Finding and Keeping Crew
The following was written in response to a scuttlebutt contribution which gave reasons for owners not being able to get or keep crew.
The contributor said, in part, "Short course racing sucks. It leaves no time to socialize. It leaves no time to get to know one another on the boat. It leaves no time to tell jokes, or network in life, or in business... From a recreational sport perspective, camaraderie is what it should be about. It should be about laughter, goofing around, making tight knit friendships and business relations."
Frankly, I don’t think that providing more opportunity for your crew to network with each other and socialize during races addresses the needs of either finding or keeping crew, which are, in fact, two different propositions and which need slightly different approaches, neither of which involves much social networking.
Most people agree to come onboard your boat to crew for you either as new sailors who are excited about doing something they haven’t done before and which seems like it would be fun to them, or as experienced sailors who think you will have a fun, and successful, racing program which they’d like to be a part of.
The new sailors are sometimes easier to find than the experienced hands, and it takes a while to build the team with them to the point when you can win races, but it’s worth it. If treated right, and if they have fun, they will be loyal. The experienced hands, and you need a few of them if you want to win, are tougher to get. But for both groups, you need to work first on getting them, and second, on keeping them.
We’ve done this virtually around the globe and we’ve never had a problem getting or keeping crew, we’ve always had fun and became great friends with the people who have sailed with us, and along the way, we’ve won a few races. It takes time however, and creativity, to find the people and build them into a team. Unless you have such a hot boat that all the rock stars want to get on it, and few of us have that to offer, (and anyhow, it isn’t always a lot of fun), you have to work at getting people and keeping them.
To find people you have to look everywhere. Ask around the dock. Ask at work. Ask friends and relatives. Ask the local sailing school; the instructors will know who is a good candidate. Check out the youth programs. Use social networks and the local radio net, if there is one. Post notes on the yacht club bulletin boards, physical and electronic. Keep an open mind about people who express an interest; sometimes that person who seems totally wrong for sailing will turn out to be a jewel. The most important thing in a new crew member is interest and willingness to commit. If they have that, give them a try.
When you are making your offer of a crew position you need to tell the newbies that it will be fun, exciting, and maybe a little challenging but that you’ll make it easy for them to learn and do well, that nobody will yell at them, and maybe you can talk about the after race parties and tell them how they don’t need to bring anything to go sailing but a windbreaker, etc, just show up. You can tell them how great it is to be on the water in the wind and sun and get them excited about the prospect. To get those valuable experienced sailors to join you need to show that you are reasonably competent, that you have a well organized and moderately funded program, the boat will be well maintained, the crew will be good, or will become good in time, the sailing will fun, (no yelling, etc), and they will have a chance to be on a winning team. In both cases you have to be a bit of a salesperson. A smile and a handshake and a friendly personality will also go a long way.
But how do you keep them once they come out for a race or two?
We’ve found that winning isn’t everything but having fun is. Sailboat racing is a team sport. Working well together as a team is really a lot of fun and it gives people a good feeling and that is why people do team sports. When you finish that race, even if you didn’t win, if you all know that you nailed every maneuver, sailed fast, the right way, and just clicked as a team, everyone will feel good about it. If each person has their job, knows it is important, and knows that they have done it well, and that their teammates also know they have done it well, they will feel good about themselves. Helping people feel good about themselves is what makes them come back.
On the other hand, if your race was full of mistakes, or people yelled and made others feel bad, even if somehow you won the race, people won’t feel good about it. It won’t be remembered as a fun experience.
The skipper’s attitude is important. As a skipper you have to be positive, be patient, be a teacher, and you have to be forgiving of mistakes (up to a point). I don’t mean that you shouldn’t have high expectations of people; you should. People will only live up to your expectations, high or low, so set them high. Give people a job which they are up to, tell them what you expect and that you know they can do it, and that when they do they will become the best team out there. Then show people how to achieve that. They will.
For the experienced hands, give them some responsibility, let them know what you expect, and let them know that you trust them. They will live up to the expectation too, or, if not, and you have to make a change, either in personnel or in roles, don’t be afraid of that. It’s like any management role, and the other good sailors will not want you to tolerate for long a crew member who isn’t cutting it.
After the race it is really important to tell each person how well they did, even if you have to stretch the point a little to find that one good move they made, shake their hand, and tell them how glad you are to have them on the boat, and how much you are counting on them to come back (and tell them when that is.)
The social aspect will come naturally. We’ve found that mixed crews work well. Husbands and wives, single men and women, whatever, but with mixed crews some of them will organize other activities for the crew, such as potluck meals on the beach or dinner parties at someone’s house. This adds to the teambuilding. You will find that the team takes over, they form friendships which outlast the racing program you have formed. And the students will often overtake the teacher. All of this is good, and it all helps build and keep a crew.
As far as socializing on the boat, during the race? Yes, the chatter on the rail is inevitable, but sometimes it gets in the way of the concentration on the race, and sometimes you have to ask for quiet, but if the rest of the program is in place, they won’t mind.
