Trips with non-sailers

S

Sailfree

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Just spent a week with 2 non-sailers and the trip back from Carteret to Hamble was obviously a bit of a slog on Saturday with motoring last 10 hrs. With little to do and getting late it was obviously getting a little tedious. How do others keep crew (especially non-sailing) entertained?
 
Yes tried a little of that had one helming through the Alderney race -couldn't get the grin off his face but found it a difficult judgement call on how much info to give that they would find interesting. Unfortunatly while we may find sailing/navigation info interesting a non-sailor may find us an obsessive sailing bore! Reading carries an increased risk of seasickness. Definately agree try to keep days as short as possible and keep them busy but when motoring in a slop and the risk of sea sickness I think most non sailors just want to arrive as quickly as possible and object to the cycle pace. While my passengers seemed to enjoy most of the week I am sure they looked enviously at the motorboat going at twice the speed when it came to the long cross channel bit.
 
Re: Leave them ashore

[ QUOTE ]
NEVER take a non-sailor to sea. You will both hate it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Surely we were all non-sailors who someone took to sea for the first time, at some point?
 
Not same thing!

Someone who is interested in messing about in boats, even if they have everything to learn, is not a "non-sailor" - they will be interested in their surroundings and in what is going on.
 
Re: Leave them ashore

In all fairness both these seemed to enjoy the shorter trips and expressed an interest in doing it again but I suspected that they would prefer a weekend rather than a week if the week meant a long X channel hop. Of course they may have just been polite!
 
Wrong way round ??

Taking for short weekend tasters is good way to hook a non-sailer .... ie - Solent hopping ... no long stints, plenty of interest and boats to look at / in out morrings etc. Life's interewsting without being boring. Soon the question comes up .... when can I do it again and can we go longer next time ....

Starting with a long slog week and channel 'hop' - whoever named it that never did it on a flat calm day with sickly swell running across your course line !! Unless a non-sailer 'first-time outer' is really keen - they will think carefully about it again ....

My learners / even thsoe with knowledge of sailing - I kick of by letting go and setting boat up ... then have a job to do and its .... can you take the tiller a while ... Oh ... steer that etc. etc. Don't worry I'll keep an eye and let you know if you wander ....
It's amazing how quick they cotton on .... and reluctant to give the helm back ... BUT the tiller gets red hot when they get near to something ands then its get rid of it quick ! So I have not had trouble with this approach ....

I believe in involve them in the boat and give them a feel of actually doing something ... without making it a chore or like a school boat ... if there is one thing I hate - its the safety lecture before setting of when its like a school assembly .... some people are religious about it ....

One person I knew - gave the most detailed and boring pre-departure lecturews imaginable .... then when it actually came to it - he was the ball of panic and frenzy and others did the biz .... of course after he was very quiet ....

I hazard a guess you will look for new companions on next trip !! Maybe I'm wrong .... (no disrespect meant ..)

/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
 
Even sailors (I mean raggies here of course) can get bored on a long motoring slog. SWMBO and I found Scrabble occupied part of a Lyme Bay crossing on a glassy sea many years ago before there was lots of electronic gizzmos to play with!
 
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