Crew Crap

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by zeehag

as owner of boat , i will not deal with anyone's special needs. knowing the meds allows me to see what, exactly, their special needs are. i am a critical and emergency room rn with over 30 yrs of history and awesome career in areas some rns only dream of working. i KNOW i can find out more about people from their meds than i can by im-ing with em for a year.
i will also know what they will do as soon as out of sight of land. is reason behind my telling them i will be sailing over 100 miles away from land.
is fun to watch reactions. and gives me a chance to know what the lies are, if any, i have been told by potential crew, as well as what is a weak point.

OK: so then, what conclusions would you make about a female, age 50, taking, say, Paxil or Effexor?

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by s/v Beth

Crew should be vetted two different ways : the psychological level and the technical level . I try and tell where their mental stability is, but I agree it is a crapshoot . I am able to access technical by powering out of the marine, telling them I need to take a leak and to head for Bellingham channel . If I come up in 5 minutes and everything is shipshape I know I have a winner . (Ie they can read a chart, take a heading , raise the sail and bring in the fenders while the engine idles slowly forward ) If they said they were experienced and they are frozen behind the wheel , we are 5 minutes from the marina ...

No - we are 2 minutes out from the dock, and already heading in. Skipper hiding in the toilet and passing command to unknown crew on an unfamilar boat is enough of a red flag for me of what is yet to come........fair enough, 2nd time out - but first? That is taking the p#ss

But many ways to Skipper / Crew a boat.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Rakuflames

OK: so then, what conclusions would you make about a female, age 50, taking, say, Paxil or Effexor?

That if you load her with Beer you will be getting some

[Wishinforwind]

Originally Posted by bangkaboat

Zee,

If I decide to solo my voyage, I'm leaving the smokes at the dock!
But, point well-taken, meds could certainly be an indication and, therefore, be a good way to suss-out an issue.

Being that i just stopped chewing snuff 6 mo ago after, I hate to think about this, 40 years I aint gettin no where near your boat when ya start to quit cold turkey! and as far as meds go. I aint no chemist. I aint sure what all of it does in relation to others. I took warfarin for a time Not because I had a clotting issue but would you believe it was to help with high blood pressure and?cholesterol?. Course I was on it for a very short time. But not being a Doctor nor a chemist.

I do however require EVERYONE on board my boat to fill out a basic medical history and basic personal info next of kin/age weight sex major surgery's Just like you get when you go to the doc for a new patient exam. That's actually where I stole the form from I have had several people balk at this. told em there is the shore line. Then they get put in the medical kit box and returned to ya when you get off the boat. My thinking is if you cannot talk for your self .. who will? I tell em I ain't reading this I don't wanna know I could care less if your a transsexual Nazi Eskimos with bad case of halitosis this is in case I need you medevac'd out and they NEED your info. Just my two cents worth

[bangkaboat]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

That if you load her with Beer you will be getting some

LMAO! Brilliant! Spat coffee all over my laptop!

[zeehag]

Rakuflames--I would not be considering a female in my search for crew. Have history of not getting along with women, as i do not trust many of them.

There would be other considerations, also--i watch faces and body language as well as medications.

But the meds are important to know as there could be problems on board should the meds run out, get lost, or whatever. Everyone is responsible for their own special needs. I am not am not an md nor do I plan on doing much medical stuff on board. Had a woman with special needs apply but had to send her packing.

Wishing for wind--yes, is truth. Getting a complete physical and psychological history is difficult under emergency situations.
I don't want someone freaking out 100 miles off shore.

[bangkaboat]

Wishin..., I've been trying to quit for the past 10 years! If I ever get 6 months without it, no way I'm going back!

A medical history is a smart idea; another thing I never thought of.

[Wishinforwind]

Zeehag: Your fault, my fault, gods fault, no one's fault, They have a crisis and by the gods I want to be able to assist in saving their/your life and the difference can be found on that little piece of paper. I don't want to say" well gees I don't know."

[Wishinforwind]

Originally Posted by bangkaboat

Wishin..., I've been trying to quit for the past 10 years! If I ever get 6 months without it, no way I'm going back!

