I have written the following questions hoping it will, if the need arises, help me in an evaluation of any applicants I might seek out for crew. There are no right or wrong answers, no grading will be applied in my evaluation as to our compatibility, something of supreme importance when isolated from the world on basically an uncomfortable, rocking, floating island 39 feet long. The questions are not of a technical sailing nature, nor do they get into any navigation, they simply help me evaluate your decision making skills, which ultimately can mean the difference between life and death at sea. All questions are taken from real life sailing scenarios to help me judge your level of skills that will result in a fun and safe cruise. So just have fun with it..
Scenario 1
Quick, you notice the skipper is suffering a massive hangover and your departure time, in high winds and choppy sea conditions is fast approaching... what do you do?
a. Let the bastard get underway on his own if he really wants to get underway, you are too hung over to care..
b. Make the bastard get up and leave you alone until he has made your coffee just the way you like it.
c. You have already been up for two hours and decided to scrub down the waterline as well as prepare a large breakfast, you know the food will help make your miserable existence on board a little more tolerable for the skipper…
Although the above question really has no right or wrong answers It will be used to help in my selection of crew….
Scenario 2
Quick, you notice the skipper is suffering a massive hangover and the anchor, somehow in the 65 knot winds managed to come loose, and now are heading towards other boats, dragging your anchor over their ground tackle… it is 3 AM and there is no moon….what do you do?
a. Let the bastard get up and figure it out if he really wants too, you are too hung over to care.
b. You wake up raising a clenched fist to the moonless night yelling “Oh Thank you soooooo much! You couldn’t do this at ten in the morning??? After we have a nice, leisurely wake up, a nice breakfast, lots of hot coffee???? Nooooo, you have to do this at three in the morning!!!”, I hate this, I hate this, I hate this!!!!…..
c. You position yourself strategically on deck waiting to throw yourself over the side using your body as a large fender (also known as a cushion) if needed to protect the finish on CHOICES from being damaged when colliding with other boats in the anchorage.
Again there are no right or wrong answers, just simple guidelines being used by the skipper in making his choices for crew….
Scenario 3
Quick, you notice the skipper is suffering a massive hangover and somehow managed to make his way up on the forward deck in the middle of the night. He is presently passed out with his head hanging over the side and somehow managed to pull his shorts down around his ankles. Fast approaching the dock is a large group of tourist and will soon be passing the boat…what do you do?
a. Let the bastard figure it out himself, you have a massive hangover and are too sore all over from sleeping face first on the cockpit floor to care….
b. Get up and find the camera so you can preserve the moment…
c. Quickly find a blanket and cover the skipper thus saving any self respect he may have remaining after the “events” from the night before…
Again, I cannot emphasize enough to all, that there are no right or wrong answers and are only a loose guideline to help me decide who is best suited to crew. I have chosen many true life situations as examples, thus ensuring
Next we will do some simple true or false questions. Again, there are no right or wrong, just guide posts…
1.True or False You notice the skipper is suffering a massive hangover and everything he told you the night before is the “honest-to-God, this-is-no-shit” truth ….
2.True or False. The skipper appreciates and encourages having any navigation errors brought to his attention, especially when they have already been discussed to some length…
3. True or False. The skipper, although suffering a massive hangover, appreciates your timely suggestions on sail adjustments, and general sailing trim…
4. True or False. Anything that the skipper says during moments of panic should not be taken to heart…he is only trying to motivate the crew into quicker action, and you should ignore any unclear or conflicting orders coming from the helm….
5. True or False: The skipper totally appreciates your expertise in tying macramé knots and that while getting supplies you decided he has been kinda grumpy and so bought decaffeinated coffee for the long passage and forgot to tell him until the 2nd day out.
Wasn’t so bad now was it? I eagerly look forward to the next phase where I give you 1 hour to make five different dishes utilizing a secret ingredient, The hard part is you have to do it in the galley where you only have two pans. Remember taste is most important but not everything there are points for presentation and originality as well. .
