "Yes... as long as there's water."

Classic.
 
The only thing I can come up with after all the above wisdom - is:

Remember to feed your crew and keep them warm. Essential skipper duty in my book. The fact that my daughters have put it there in bold a hundred times means it has just about sunk through now!
 
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