A medical history is a smart idea; another thing I never thought of.

I was a heavy chewer since I was 15. I have quit and started up many times. There is no "fast fix" or permanent cure. Hell been chew free for about 8 mo and just the other day I was craving one so bad I almost broke down. But I made it one more day. Today was a lil easier tomarrow might be a lil harder but I am still trying!

WISHING YA THE BEST OF LUCK!

[S/V Alchemy]

Not to thread-derail, but my late father (died at 81 from "other than smoking" causes) managed to quit in the 1970s by a) going cold turkey, and b) putting away the cash equivalent of what he would have smoked until the end of his life.

As the price of cigarettes rose, he would stash away more money per day or week.

I used to marvel at the drawer full of fives. He would bank them every few months.

I don't know the total amount his "paying for imaginary smokes" scheme saved him, but I do know he walked into a Nissan dealership in 1994 to buy his last car, an Altima, carrying a suitcase full of cash, which represented eight or nine years of "failing to smoke". (The Altima is still on the road, by the way).

A suitcase full of cash does funny things to the brain of a car salesman. He paid about as little as you can, which cheered him immensely. And the next day he put away another five or six bucks. The day after he died, I found about $500 in his apartment in a drawer. He hadn't actually smoked for 35 years at that point.

So a creative way to prod oneself into non-smoking is to continue to "pay" for it. An extra two or three grand in cash per year is a compelling argument presented as a drawer stuffed with fives.

[sailpower]

Originally Posted by zeehag

had a woman with special needs apply

Not to derail but that brings back memories. Years ago I met a gorgeous woman and during the course of the conversation I asked her what she did. She said, I teach special needs. Do you have any? We dated for five years!

[barnakiel]

Oh, but it is so easy to tell the Southern Ocean weathered one !!! ... the madness in the eye, the uncomb-able hair ... ;-)

b.

[sailorboy1]

We should note there is a difference between; a "crappy crew" and a "crew that gives you crap"!

Which would you prefer?

[bangkaboat]

So, if I own/captain a boat, I believe in full disclosure with prospective crew regarding my own habits, values, expectations & attitude. Likewise, if I crew on a boat I should be willing to do the same. So the only issue would appear to be how to figure out if you're being told the truth. Some claims can be verified, but many can not.

For John & Melanie, I think that time was a significant factor as was the fact that it was a referral. If I understand the OP's posts correctly, it was a case of acquaintances having different attitudes on the dock & at sea, and that the crew who should respect the traditional chain of command did not wish to but gave no prior "notice of intent".

Much food for thought in so many of the posts, here!

[s/v Beth]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

No - we are 2 minutes out from the dock, and already heading in. Skipper hiding in the toilet and passing command to unknown crew on an unfamilar boat is enough of a red flag for me of what is yet to come........fair enough, 2nd time out - but first? That is taking the p#ss

But many ways to Skipper / Crew a boat.

Alright Dave,
With you I would just stay in the cockpit and piss out the back. The principle is the same- let the crew show their stuff early in the voyage so you don't get surprised later. If you want me to hold your hand or be the muscle to raise the main I will be glad too, but I still want to see how you handle the boat before we leave the bay, about 10km. My boat is easy to handle, (ie, pretty much goes in one direction until told to go in a different direction) and I would not expect an experienced person to take action until they knew this. A couple of day sails sound reasonable but in my experience has been unpractical- people are often flying in or traveling distances to sail blue water.
I find your other comment interesting as there is no alcohol on my boat, so you probably won't be sailing with me anyway...
This whole discussion is interesting in that it involves vetting. Once a person is accepted as crew it is essential that they have some privacy and are treated with respect. Everyone on board has those two needs- and when those boundaries are crossed the trouble usually starts. There should be a couple different thread on the needs of the crew off shore- That takes a lot of my time if I take crew. Even those not ready for the challenges can be helped and become great crew if they are not thrown to Neptune's mercy.
Zee has a good point, however I think a large percentage of people are not taking the medications when they should be, so raiding their Rx bag will do more harm than good. Having potential crew fill out a health history might be useful, with a strong disclaimer that any dishonestly are grounds for immediate dropoff.