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The skipper is the heart of
every floating vessel on earth. His word is (or should be)
law to everybody on board. Yet, on a pleasant sailing
holiday with your friends it can be deemed as unpleasant,
and hard for the skipper, to order those friends to do
something they may not like to do, and may consider
unnecessary or a "dirty job". A crew member
might think -"why me again, why not Charlie this
time", not realising he may be the best person for
the job, especially in difficult or tricky maneuvers. It
is not always easy for skipper or crew member.
What about the situation
where you have hired a professional skipper? You have to
admit that the situation where your employee (the skipper)
commands you to do something you may not like, is
something which does not occur in other forms of business
or social life !! But please bear in mind that you are
paying this guy to do precisely this. If he doesn't, then
he is not doing his job properly and you must remember
that in extreme situations your life may depend on his
decisions and commands, and the way you react to them.
There are three aspects
regarding the skipper and I will analyse them for you:
a. You are the Skipper
You must discuss your
position with your family and friends IN ADVANCE,
preferably before you even book the holiday. Having chosen
you as skipper, they have to understand that your word is
LAW on board. If they can not accept this then do not
accept the position. If you are the only one with sailing
experience you can always accept the position of
navigator, and let someone else be skipper, however if the
crew can not all accept your original conditions you would
be well advised not to make the trip, as the chances of
failure are very high.
It has to be understood
that the skipper's authority is not only confined to
emergency situations where you are about to hit rocks
(they will certainly accept commands then) but have to
cover all the mundane daily tasks involved in living on
board.
For example, there are 6
men in the crew, it has been a long and exhausting day and
you have just enjoyed a magnificent dinner of fried fish,
which you have bought at the local market, washed down
with a sufficiency of good local white wine and are now
sitting together to enjoy a coffee and brandy. BUT there
is a huge pile of dirty plates, pans - approaching
deck-high. Who is going to do the washing-up, when
everyone is tired and a volunteer does not appear? To
leave them will smell the cabin out - having eaten fish.
But it has to be done and you have to ask, or eventually
command, someone to spend the next hour doing the
unpleasant job. If you don't, then what started out as a
very pleasant evening will end up with arguments as to who
will do what, and when - and it will all be your fault !
This example may be extreme
but you would be surprised how many holidays are spoiled
because these seemingly trivial issues are not handled
properly. If the crew chose you as skipper they must
accept your word as law. Good leadership skills by you,
making sure that the crew all share the dirty jobs, as
well as the rewarding ones, including yourself in the
various domestic tasks, will ensure a happy ship and a
subsequently enjoyable holiday.
b. You are the crew - and
you have to choose the Skipper
Again, an early decision is
by far the best. If more than one crew member has sailing
experience choose the one with the additional leadership
skills rather, than the purely technical sailor. You
should choose someone you respect and whose orders you
will follow without question.
Respect on someone's skills
has nothing to do with age. How many children these days
know more about computers than their fathers ??
During the trip you must
follow the skipper's orders without question. If the
skipper appears to be picking on you and you seem to be
getting more than your share of a particular job - don't
argue in front of the rest of the crew, just do it - and
then have a quiet word with the skipper about your
feelings quietly and in private later.
c. You hired a professional
skipper for your holiday
Well, this is an article by
itself and will be published separately in the short
future.
Alexander M. Vournas
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About
The Author
Alex.
Vournas is the owner and managing director
of Almi Yachts ltd, a yacht charter
company in Greece. He is also the web
designer and SEO for www.almiyachts.com,
avournas@almiyachts.com
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