What are the realities of yacht delivery crew

[geem]

A few years back I was invited to sail a Sunreef 74 from Antigua to Barcelona. The skipper is a good friend and I did some coaching for him some years before that. His girlfriend, now wife has won awards at charter yacht catering competitions.

I must have put on a stone....well felt like it. Got fed up with steaks but I did eat a mountain of ice cream.....

No way would I have delivered for the company you mentioned...

The yacht I crewed on this summer had a full time proffessional skipper and his girlfriend was the cook. Incredible food. A freezer and fridge big enough to sleep in ensured we had the best food. I got well paid as crew. Can't fault the experience.

 

[Skylark]

I have never, ever delivered a yacht where the victuals budget came out of my delivery charge. Where do people get this stuff from?

I got so many requests that if ever some bozo came up with that in the t&Cs they would be looking for someone else.

I've turned down deliveries for other reasons, but that's up there in top ridiculous.

I’m sorry to contradict you but I have first hand experience of it.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

I’m sorry to contradict you but I have first hand experience of it.

I have first hand experience of turning the deal down (as crew) once I’d worked it out.

 

[capnsensible]

I’m sorry to contradict you but I have first hand experience of it.

Understand what you are saying but stand easy, you aren't contradicting anything coz there is no way I would do that!

My contract with owners is very clear. If there is no mutual agreement, then they are welcome to find an alternative.

 

[Skylark]

Understand what you are saying but stand easy, you aren't contradicting anything coz there is no way I would do that!

I’m standing easy, I understand your choices but I was commenting upon your assertion:-

I have never, ever delivered a yacht where the victuals budget came out of my delivery charge. Where do people get this stuff from?

 

[capnsensible]

I’m standing easy, I understand your choices but I was commenting upon your assertion:-

Yes the first sentence was obviously not as clear as I thought.

The budget for victuals never comes out of my delivery rate. That would be daft.

 

[Blueboatman]

I have helped skipper owners a handful of times over the years
Those can be great because if the boat is good and clearly well maintained (!) with a skipper who knows how to get the best out of it and not afraid to push it sensibly too…

But that’s a lot of ifs ! And things are taken a lot on faith and your own nous..

And you do get to sail boats outside of your own budget /experiences perhaps ?
The wooden ones can be interesting ?sometimes …

My most memorable was the skipper of a almost new HR49 , we bashed and pushed it to Gibraltar against headwinds with an engine overheat alarm so we didn’t use it , we broke an inner forestay and all the deck hatches leaked you could feel the boat flexing and juddering as it crashed through the headseas
And safely arrived, good food all the way incl part baked reheated bread ?, the skipper said ‘ if I’d bought a Swan, we’d have been here yesterday ! ‘ .. Good fun.

I hope the OP gets some good rides , sounds like he has earns it .

 

[laika]

Yes the first sentence was obviously not as clear as I thought.

It was the second sentence which skylark highlighted

 

[dunedin]

I had half an apple and half a tin of peas in3 or 4 days. Other bloke ate other 5 apples.

I was a bit faint towards the end even though I took a bottle of water and a chocolate bar with me.

It was rough weather and other bloke didn't turn up for his watch at 2 am.

Many things broke, but I fixed what I could and we managed with what could not be fixed.

Reliance Yachts were taken to court some weeks later for dereliction to their crew. So I was lucky. It was still a good and awful trip.

Surely the lesson there - which I would have thought would have been obvious at the time - is to NEVER make a pier-head jump onto an unfamiliar boat with an unfamiliar skipper.
Surely you would want to check over the boat for lots of things - safety gear, condition …….. and provisions - before departing the dock. In doing so, you will also learn a bit about the skipper’s attitude to preparation.
If proposing to put to sea with no provisions (or unsafe boat or gear), either work together to get fixed or walk.

When I joined an unfamilar boat for a 6 day delivery I did precisely that. Arrived a full day ahead of departure. Generally was good, and great skipper - but clearly a boat maintained by professional yard, with no basic spares on board. So I and another experienced crew took a trip to the local chandlery and bought a basic bosuns kit before departure (skipper happily waved his credit card). Jointly did provisions and shared costs.

 

[capnsensible]

Surely the lesson there - which I would have thought would have been obvious at the time - is to NEVER make a pier-head jump onto an unfamiliar boat with an unfamiliar skipper.
Surely you would want to check over the boat for lots of things - safety gear, condition …….. and provisions - before departing the dock. In doing so, you will also learn a bit about the skipper’s attitude to preparation.
If proposing to put to sea with no provisions (or unsafe boat or gear), either work together to get fixed or walk.

When I joined an unfamilar boat for a 6 day delivery I did precisely that. Arrived a full day ahead of departure. Generally was good, and great skipper - but clearly a boat maintained by professional yard, with no basic spares on board. So I and another experienced crew took a trip to the local chandlery and bought a basic bosuns kit before departure (skipper happily waved his credit card). Jointly did provisions and shared costs.

Absolutely. Do it properly. Owners, in my experience, are happy to pay a small premium for quality.

Pay peanuts, get a monkey.

Or someone who comes up with the crazy idea that others have complained about.

