A Rant . . . OK, a Moan

[RiverRat]

Originally Posted by fishwife

He's paying for new head liners, quite a bit of money, and for a new mattress and bedding.

P.

He's still getting off cheap! IMHO...

[CarinaPDX]

Wow! And I thought I have had some awful crew... Sorry for your experience. I think you handled it very well if a little late.

To be fair, I have also taken aboard some great folks as well. Nonetheless, after a particularly bad experience in 1994 I swore I would never NEED crew again. If I can find someone I think will work out, then great. If not, I go anyway. Last year that meant soloing from the USVI to NYC. Self-steering, autopilots, radar with a guard zone, and AIS transceiver help make it both possible and safe.

You commented: "That's not to say we don't splice the main brace when we are safely tucked up in a marina." I have cruised for more than 15 years and the most common cause of deaths among cruisers that I knew was drinking IN PORT. In just 13 months 2 men died in Gibraltar trying to get back on their boats after a night at the pub. I don't mean to spoil the party but I feel that we mustn't entirely let our guard down once "safely" tied up.

[fishwife]

Originally Posted by CarinaPDX

Snip....
In just 13 months 2 men died in Gibraltar trying to get back on their boats after a night at the pub. I don't mean to spoil the party but I feel that we mustn't entirely let our guard down once "safely" tied up.

I agree.

P.

[SurferShane]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

for skipper or crew?

Good one!

[SurferShane]

Originally Posted by fishwife

Just to be clear, the person who caused my rant is not called Sara Smith. We don't need a class action from people called Sarah Smith.

P.

If she was ever on my boat I would be more worried about the police enquiry concerning one "Jane Doe"!

[nockerwhite]

fishwife you have shown incredible patience and fortitude; I am a patient fellow, but I'm sure I would have 'blown' long before you and Drake would have seen her hung from the yardarm, in spite of his sermons. I don't know if you are a Christian, but you certainly showed a Christlike spirit. I spent time with a guy who had ripped off all my stock of cameras (to buy alcohol) but later he was to use my car to effect burglaries. I blew.

[fishwife]

Originally Posted by nockerwhite

fishwife you have shown incredible patience and fortitude; I am a patient fellow, but I'm sure I would have 'blown' long before you and Drake would have seen her hung from the yardarm, in spite of his sermons. snip...

I think you, and many others, may have missed this line in my original post.

I didn't discover this until four days later when we were ready to move on to the next island. I may have spoken a little harshly.

Brits are known for our tendency towards understatement. I have a long fuse but..

P.

[SurferShane]

Originally Posted by nockerwhite

fishwife you have shown incredible patience and fortitude; I am a patient fellow, but I'm sure I would have 'blown' long before you and Drake would have seen her hung from the yardarm, in spite of his sermons. I don't know if you are a Christian, but you certainly showed a Christlike spirit. I spent time with a guy who had ripped off all my stock of cameras (to buy alcohol) but later he was to use my car to effect burglaries. I blew.

After I posted a thread similar to this I had these people post on their own website about how although my crew member was a gentle but hardened bricklayer from Yorkshire after “I blew” he spent four hours on deck with his T-shirt pulled up over his head crying. They also made some really nice comments about madness, anti-depressants, valium, the seaworthiness of my boat, my navigation skills and that the fact they thought I was going to sue them. And yes, I did get threats of a defamation suit beforehand.

At the end of the day, using a bit of strategic management philosophy- as did Esso after the Exxon Valdez disaster - you really have to look at these things from a positive perspective. For me it was cheap advertising that if any moron ever stepped on my boat again and tried to cause it substantial damage if not sink it, I would not hesitate to feed them to the sharks. Then if I ever got busted I would be pleading substantial impairment of the mind if not insanity arguing that I was so busy trying to learn to sail while keeping an eye on the fool that I forgot to take my meds.

Again, maybe there are some good reasons I have taken to the peacefulness and solitude of single handed cruising? Noting Jesus too had a habit of spending time in the wilderness alone conversing with his Father.

[AllezCat]

I believe that the captain/owner/vessel is responsible for all crew.
If crew disembark they can plead poverty, and the vessel must pay their ticket to their home country.
Tahiti has(had) a strict policy that all crew must leave a deposit equivalent to the flight ticket at a local bank.
I usually discuss this policy with potential crew, whether I am to pay it or they are. And if they are to pay and I don't know them I would want the cash up front, and search their bags.
Getting rid of problematic crew is no different than employees. Sometimes it must be handled very delicately, and at some cost. But ultimately it is worth it...

[AllezCat]

Another issue with a little bit of harmless gunja. Many people believe it is just that, and usually they are not mistaken.
I explain to people very carefully and sternly that on boat one joint could be considered smuggling, and could get us all the death penalty/long prison terms and certainly confiscation of vessel.
I make it very clear to them what I will do if I discover they are risking my life and property.

[ILikeRust]

What about the possibility of requiring an unknown new crew member to post a forfeitable performance bond or otherwise purchase some type of insurance?

In this case, if you had a bond, when this space cadet totally flaked out on you, you could claim the bond and thereby have at least some remuneration.

[Henry Morgan]

I would of turned the other way as a gentle nudge was applied within swimming distance to shore...

[ozzie cruisers]

Wow, what a story. And I thought that crew we took on from Bali to Darwin was bad but she was just lazy. At least she didn't try to burn our boat down. We had a guy onboard once who used up all our fresh water washing his clothes every three days while on offshore passage but, once again, our boat was safe. Thank goodness you survived. It makes you wonder how clever we are in taking strangers onboard, doesn't it?

[Stillraining]

Originally Posted by CarinaPDX

You commented: "That's not to say we don't splice the main brace when we are safely tucked up in a marina." I have cruised for more than 15 years and the most common cause of deaths among cruisers that I knew was drinking IN PORT. In just 13 months 2 men died in Gibraltar trying to get back on their boats after a night at the pub. I don't mean to spoil the party but I feel that we mustn't entirely let our guard down once "safely" tied up.

Drinking s not the problem...getting drunk is....shoot I drink every day...well not right now im on a much needed diet..

But I never get drunk...I have no use for that.

[MitchM]

hmm, shutting off fuel valves, drunk and disappearing, illegal weed on board, sleeping on watch, smoke and fires in her cabin? any one of those would be grounds for keelhauling in the good old days. what a gentleman you are to pay her way home !!! and what does this experience do for your inclination to take a chance on future decent crew looking for voyages ? aaaagh. were you in some way obligated to pay her way home ? i thought some countries require that each foreign crew was obligated to have enough $ to pay his/her/ or in this case its own way home ?