Latitude 38 VOLUME 396 June 2010 WE GO WHERE THE WIND BLOWS JUNE 2010 VOLUME 396 GOT CREW? "We sailed south with the '97 Baja Ha-Ha fl eet and never looked back," explains Bill Fleetwood of the Monterey- true for sailors looking for a crew posi- — and also some friends' experience — based Gulfstar 50 Blue Banana. "Now, tion — while there are plenty of com- that new crew hasn't been reliable, and 13 years later, we are still sailing. We've petent, big-hearted skippers out there, that people expected a free ride, then circled 3/4 of the globe, seen 40 coun- you occasionally come across a despi- would jump ashore as soon as the boat tries and, like the Energizer Bunny, we cable Captain Bligh. was tied up to the dock." To Jeffrey's So, with the summer sail- way of thinking, "Crew should help put ing season upon us, and the fall the boat away, stowing lines and sails, cruising season right around the and helping with a quick hose-down." corner, we thought we’d share a We agree, but while such long-standing few crew-fi nding and ride-fi nding tips that we’ve gleaned over the years, as well as some insights For many skippers, the fact from Latitude readers. that a crew candidate has Promote Clear Expectations only limited experience is — Ideally, the process of taking on crew should be a win-win not a deal breaker. situation for everyone. That is, everyone should go away feeling positive about the experience, traditions may be engrained in many of rather than either the captain us, newbies sometimes need seemingly or crew feeling that they’ve been obvious elements of boating etiquette misled, taken advantage of, or spelled out for them — i.e. "Please don't otherwise abused. If you hope jump on my brand new Lexan hatch- to achieve that goal, our recom- es!" mendation is to strive for clear communications right from the get-go, so that everyone has real- istic expectations. For anything longer than a daysail, skippers need to be crys- BLUE BANANA tal clear about what they will ex- With a little luck, a Crew List connection can pect from their crew, long before casting lead to grand adventures. Just ask Bill and off the docklines: Sam Fleetwood. • How will watches be organized? just keep going and going and going!" • Other than watchstanding, what Because Bill met his wife Sam boat chores will crew be responsible through Latitude's Crew List, we consider for? (Navigation, cooking, cleaning?) the Fleetwoods to be the ultimate poster • Will crew be expected to contribute children for our long-established crew- to provisioning expenses and other trip fi nding service, which — like similar costs? If so, how much and when? services around the world — has suc- • What ‘personal space’ will crew- cessfully brought together thousands members have? (Will they be assigned of skippers-in-need with eager crew pipe berths, a private cabin, or be ex- members for every type of sailing you pected to hot-bunk?) can think of, from low-key daysailing to • What’s the deal with showering? hardcore transatlantic ocean racing. In • What are the rules about alcohol? some cases, a casual sail on the Bay has • What sort of communications, nav led to the fulfi llment of world cruising and safetly gear is aboard — and func- dreams that neither skipper nor crew tioning? (Our reports in Sightings about initially imagined. the sail training cutter Columbia illus- We can certainly appreciate the sense trate why this one's important.) of self-reliance that comes with solo or Even if you're only looking to recruit short-handed sailing. But more often crew for daysails on the Bay, it's smart than not, our attitude toward bringing to let your crew know what you will ex- along extra crew is: “The more the mer- pect from them and what they should rier!” It just seems to be a whole lot more expect from you — right down to the fun and relaxing that way, assuming you small stuff, like who's responsible for select new crew members carefully. bringing the sandwiches and beer. That said, we know from experience Jeffrey Kirk has used Latitude's Crew that fi nding ideal crew members — es- List for the past 15 years, both to fi nd pecially for long-haul offshore trips — crew and to fi nd rides. "In the past few can be a tricky business. The same is years," he says, "it's been our experience CHARMEL Page 94 • Latitude 38 • June, 2010 — THE MORE THE MERRIER seamanship skills along the way. Likewise, potential crew should be Be Honest — As with any successful licensed professional skipper to come honest about their abilities. For many relationship, it's essential that captains along. He/she will insure that you'll skippers, the fact that a crew candi- and crew members be honest with each reach your destination safely, while date has only limited experience is other, or the mood on board can dete- helping you fi ne-tune your sailing and not a deal breaker. A crewperson's at- riorate quickly. First and foremost, captains (or boat owners) need to be honest with them- selves and their crew about their own sailing abilities. If, as captain, you mis- represent your prowess, or lack thereof, doing so will invariably backfi re on you — possibly by inspiring your crew to jump ship at the earliest opportunity. If your skills and experience are a bit shaky, say, for making the 500-mile run from the Bay to San Diego, instead of trying to make up for your shortcom- ings by taking on more experienced crew, you'd probably be wiser to hire a Below: Trish Gilbert (second from right) and the 'CharMel' crew greet the ARC Rally race com- mittee as they cross the fi nish line. Right: Mark and Sandi Joiner (far right) still have happy memories of goofi ng around with new friends during the 2000 Baja Ha-Ha rally. / ANDY LATITUDE titude is often much more important. Mike Joyce, skipper of the Catalina 36 MK II Interlude recruited at least three crew from Latitude's Crew List for last year's Ha-Ha. As he says, "Some may fi nd it interesting that sailing skills and experience were not high on the list of required skills. Those can be learned on the trip." Instead, his focus was on fi nding fun-loving crew with upbeat at- titudes, and by all accounts he put to- gether a great crew. "We were packed tight, six deep on a Catalina 36. We'd never sailed together, and we had one of the best times you could have on a boat for two incredible weeks." If a skipper or potential crew mem- ber has serious medical issues, and/or is taking prescription medications, that info should be shared up front. Espe- cially for offshore trips, we don't think a captain would be out of line to ask crew (of any age) to produce a note or a stan- dard physical from their doctor show- ing that they are fi t enough for strenu- ous physical activity. Conversely, crew shouldn't feel intimidated about asking health-related questions of the skipper. One of the most delicate issues in signing on as crew — especially for women — is trying to assess whether June, 2010 • Latitude 38 • Page 95 GOT CREW? a skipper is simply looking for an able- bodied watchstander or a bunkmate. So if you're absolutely not interested in ro- past skippers or crew members. (If do- into 'staying on the same page' once we mance, be sure to make that abundant- ing this seems awkward to you, just say got underway. ly clear from the start. Bill Fleetwood of you've had a bad experience in the past Blue Banana, tells us that to this day and are a little gun-shy.) his wife Sam insists "she was not look- In the case of Interlude's memorable L atitude's Crew List isn't the ing for a man" when they met. He, on '09 Ha-Ha crew, Mike Joyce explains, only useful crew source out there, but the other hand, was defi nitely open to for longer than we can remember, it's fi nding a lovely lady to go sailing with helped sailors connect for all sorts of him, as he was "between engagements" "The biggest lesson I on-the-water adventures. at the time. "When you requested readers’ expe- Facilitating romantic hook-ups has learned about fi nding rides riences with the Crew List, I felt I had never been the intention of our online is the importance of avoid- to respond," writes boating writer Mark Crew List or biannual Crew List Parties, Joiner, "as there have been soooo many but hey, it happens. We're pretty sure ing desperation." great ones over so many years! the Fleetwood's romance isn't the fi rst "My fi rst Crew List Party — now de- Crew List relationship that resulted in cades ago — was at the Encinal Yacht tying a nuptial knot. "The crew decisions were made early Club, and I wound up with a notebook enough for us to get to know one an- full of skippers’ phone numbers and boat Get to Know Each Other — We'd other even though we were scattered Below: At the start of last year's Ha-Ha, the fun- estimate that roughly half the couples from the Bay Area to D.C to Seattle.