The contributor said, in part, "Short course racing sucks. It leaves no time to socialize. It leaves no time to get to know one another on the boat. It leaves no time to tell jokes, or network in life, or in business... From a recreational sport perspective, camaraderie is what it should be about. It should be about laughter, goofing around, making tight knit friendships and business relations."
Frankly, I don’t think that providing more opportunity for your crew to network with each other and socialize during races addresses the needs of either finding or keeping crew, which are, in fact, two different propositions and which need slightly different approaches, neither of which involves much social networking.
Most people agree to come onboard your boat to crew for you either as new sailors who are excited about doing something they haven’t done before and which seems like it would be fun to them, or as experienced sailors who think you will have a fun, and successful, racing program which they’d like to be a part of.
The new sailors are sometimes easier to find than the experienced hands, and it takes a while to build the team with them to the point when you can win races, but it’s worth it. If treated right, and if they have fun, they will be loyal. The experienced hands, and you need a few of them if you want to win, are tougher to get. But for both groups, you need to work first on getting them, and second, on keeping them.
We’ve done this virtually around the globe and we’ve never had a problem getting or keeping crew, we’ve always had fun and became great friends with the people who have sailed with us, and along the way, we’ve won a few races. It takes time however, and creativity, to find the people and build them into a team. Unless you have such a hot boat that all the rock stars want to get on it, and few of us have that to offer, (and anyhow, it isn’t always a lot of fun), you have to work at getting people and keeping them.
To find people you have to look everywhere. Ask around the dock. Ask at work. Ask friends and relatives. Ask the local sailing school; the instructors will know who is a good candidate. Check out the youth programs. Use social networks and the local radio net, if there is one. Post notes on the yacht club bulletin boards, physical and electronic. Keep an open mind about people who express an interest; sometimes that person who seems totally wrong for sailing will turn out to be a jewel. The most important thing in a new crew member is interest and willingness to commit. If they have that, give them a try.
When you are making your offer of a crew position you need to tell the newbies that it will be fun, exciting, and maybe a little challenging but that you’ll make it easy for them to learn and do well, that nobody will yell at them, and maybe you can talk about the after race parties and tell them how they don’t need to bring anything to go sailing but a windbreaker, etc, just show up. You can tell them how great it is to be on the water in the wind and sun and get them excited about the prospect. To get those valuable experienced sailors to join you need to show that you are reasonably competent, that you have a well organized and moderately funded program, the boat will be well maintained, the crew will be good, or will become good in time, the sailing will fun, (no yelling, etc), and they will have a chance to be on a winning team. In both cases you have to be a bit of a salesperson. A smile and a handshake and a friendly personality will also go a long way.
But how do you keep them once they come out for a race or two?
We’ve found that winning isn’t everything but having fun is. Sailboat racing is a team sport. Working well together as a team is really a lot of fun and it gives people a good feeling and that is why people do team sports. When you finish that race, even if you didn’t win, if you all know that you nailed every maneuver, sailed fast, the right way, and just clicked as a team, everyone will feel good about it. If each person has their job, knows it is important, and knows that they have done it well, and that their teammates also know they have done it well, they will feel good about themselves. Helping people feel good about themselves is what makes them come back.
On the other hand, if your race was full of mistakes, or people yelled and made others feel bad, even if somehow you won the race, people won’t feel good about it. It won’t be remembered as a fun experience.
The skipper’s attitude is important. As a skipper you have to be positive, be patient, be a teacher, and you have to be forgiving of mistakes (up to a point). I don’t mean that you shouldn’t have high expectations of people; you should. People will only live up to your expectations, high or low, so set them high. Give people a job which they are up to, tell them what you expect and that you know they can do it, and that when they do they will become the best team out there. Then show people how to achieve that. They will.
For the experienced hands, give them some responsibility, let them know what you expect, and let them know that you trust them. They will live up to the expectation too, or, if not, and you have to make a change, either in personnel or in roles, don’t be afraid of that. It’s like any management role, and the other good sailors will not want you to tolerate for long a crew member who isn’t cutting it.
After the race it is really important to tell each person how well they did, even if you have to stretch the point a little to find that one good move they made, shake their hand, and tell them how glad you are to have them on the boat, and how much you are counting on them to come back (and tell them when that is.)
The social aspect will come naturally. We’ve found that mixed crews work well. Husbands and wives, single men and women, whatever, but with mixed crews some of them will organize other activities for the crew, such as potluck meals on the beach or dinner parties at someone’s house. This adds to the teambuilding. You will find that the team takes over, they form friendships which outlast the racing program you have formed. And the students will often overtake the teacher. All of this is good, and it all helps build and keep a crew.
As far as socializing on the boat, during the race? Yes, the chatter on the rail is inevitable, but sometimes it gets in the way of the concentration on the race, and sometimes you have to ask for quiet, but if the rest of the program is in place, they won’t mind.
posted by wingssail at 2:07 PM
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