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Old 21-01-2022, 14:00   #1
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Charter strategies used to help pax not get too drunk?

Seems like alcohol involved in ruining some vacations/charter experiences.

Anyone have strategies they've successfully employed to reduce this while keeping pax happy/not offended that their freedom is being taken away where they can't drink til they fight/fall overboard/puke?
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Old 21-01-2022, 14:22   #2
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Re: Charter strategies used to help pax not get too drunk?

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Seems like alcohol involved in ruining some vacations/charter experiences.

Anyone have strategies they've successfully employed to reduce this while keeping pax happy/not offended that their freedom is being taken away where they can't drink til they fight/fall overboard/puke?
Substitute mild recreational drugs for alcohol; start with pot laced brownies, tends to make everyone mellow and time warped and hungry. To busy eating to want to drink. Just kidding.

If you are the skipper just don't permit alcohol on board, or drunks to embark if they have been imbibing on shore; surest and safest way to avoid belligerent drunks and stumbling drunks and puking drunks. Set the rule before accepting their charter booking and again upon arrival. No exceptions, never.

Goes for skipper, crew and passengers.
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Old 21-01-2022, 15:51   #3
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Re: Charter strategies used to help pax not get too drunk?

First off, I think the problems you are concerned about are extremely rare on a small charter vessel.
Quite different from what might occur in a night club I used to frequent on a Saturday night.

To start with, any small group tour charter sailing course I ever took out,
No booze provided,
There are different attitudes or options about this.
The sailing school and charter company I worked for, didn’t supply booze, but didn’t object to BYOB.
I often prior to leaving, I would tell people where the cold beer and wine store was.
As part of my safety briefing, I would request no smoking, bellow deck,(the world is stricter now) or when sailing.
I would request no drinking underway, but having a beer in the evening at Anchorage was ok . I also point out, if anyone is not fit to go sailing in the morning, obviously we can’t go.

Finding nice place to stop near a nice friendly pub or bar was often on the itinerary.
I found I never had a problem most people were, out to enjoy a trip, in the outdoors, and were not there to get drunk.

Having said above, I have gone on a fishing charter, one of the reasons I went, was so I could relax and enjoy a beer while someone else ran the boat. Other reason was so I knew where to go when I came back with my own boat. The point is we to enjoy fishing, we didn’t go fishing to get drunk.
I can do that a lot cheeper in a bar.

My life choices, I stopped drinking many many years ago, not because I had a problem, I just found I enjoyed life better without getting drunk. Or maybe I just got older. I still enjoy an occasional beer, and if I go fishing with a friend, if I am running the boat I don’t drink. If I’m on a charter, I’m not going on a dry charter, I’m going on one which allows me to bring a 6 pack, in my cooler, just in case it’s a hot day.

My strategy is, By explaining my concerns, asking people to behave responsibly and then trusting them to do so.
I found it works.
With friends or with charter or sailing school trips.
I have friends who I choose not to take sailing. Sailing school or charter, it was never a problem.

I have a group of friends who went on a crewed charter to the Caribbean most of them are professional skippers.
When I wondered why the heck they would hire a crew, to do what they could do themselves?
The answer was quite simple, we are going on holiday and want to have fun without the responsibility. Which included being able to enjoy a drink responsibly.

I suspect sailing with a hangover isn’t a lot of fun or appealing to most people.

I did comment on another thread, I chose to not work, dinner or booze cruises. I didn’t like being responsible for people who were often drinking a lot. I wasn’t concerned so much about behaviour, more about safety. There are a number of charter boats which operate successfully in this market locally. If you have the required certification to run one. Finding work is not hard,
Despite my concerns, I don’t know of any accidents.
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Old 21-01-2022, 16:17   #4
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Re: Charter strategies used to help pax not get too drunk?

We've done 17 or 18 bareboat charters. Here's what we do:


1) Get your charterers there a day or 2 early, if you can. Let them get their first night or 2 of partying on shore.


2) We only permit the consumption of beer, while underway, and it's social only.


3) Set your itinerary up so that you have a passage on the first or second day. They quickly learn to keep their consumption in check.



