Guest Posted September 19, 2010 Share Posted September 19, 2010 I was swapping stories with some one today and this came up, seemed like a good toppic for a thread, tell us about the worst crew you ever had on board. Link to post Share on other sites
Atom Ant 0 Posted September 19, 2010 Share Posted September 19, 2010 OK,well I'll start. It wasn't long after I got the Ant. Went out for a short handed race, and my crew counted me in to the start too soon and went over early and had to go back and restart. Then he proceeded to get over-riding turns on the winches during a few tacks. He hauled the kite up beautifully but hadn't put the jammer down properly and as the kite filled it came half down. He totally f*cked up the gybe and there I was was yelling at him on the foredeck as Road Runner came past laughing at me. He sulked all the way back to the finish line. Sheesh. Yeah, that was the worst single handed race I've ever had. Link to post Share on other sites
wheels 543 Posted September 19, 2010 Share Posted September 19, 2010 Haha, Love it AC. Much the same as with us. The skipper is usless at times. But I do have one story though. Only time I have been really annoyed at another crew member. Just had the boat painted and we were bring the boat back around the the Berth. An old fellasaid he would help. We cam into the berth with a side on northerly gusting and he was on the bow with all the things required to protect the boat. And what happened. he just stood there watching as my newly painted bow crunched up against the steel frame of the metre box on the jetty and put a lovely scratch into my brand new paint. I yelled at him to drop a fender over the side and not just stand there with a stupid grin on his face. Link to post Share on other sites
PaulR 3 Posted September 19, 2010 Share Posted September 19, 2010 There were three, Me , Myself and I. Happy to report that I'm still learning . . . and improving . . . sometimes Link to post Share on other sites
Murky 1 Posted September 19, 2010 Share Posted September 19, 2010 To be honest, I have never really come across anyone who merits that title. Seasickness reduces anyone to a state of uselessness or even liability and I have been the useless one on a number of occasions. The sooner they come up with a vaccine, the better! Other incidents that I can think of would come down to a lack of supervision/training or not allowing sufficient time to carry out the manouevre. The only people I find hard to relate to on the water are those who don't realise they are dealing with forces of nature and think that the boat is to be "driven" like a machine. Wheels' example above - and don't they always involve a wharf! and often an audience as well - reminds me that you are better off on your own, with the cunning/awareness/speed that emerges as a result, than with a random "helper". Link to post Share on other sites
Battleship 100 Posted September 19, 2010 Share Posted September 19, 2010 Hear you on the seasickness thing. Did a delivery from Tauranga to Westhaven a couple of years ago, there was a big easterly swell running and not much wind so we were motorsailing after about half an hour my helping hand started spewing over the side and then continued off and on for the next hour, he then prompltly fell asleep on the cockpit floor waking briefly at the hole in the wall as I put a reef in then again at Colville as I put another in, buggered if I know how he slept it was around 40 knots by then. He finally arose just off Rakino and gingerly offered to take the helm, I was getting a bit cranky and tired by then and was starting to see things that weren't there. Link to post Share on other sites
ec12nz 1 Posted September 19, 2010 Share Posted September 19, 2010 Does a skipper count in this as well! I raced on a particular Farr 33 back in the mid 80's a few times in Auckland whose skipper/owner was from a European country that has a generally lacking sense of humour. His attitude vas I steer and yell loudly and svear at ze crew. A regular classic was everyone on the rail except him and he starts tacking and then yells loudly because no one was warned or in place to carry out manouvres. Got so bad 1 Wednesday night I clearly recall crew had enough and whole crew walked after that night. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted September 21, 2010 Share Posted September 21, 2010 Had a crewmember once on a passage Hong Kong to Singapore - I'll call him Butterfingers which wasn't his real name but should have been. I recruited BF at the Changi Sailing Club and arranged to fly him with me to HK to pick up the boat. Just before we left Singapore, I was talking at the Changi S.C. bar. A fellow skipper asked me who I had recruited. I mentioned BF's name. "No" he cried "You idiot. I had BF sailing with me and he threw three winch handles over the side". "Well" I answered "maybe he's learned something from such an embarrassing experience". " You don't understand" my friend explained " He's a chronic winch handle chucker". We had just left the Royal Hong Kong basin - a few hundred metres along our passage to Singapore when I heard a PLOP in the water beside me. "What was that?" I asked. "Oops, sorry!" Said BF " I just dropped one of your winch handles". That was the first. A second met it's watery grave off Hainan Island, two days later. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted September 21, 2010 Share Posted September 21, 2010 Diving in the Solomons with an American guy we picked up off the beach. It was common to see sharks but this day there were LOTS of them, all moving quickly, pectorals forward, obviously agitated. I look over and this *********** is spearing little reef fish and throwing them out to the noah's. I left him to it and went back to the boat. When he returned I asked why and he said "I was hoping to attract a really big one so I could get a photo to send home". He couldn't cook either. Link to post Share on other sites
w44vi 17 Posted September 21, 2010 Share Posted September 21, 2010 Well I have to admit I think I might have been the worst crew, well in the eyes of the skippers wife, we did a short handed race, we got to the top mark first got the kite set so I went below and got the skipper and my self a light refreshment, first to bottom mark so we thought we deserved another, shell we say it was a good race. His wife was not amused, didn't stop us doing it the next week. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted September 21, 2010 Share Posted September 21, 2010 I once had two winch handles....and then we tacked...... Link to post Share on other sites
Bimini Babe 0 Posted September 21, 2010 Share Posted September 21, 2010 Wow. I can only assume guys are really bad judges of character! The worst crew I ever had forgot to bring ice. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted September 22, 2010 Share Posted September 22, 2010 One of the best skipper-crew dialogues I ever heard of - apparently happened on a night race in light winds: Skipper: "Get that f**king spinnaker down!" Crew: "I can't, it's caught in a tree." Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted September 25, 2010 Share Posted September 25, 2010 Many years ago I did demo sails for a broker on SF bay.One day I demo'ed an Erickson 29 and the young "buyer" brought three mates.They sailed it into the wind hole back of the bay bridge.I started the engine but the transmission chose that moment not to work.The situation was the tide was taking the boat towards one of the bridge supports and we had about 15 minutes to use the few puffs of wind to work the boat clear.As soon as they realised the situation,the crew were all enthusiastic.They knew how to do it and I quickly learned ,they thought I didnt.The bottom line in my job,was to get boats sold.And you cant do that by making people look or feel bad.So I had to sit around and watch as they tried this,that and the other thing and the boat made a bee line for the bridge support and we had to fend off.It doesnt sound like much and I am still surprised at how pissed off I got.I desperately wanted to fly away from them but was trapped there and had to tell them "could have happened to anyone". Link to post Share on other sites
ec12nz 1 Posted September 25, 2010 Share Posted September 25, 2010 Ah - BUT did the buy the boat??? Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted September 25, 2010 Share Posted September 25, 2010 Yes they did.The broken transmission gave them a major price reduction and since they were skilled sailors they didnt really need it. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted October 12, 2010 Share Posted October 12, 2010 My winch handle chucker was bad enough but yesterday, when I scratched my eye while pruning olive trees, the pain immediately brought to mind an even worse offender. We were crossing Cook Strait in 30 plus knots, when one of my crew, sitting to weather of me, decided to light his f*****g pipe. Within seconds a largish cinder lodged in my eye and the excruciating pain persisted until a kindly opthalmologist at Wellington Hospital doused the flame with local anaethetic. Link to post Share on other sites
Spirit of Wray 0 Posted October 21, 2010 Share Posted October 21, 2010 Had to recruit crew at the last minute for a delivery. Person had been recommended by a reputable agency. Ended up sailing with a complete w^&#$@r. Only interested in his photography. Couldn't sail to save himself, A hopeless professional chef whose cooking style was stuck in the 80's Clue number one was when I found a copy of "Sailing for dummies" open on his bunk. Need to say it only got worse after that! Link to post Share on other sites
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