It has been a while since I was in the
delivery business but I clearly remember my adventure with crew passports. During my pre-passage
safety spiel, I would give crew members a choice, this was pre 9/11, mind you. They could put their valuables including passports in a baggy and keep them in the ditch bag or they could hang onto them themselves and I would give them a plastic baggy for that purpose. There was one young man who refused to give up his passport until he was forced to come with me on a 2 hour hike to the C&I office and back in some nondescript Mexican port while the rest of the crew lounged around aboard a beautiful 90 foot
boat which we were delivering.
He promptly surrendered his papers after the stroll in 110 degree heat!
My deliveries were primarily on the
west coast from
Alaska to
Panama so we're in and out of several countries on a
delivery.
I know that
Europe had been a bit of a problem a while back but with the Shengen treaties, I would have thought it had become a no brainier. At least until it all blows up again!
I rarely had more than 3 crew members, all US citizens, and there was probably one
newbie among them and most times I
recall, the newbies were female. I found them to be hard working, quick learners and interested in all things
marine. Brute strength was never an issue and I did not have blue vs pink jobs aboard but the guys would naturally jump in if there was a particularly dirty or physically demanding task.
In 15 years of delivering
boats up and down the coast, I was blessed with a regular and willing group of young people. Not to say there weren't issues from time to time, but generally things ran pretty smoothly. I would always host a pre-passage dinner or get together so folks could get to know each other and me if they were new. This worked out great in building a team and my most experienced crew seemed to rise to the occasion and put everyone at ease.
I personally, was never made aware of any hanky panky between crew members although on a couple of deliveries, I was pretty sure something of a mutual consent went on. It never got in the way of
work to be done aboard.
These were all paid crew, mostly experienced and had known me for years.
Not certain how much the rules have changed but boys will continue to be boys and girls continue to be girls. I guess, don't know, that social mores, expectations and behaviors because of social media influences are different now than in the 90's but folks today need to make their own decisions, not be told by an old fuddy duddy like me what to do and how to behave.
Just my 2 cents... Cheers, Phil
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