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Sailors and Wanabees
There are sailors and those that live the eternal dream of actually leaving the dock and not coming back. These dreamers are what is known as the 5 year plan, get the boat ready, get their personal affairs handled and leave. Of course almost all of these future cruisers are into the 8th year or even the 14th year of their five year plan. It is far more important to have the dream and work towards it as a goal than to not have a dream at all. In my years of living aboard I have found there are certain characteristics that are common among people who have been at sea in storms and it can be found in their boats, their lifeboats of sanity, but more importantly their homes. I found on my extended visits to the States that I really missed my home and was always happy to return to her.
In judging a sailing craft it's not how young she is or how big she is, every sailor knows it is how well she is maintained that is a measure of the skipper aboard her. This is especially true of docklines, and painters on your tender. Sailors see past the lipstick and judge a boat by her lines and how well she can perform and at what angle they can do it at. Every person who has owned a sea going craft develop a real sense of affection for their boat that many famous people have tried to explain. I felt it the strongest when she was showing me what she could do and that she could do it well, sails up and making 6.5 knots. She was like a dancer, doing her ballet on the water the rythym of nature's music playing in her ears.
Even now, crossing an empty bay in my dinghy to my boat, anchored and completely alone off a uninhabited island, and having that island to roam about freely is a dream I lived and I sometimes think my reality on things has taken a whole new meaning. It is impossible to not be changed by the experience. It is sobering to make a long passage on a boat you essentially did all the maintenance work on, including replacing all the rigging yourself and to know the whole while that even the smallest failure could lead to disaster. You think about that and a whole host of other possibilities that could befall you, but as scared as I was, I left and sailed to Florida. Any sailor that isn't scared is either inexperienced or lacks imagination. What is amazing is the worse part is the departure, once finally underway it subsides. Even in foul weather, except for the rare sudden rush of sdrenaline, you really are too busy to think about it and prove only too true.
I arranged for her haul out in a Florida boatyard where I buffed her big, wide, flat bottom and gave my attentions to some small blemishes here and there. It was foul, dirty work and seemed to go on forever. I am sure, without the least doubt that hell resembles a boatyard. 2 weeks later she was ready for the water, newly buffed and painted bottom, shiny topsides and new boot strip.
In judging a sailing craft it's not how young she is or how big she is, every sailor knows it is how well she is maintained that is a measure of the skipper aboard her. This is especially true of docklines, and painters on your tender. Sailors see past the lipstick and judge a boat by her lines and how well she can perform and at what angle they can do it at. Every person who has owned a sea going craft develop a real sense of affection for their boat that many famous people have tried to explain. I felt it the strongest when she was showing me what she could do and that she could do it well, sails up and making 6.5 knots. She was like a dancer, doing her ballet on the water the rythym of nature's music playing in her ears.
Even now, crossing an empty bay in my dinghy to my boat, anchored and completely alone off a uninhabited island, and having that island to roam about freely is a dream I lived and I sometimes think my reality on things has taken a whole new meaning. It is impossible to not be changed by the experience. It is sobering to make a long passage on a boat you essentially did all the maintenance work on, including replacing all the rigging yourself and to know the whole while that even the smallest failure could lead to disaster. You think about that and a whole host of other possibilities that could befall you, but as scared as I was, I left and sailed to Florida. Any sailor that isn't scared is either inexperienced or lacks imagination. What is amazing is the worse part is the departure, once finally underway it subsides. Even in foul weather, except for the rare sudden rush of sdrenaline, you really are too busy to think about it and prove only too true.
I arranged for her haul out in a Florida boatyard where I buffed her big, wide, flat bottom and gave my attentions to some small blemishes here and there. It was foul, dirty work and seemed to go on forever. I am sure, without the least doubt that hell resembles a boatyard. 2 weeks later she was ready for the water, newly buffed and painted bottom, shiny topsides and new boot strip.