4) MOST IMPORTANTLY: Go through a simulation of falling overboard at night. Let them know that they need to let themselves float, as there is no way to tell where up is. Tell them this is why you don't swim at night, and why people who fall overboard at night drown. And that alcohol really impairs the ability to survive a fall in the water. Don't lecture, say it matter-of-factly. This scares the carp out of them.
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Old 22-01-2022, 13:37   #5
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Re: Charter strategies used to help pax not get too drunk?

If the first night was an all out party we’d go whale watching in open water the following day. No one would forget the roll and queezy feeling.it was plain sailing and behaviour after that. Never sighted a whale, but the fish got fed.
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Old 22-01-2022, 13:46   #6
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Re: Charter strategies used to help pax not get too drunk?

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If the first night was an all out party we’d go whale watching in open water the following day. No one would forget the roll and queezy feeling.it was plain sailing and behaviour after that. Never sighted a whale, but the fish got fed.

If we are talking about liveaboard term charters, this problem is not rare at all. Quite a few folks need to be drinking to relax and have fun. This tactic is a good one. The first night is usually going to be the worst, because the guests have just arrived on holiday. A good stiff sail on the next day often sorts things out, but not always. Some people really like their booze, and some people are really difficult. I have had four guests vote the lead charterer off the boat on day four.....it was a long story, a frightening experience and a real eye opener, but we did get her off. I have also done a week-long charter where the five guests ordered one box of food and two pallets of every kind of booze imaginable. The lead charterer ordered 27 bottles of wind for her personal use, in addition to everything else! And, they were all health care professionals. They were also the nicest, kindest, people you could have ever met, and we had no problems other than that they started raiding the ship's stores when hungry! You just never know.



But it is certainly a recurring theme.
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Old 22-01-2022, 16:33   #7
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Re: Charter strategies used to help pax not get too drunk?

Our most inebriated were health professionals who must have had little pills to prop them up ! Ones who drank the most were Napa valley wine farmers. But they could handle it as I remember. After all they brought their own wines ! Fun times, but we were younger and more people tolerant in those days.
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Old 22-01-2022, 16:59   #8
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Re: Charter strategies used to help pax not get too drunk?

OP, I am not sure what your specific situation is. But, as a (nearly) non drinker in a drinking family, I have thought about this a lot.

If you are taking people out on your own boat, it seems entirely reasonable to implement whatever rules about alcohol you find appropriate. Just tell your passengers in advance. I have been out on alcohol free boats; not an issue for me. Not an issue for responsible alcohol users, IME. If your rules are an issue for your passengers, I would suggest seriously considering if you want to take them out on the water.

If you are on a group split cost charter, and are the captain, all I can suggest is have a conversation in advance and have the group sort out their guidelines and comfort level with the whens and wheres of alcohol consumption. There may be friends or family members you just don't want to charter with; that is just fine from my perspective.

If you hired as a captain by a group, then I would think that the rules about alcohol consumption would be spelled out in the contract. But I assume that a lot of passengers on vacation drink enthusiastically when they are not responsible for the boat.

For me in all these situations it comes down to clearly establishing the boundaries before going out on the water. People can then opt out if they feel their individual freedom is being curtailed.
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Old 22-01-2022, 22:14   #9
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Re: Charter strategies used to help pax not get too drunk?

I have hidden the hard stuff and only left a few beers in the cooler. Also, I made the person in question put on inflatable vest after giving him a scrub brush and bucket of soapy water to clean the ashes off the deck from his cigar.
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Old 23-01-2022, 01:11   #10
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Re: Charter strategies used to help pax not get too drunk?

Just to continue adding my data point, interestingly enough, my nightmare charter passenger from the first thread got drunk the first night, just like everyone here is saying.
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Old 23-01-2022, 04:24   #11
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Re: Charter strategies used to help pax not get too drunk?