 

[capnsensible]

It was the second sentence which skylark highlighted

I'm beginning to understand the popularity of keel hauling.....

 

[Chiara’s slave]

I'm beginning to understand the popularity of keel hauling.....

This must be the biggest drawback of multihull ownership. This most traditional of seafaring punishments just isn’t possible. We only have the lash, or walking the plank.

 

[geem]

This must be the biggest drawback of multihull ownership. This most traditional of seafaring punishments just isn’t possible. We only have the lash, or walking the plank.

I find the electric mosquito zapper quite effective?

 

[chrishscorp]

Did a delivery earlier this year to Cherbourg was shocked when I got there only 2 ferries a week back to the UK now, ended up coming back from Caen after a long trek on trains and bus with all my kit.
I was offered a ride back on another UK boat going the other way from the same pontoon which would have been very easy, but they had no engine and were going to be towed out of the harbour to start with and the weather by my reckoning was deteriorating and we had had a bouncy ride on the way there, gut feeling was get the ferry.

 

[WoodyP]

I have done a couple of deliveries with owner skippers. One skipper was a mate and still is. Well found boat not always comfortable but never unsafe no payment but all found.
The other on a fairly large Oyster, boat not prepared, stuff broke, other crew useless so no help. Trip ended up being aborted. Received a large bill for the extra expenses from him, having missed my return flight and trains. I didn't send a cheque by return.

I once stopped and transferred from mates boat on another trip to help a single handed skipper who had no practical problem solving skills, no engineering knowledge and no supplies aboard. No word of thanks at the end of the trip. I doubt l will do it again but would be very careful to check it out and disembark if I wasn't happy with the preparation.

 

[geem]

Did a delivery earlier this year to Cherbourg was shocked when I got there only 2 ferries a week back to the UK now, ended up coming back from Caen after a long trek on trains and bus with all my kit.
I was offered a ride back on another UK boat going the other way from the same pontoon which would have been very easy, but they had no engine and were going to be towed out of the harbour to start with and the weather by my reckoning was deteriorating and we had had a bouncy ride on the way there, gut feeling was get the ferry.

A bit different to my experience. Flights paid for out to Sweden and flights paid for on the return leg from Holland.

 

[steveeasy]

Surely the lesson there - which I would have thought would have been obvious at the time - is to NEVER make a pier-head jump onto an unfamiliar boat with an unfamiliar skipper.
Surely you would want to check over the boat for lots of things - safety gear, condition …….. and provisions - before departing the dock. In doing so, you will also learn a bit about the skipper’s attitude to preparation.
If proposing to put to sea with no provisions (or unsafe boat or gear), either work together to get fixed or walk.

When I joined an unfamilar boat for a 6 day delivery I did precisely that. Arrived a full day ahead of departure. Generally was good, and great skipper - but clearly a boat maintained by professional yard, with no basic spares on board. So I and another experienced crew took a trip to the local chandlery and bought a basic bosuns kit before departure (skipper happily waved his credit card). Jointly did provisions and shared costs.

Ive never done anything like this, but agree with the above fully. You have to do your own due diligence in a courteous and diplomatic fashion. Then jump ship before the lines are untied. Too late being in two minds once your on route. I do something along the lines of that before anyone gets a foot on board my tub.

Steveeasy

 

[obmij]

I crewed on at least one reliance delivery in the late 90's..and we also ran out of food! 5 days to go and I was making ever thinner pancakes with diluted milk and a sprinkling of flour. Back in the good old days (a couple of days previously) we had some eggs left so the pancakes were more sustaining!

My impression was that the skip paid for the provisions out of his fee - and the fee went that great anyway. I think we left most of the fee in Gibraltar on a fairly epic pub crawl, hence the feeble rations.

From memory I think we were mostly 2-up for that trip as well... 3 on 3 off

Crewing on deliveries was a blast when a kid. Used to mix it up with yard work and the like. Wouldn't do it now but happy (and sometimes pretty mad) times. : - )

 

[Beelzebub]

I crewed on at least one reliance delivery in the late 90's..and we also ran out of food! 5 days to go and I was making ever thinner pancakes with diluted milk and a sprinkling of flour. Back in the good old days (a couple of days previously) we had some eggs left so the pancakes were more sustaining!

My impression was that the skip paid for the provisions out of his fee - and the fee went that great anyway. I think we left most of the fee in Gibraltar on a fairly epic pub crawl, hence the feeble rations.

From memory I think we were mostly 2-up for that trip as well... 3 on 3 off

Crewing on deliveries was a blast when a kid. Used to mix it up with yard work and the like. Wouldn't do it now but happy (and sometimes pretty mad) times. : - )

Many years ago, after arriving in Antigua, I met a German guy who'd navigated his Fisher 30 single handed from the Canaries. The trip took him a month which was quite a bit more than he'd bargained for.

There had been precious little wind and his engine had packed up. Consequently it took him 30 days to make the crossing.

He ran out of food apart from porridge and had spent the last 10 days of his trip surviving on porridge alone. Needless to say, he didn't want to see any more in a long time!

 

[lenten]

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