What to say...

[WuWei]

Your wife is right! He'll have an opportunity to learn, and he's willing to do so...

Now my redneck neighbor informed us his son, K-Fed II, was joining the Army. Since the hubby and I are both active duty USAF (but we workin a joint environment), we knew the possibility of homeboy graduating Basic was pretty slim. K-Fed II is not a bright crayon- so his job (if he graduates) will be Infantry. Since it is almost October (Army basic training is 8 weeks) and K-Fed II went in then end of June, we know something is up. However, not to hurt Redneck Neighbor's feelings, we have never called this out. (Redneck Neighbor does insist his son is so awesome he will be Special Forces- more like "Very Special Forces"....) The last update we heard was that K-Fed II had been washed back... Well, we know the Army and they take anything with a pulse. We do wish K-Fed II to succeed, since he is 22 years old and both he and his wife are living with momma and daddy...

You have to give the neighbor's son credit here for trying to leave the house and learn something. Help prepare him as best as you can!

Chris
US 30' Wu-Wei
http://www.diysailor.com

[sailingdog]

Sailingfool-

I think it is just that you're jealous of the wonderful opportunity this kid has.

[Faster]

This young man is an adult, making his own choices, presumably, and like others, I commend him for taking advantage of such an opportunity.

"You mostly regret the things you didn't try" - it's not an accurate quote and I forget who coined it.... but I think there's a lot of truth in it.

[Sailormann]

Unless he's siging on as the skipper, don't see what the issue is...

[DrB]

Say to him, "Wow, wish I had this opportunity at your age", etc. Tell him if he has any questions about to expect, he can ask you. Don't offer any advice unless he asks.

I wish I tried more stuff and took more "risks" when I was younger.

DrB

[Insails]

I had never sailed a day in my life, at age 17 I was given an oppertunity to be in Operation Sail in 1976 aboard a 70 ft. traditional gaff rigged schooner..Did I go for it?..You betcha!,Did I learn alot?You know it..Ya have to learn sometime.I stood watch from 4AM to 8AM and from 4PM to 8PM so not only did I learn to handle the ship ,I was at the helm for the major sextant fixes of the day. We send our kids to war at 17 in IRAQ ,Id say that's far more dangerous than sailing...I made Two passages from the Gulf Coast to Canada ,even got invited on Lou Kennedy's boat,That was special...

[RickLaPaz]

Yeah, I think your right. He should probably just stay at home, banging 18 y/o's, working on his Firebird-(the one with the gold eagle on the hood) and crusing to the Dairy Queen on Fridays. During that time he can gather more experience on the proper way to shove tree trunks through the saw, or how to shovel coal. Then when he's 27 with 3 kids he can ill afford and mowing lawns for extra money to by a big screen, he can sit on the front porch at night chewin' Skoal and congratulate himself on life well lived........

Perfect.

[ReverendMike]

Wow, comparing this thread to Wanderingfool's thread is giving me whiplash!

[sailingdog]

Exactly how is he a minor??? He can legally vote, own property, join the military and go off and get shot up in some foreign land... While it would be better if he had more experience, I'm pretty sure that he will learn a lot on the trip, both about sailing and about himself. Granted, the captain is going to have to do some more intensive training and handholding until he gets up to speed... but unless he's truly stupid or incompetent, he should be able to handle it.

Originally Posted by otaga05

I have to disagree with the majority of the sentiments expressed here. This sounds like a profoundly stupid thing to do. I really have to wonder what the delivery skipper is thinking. At very least I would sit down with the young man and make sure he knows what he is getting into. At 20 he is not an adult, and legally he is still a minor. It is easy to assume that even if an inexperienced sailor is not helping, he will not be a liability, but that is just not the case. I once had to deal with an inexperienced sailor on a crew of four who hurt himself on the third day of a long crossing when he moved about the cabin without holding on properly in rough seas. He was making dinner and was thrown across the cabin and landed on his back on the stove. Broke the stove and hurt his back. He was out of action for the rest of the trip and not only were we down to three people to stand watch, but we had to expend time and energy we didn't have to care for the injured crew member. What will he do if he is on watch the second day out with an experienced crew member and his partner goes COB? He won't have a clue how to get the boat back to him and by the time he wakes up the sleeping crew and gets them topsides the COB will be sleeping with the fishes. On a crew of four everyone should know how to handle the boat by themselves and skipper a COB recovery. I wouldn't take a 20 year old with three days of sailing experience off shore if you paid me, for his sake and for mine. The question you have to ask yourself is how will you feel if this Adolescent gets hurt or causes another crew member to get hurt and you just kept your mouth shut. So maybe you piss off a your neighbor and his kid, so what, they will get over it. If it bothers you, speak your mind.

[CapnHand]

Originally Posted by sailingfool

I recently learned that a 20 year-old neighbor's kid has signed on to join a delivery crew moving a 50s foot sailboat from the Leeward Islands to the South Pacific, one of four on board. His sailing experience to date has been limited to three of four fair weather daysails on my 36 footer. My wife says to keep out of it, what do you think?

What's the time frame like? You could double the level of his experience in less than a week.