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I have hidden the hard stuff and only left a few beers in the cooler. Also, I made the person in question put on inflatable vest after giving him a scrub brush and bucket of soapy water to clean the ashes off the deck from his cigar.
And that work for someone who paid 5k for the cabin? If you were lucky, normally they show you the middle finger and continue plus you scrub the deck
They bring the hard stuff with in the big bottles from duty free stores…
And if you get new rich 6 Russian guys that’s the jackpot, booked by one of the girlfriends or future wife as a surprise so you don‘t know upfront
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Old 23-01-2022, 05:19   #12
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Re: Charter strategies used to help pax not get too drunk?

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And that work for someone who paid 5k for the cabin? If you were lucky, normally they show you the middle finger and continue plus you scrub the deck
They bring the hard stuff with in the big bottles from duty free stores…
And if you get new rich 6 Russian guys that’s the jackpot, booked by one of the girlfriends or future wife as a surprise so you don‘t know upfront
Only Russian guy i dealt with as a landlord. Was nice enough. Until i rented a room to a black guy. Then the Russian guy moved the next day. See ya. I'm not sure the two events were correlated tho. Probably just a coincidence.
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Old 23-01-2022, 08:55   #13
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Re: Charter strategies used to help pax not get too drunk?

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Only Russian guy i dealt with as a landlord. Was nice enough. Until i rented a room to a black guy. Then the Russian guy moved the next day. See ya. I'm not sure the two events were correlated tho. Probably just a coincidence.
I am married to a Russian and the normal and real rich are descent people but with different culture in problem solving attitude. Have my experience with that and alot other too, her dad is a high rank military
But the new rich Russians from country side even the russians keep a big distance. Just troubles and not worth dealing with. And thats what you are getting as charter guests. Normal can't afford and the real rich rent superyachts...
And if they missbehave they give a **** about contract and if you not playing with and be the "slave" you get threatened or even go overboard...and the damages you can deal with slow and ignorant russian insurances. That will screw your whole season and it will happen.

How do i know, i am married to russian, been a lot it Russia and we had "business " guest like this helping out a buddy boat. Well after things start to escalate my wife showed them a pic of her and her dad, attitude immediately changed and they scrubbed the whole cat clean like it has never been and the "ladies" even cooked for us.
well i assume you don't have a father in law like this...
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Old 23-01-2022, 13:19   #14
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Re: Charter strategies used to help pax not get too drunk?

OP

Isn't this essentially the same question you asked in your previous posting ('Drunks charter: biggest pax issues')

Do you really think you will get different answers by rephrasing the question, or are you just trolling the forum?

In your previous thread you claimed you worked in the hospitality/alcohol service industry. If that's the case, you know there is no foolproof/sure fire/tried and true/guaranteed/proven/best/secret/magic bullet means of dealing with intoxicated people. Alcohol's been around over 7000 years; we still don't have away to deal with obnoxious drunks.

So... the only thing you can do is mitigate. If it were me (and I am looking at a similar venture) you start with a lawyer and create a contract. First in that contract? You clearly state a zero tolerance policy for illicit drugs. Anyone caught possessing or using will be put ashore and turned over to law enforcement at the nearest port. PERIOD NO SECOND CHANCES! Bear in mind that illicit pertains to any port-of-call. Marijuana is legal in Illinois and Michigan, but not Wisconsin. If you were chartering out of a jurisdiction where it is legal, but calling in a jurisdiction where it is not, you should not allow it aboard. This is even more important if you are making port calls with different national affiliations, say in the Caribbean.

As to alcohol? You could ban it from the boat. But that will cut into your potential client base, and there's no guarantee that after a day on the water, they won't go ashore and return to the boat rip-roaring, snot-sling'n drunk. So you put in the contract that any (choose your adjective) behavior may result in the offender(s) being put ashore at the nearest port at the discretion of the Captain. You also charge a strong security deposit, equal to or greater than the charter fee and clearly state that passengers are responsible for any and all damages as a result of unruly behavior; the CC # will be kept on file, and will be additionally charged for said damages if they exceed the amount of the security deposit.

That said: based on your seemed fixation with this subject, the charter business is probably not a good fit for you.
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Old 23-01-2022, 14:25   #15
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Re: Charter strategies used to help pax not get too drunk?

Ask a second time get a different answer?
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