My Evening at the Lord Mayor's Banquet
I went to a banquet at the Lord Mayor of London's Mansion House as a guest of my dear friend Tony George who I traveled with through England, Sctland, Spain, Morocco and Gibraltar. When I entered the dining room a gentleman in a 17th Century frock, wig, silk stockings and tails, stamped the floor with a large standard and announced me, Mr Melvin Benoit. It seems my friend Douglas, a retired British Army Major, former commander of the Ghurka Rifles, a man on whom I had pinned his military ribbons to the lapel of his Tuxedo, with whom I became acquainted in St Thomas, USVI's, and with whom I had enjoyed a great evening of conversation in a very nice restaurant over a wonderful meal, got my name wrong so now all my mementos of that evening are under the name of Melvin.
We began the evening with cocktails at the Savoy, then, leaving their wives to fend for themselves at the Savoy, next to the theater district, we went our separate ways as this was a men's only function. I shared a cab with 3 retired British Army Majors for our trip to a small church next to the Tower of London that was first erected in 1100 AD and celebrated a mass given by the Archbishop of Canterbury. After the service we got on a private bus to Mansion House. The evening began with a Champagne reception, at which I was introduced to the Lord Major and several gentlemen who were all keen to ask me on my political opinions, I was obviously the first Republican from California they had ever met, I was amazed how many came up to me and said "here, here", I thought that stuff only happened in movies. As each course was served our wine glasses were taken away and the glass next to it refilled with the next pairing. I was seated next to a retired Professor of genetics and the London University. When he found out I was a Californian, we entered into what could be described as a very lively discussion. Across from me was a Irishman who owned a castle on a small island in the middle of a lake, but who lived in New Jersey and was involved with waste disposal. After the meal we did a "passing of the loving cup ceremony at which we would take the large silver chalice from the man facing us, take a sip , carefully wipe the rim, turn around and hand it to the man behind me who had turned to face me. Later that evening Douglas taught me how to drink good Scotch Malt and that is all I remember of the evening, awaking the next morning in his son's bed (who was out of town for christsakes!) with one of the worst hangovers of my life. Douglas had cooked a wonderful English breakfast and all I could handle was some hot coffee. I would suffer a far worse hangover anytime to share an evening in the company of so many fine men, even the retired professor about whom I could safely say doesn't care for Yanks too much anyway so my mocking his opinions, and using my best arrogant Yankee ways sarcastically laughed in his face all of which probably only reinforced his bias, especially for Republicans from California.
We began the evening with cocktails at the Savoy, then, leaving their wives to fend for themselves at the Savoy, next to the theater district, we went our separate ways as this was a men's only function. I shared a cab with 3 retired British Army Majors for our trip to a small church next to the Tower of London that was first erected in 1100 AD and celebrated a mass given by the Archbishop of Canterbury. After the service we got on a private bus to Mansion House. The evening began with a Champagne reception, at which I was introduced to the Lord Major and several gentlemen who were all keen to ask me on my political opinions, I was obviously the first Republican from California they had ever met, I was amazed how many came up to me and said "here, here", I thought that stuff only happened in movies. As each course was served our wine glasses were taken away and the glass next to it refilled with the next pairing. I was seated next to a retired Professor of genetics and the London University. When he found out I was a Californian, we entered into what could be described as a very lively discussion. Across from me was a Irishman who owned a castle on a small island in the middle of a lake, but who lived in New Jersey and was involved with waste disposal. After the meal we did a "passing of the loving cup ceremony at which we would take the large silver chalice from the man facing us, take a sip , carefully wipe the rim, turn around and hand it to the man behind me who had turned to face me. Later that evening Douglas taught me how to drink good Scotch Malt and that is all I remember of the evening, awaking the next morning in his son's bed (who was out of town for christsakes!) with one of the worst hangovers of my life. Douglas had cooked a wonderful English breakfast and all I could handle was some hot coffee. I would suffer a far worse hangover anytime to share an evening in the company of so many fine men, even the retired professor about whom I could safely say doesn't care for Yanks too much anyway so my mocking his opinions, and using my best arrogant Yankee ways sarcastically laughed in his face all of which probably only reinforced his bias, especially for Republicans from California.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)