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How do you chose a skipper?

3K views 18 replies 11 participants last post by  chucklesR 
#1 ·
My partner and I are learning to sail together. We're (almost) starting from the same position in terms of experience and we have slightly different strengths and interests which - I think - will serve us well as a team on board.

But how do you chose a skipper?

By skills?
The person who can fix the engine in an emergency or the one with the weather sense? The most competent navigator (using charts and chart plotter)? The one who consistently positions sails to maximum effect?

By experience?
Who has more "sea time"? What was the nature of the sea time - pleasure or work?

By attributes?
Like caution? Decisiveness? Stamina? Physical strength?

By gender?
Well, there are only two, so I guess I don't need to make this explanation any longer. :)

By default?
What if the other can't take direction without quibbling? Do you just make them skipper to save time?

In part, this is a larger question about determining and defining roles on a boat. I know there have to be defined roles (my father was a Coast Gaurd Captain). But when you're essentially starting from scratch - like we are - how do you determine how those roles are allocated? Particularly the role of skipper?

Interested to see what everyone has to say.
Thanks in advance for your comments!
 
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#2 ·
I think that over time it will become obvious who plays what role onboard. On a boat with a couple rarely is one of the two responsible for every decision. I would call the relationship on our boat, co-skippers. Blue and Gold watches if you like.
 
#3 ·
I think there is a big difference between being a CG captain with a crew, and a husband and wife working together.
Instead of seeing captaincy as who is in charge over the other, I suggest you see it as who is responsible. That may change how you see it and make the burden less attractive. It doesn't mean that one can't consult, or be alerted to something one may have overlooked. In a domestic situation the emphasis is not on giving orders but having a plan communicating it and ensuring that the other is willing and able to carry it out. A coastguard crew would not say stuff you stick it. An unhappy partner may.
Some responsibilities may be delegated eg navigation however it still can be prudent to check.
I once went fishing with an airline pilot. Just before launching I asked if the bungs were in, a mistake I have made. His response was, "Yes thank you for asking," which I thought was particularly apt, and presumably reflected his background.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Just remember, who is the captain is also a legal thing-the skipper is the one who takes the blame if your boat gets into trouble. The captain is responsible for the actions of the boat, the crew and such in many countries. If one of you doesn't want to take that kind of responsibility on...the other one is the skipper. :)

The captain is also the one who has to make the hard decisions. Granted, you can make decisions by committee or consensus, but when push-comes-to-shove, the captain is the one who is responsible for whatever decision is made.
 
#5 ·
Both my wife and I have Coast Guard master license's. However we share duties on the boat. Docking, she is at the helm and I am handling dock lines. Anchoring, she is at the helm and I am handling the anchor. On long cruises we take watches. When it comes to navigation, we both have equal in put. We have seem to fallen in to a routine which works well for us.

The only hard and fast rule we have is I stay out of her galley and she's stays out of my tool box!
 
#6 ·
Bubb-

You let her push you out of the galley... you're a big chicken.... (smart chicken though more likely than not). :) ;) :D
 
#9 ·
I can't quite tell from your question if you're looking for a hired captain, or rather an instructor who will help both of you become your own skippers. The former is an employee, the latter a mentor.

Assuming the latter:

Everything you've mentioned is important. So also is the ability to communicate and teach, which is essential no matter how much skill or sea time the capt/instructor has. The idea is to get theoretical knowledge from a book, into your brain, then into your fingertips, so that it all becomes secondary (remember learning to drive?).

You learn to sail by sailing, period.. Alternate that with book study, and both will make more sense to you as you go along. You need a variety of experience, weather, geography, and maybe even instructors too, to become a well-rounded sailor. So don't necessarily confine yourself to one instructor, any more than you would have confined yourself to one teacher while coming up through your primary and secondary education ashore. We all have our own teaching styles, and learning styles, so the more of them you experience, the better. Some people learn better by spoken words, some by sight, some by feel, some by the written page..

I teach sailing a few times a month as a weekend gig, and believe I do it reasonably well, but always recommend to students that they get taught by more than one instructor.

Hope this is of help.
 
#10 ·
to clarify, nolatom, I my question was; as the two of us learn to sail together, how will we determine which of us is "skipper?"

There are definitely some good suggestions/models set out here - enough to make us think how we'll work together on board. So thanks, everyone.

And if all else fails? One should simply threaten to hide knives or mess up the toolbox! Muwahahaha. (Dang, I learn fast!)
 
#11 ·
Which of you is willing to take the legal responsibility for the boat?? If one isn't willing... then the other should be the captain. :)
 
#12 ·
Although you will have different capabilties---stamina, feel for the wind---I believe the goal is to get both partners up to the same level of seamanship, which can be learned over time.

Recommend you both read Suzanne Giesemann's excellent book "It's Your Boat Too" (It's Your Boat Too: A Womans Guide ... - Google Book Search) and her excellent monthly column in Blue Water Sailing magazine.

Ty and Suzanne Giesemann are both retired Navy (Ty a Captain and Suzanne a Commander) and both have USCG 100 ton licenses. They were my neighbors in the DC area just prior to retirement and they know their stuff.

Enjoy the learning process and remember that you are partners in the adventure.
 
#15 ·
Both, and neither

When we're on the Navy's boats, of course there's a formal heirarchy. But on our own boat, our rule is simple: the most conservative one "rules." If I want to reef, and he doesn't think we need to...we reef. If I want to run off downwind in a storm and he wants to heave to ... we heave to. Completely bypasses the who's in charge discussion to the benefit of the marriage.

Overall, we are at roughly the same skill level, with complementary strengths. I'm better at nav, he finesses sail trim. From time to time we deliberately switch up out of our comfort zones - for example, when we dock he generally handles the bow lines (greater upper body strength) while I take the helm; every half-dozen trips or so we trade for one. And that goes for galley cleanup too.:D
 
#16 ·
sounds like a good system... i'd add whoever cooks doesn't do dishes,. :)
When we're on the Navy's boats, of course there's a formal heirarchy. But on our own boat, our rule is simple: the most conservative one "rules." If I want to reef, and he doesn't think we need to...we reef. If I want to run off downwind in a storm and he wants to heave to ... we heave to. Completely bypasses the who's in charge discussion to the benefit of the marriage.

Overall, we are at roughly the same skill level, with complementary strengths. I'm better at nav, he finesses sail trim. From time to time we deliberately switch up out of our comfort zones - for example, when we dock he generally handles the bow lines (greater upper body strength) while I take the helm; every half-dozen trips or so we trade for one. And that goes for galley cleanup too.:D
 
#17 ·
Just an opinion, all else being equal

The skipper is the one who is calm, cool, and collected in emergencies. The skipper is not the one who freezes up and can't communicate or decide when the crap hits the air and the chips are down.

The skipper is the one who commands, not requests, in emergencies. Choose for that trait of save your boat by committee.

It helps if the skipper knows what they are doing, which is why I say all else being equal, but you can be a licensed master of the universe and if you freeze when a sheet releases, shroud pops or water appears in the bilge you are a useless skipper more liable to harm than help.
 
#18 ·
Just an opinion, all else being equal

The skipper is the one who is calm, cool, and collected in emergencies. The skipper is not the one who freezes up and can't communicate or decide when the crap hits the air and the chips are down.

The skipper is the one who commands, not requests, in emergencies. Choose for that trait of save your boat by committee.

It helps if the skipper knows what they are doing, which is why I say all else being equal, but you can be a licensed master of the universe and if you freeze when a sheet releases, shroud pops or water appears in the bilge you are a useless skipper more liable to harm than help.
That's why I'm the skipper, and my wife is along for the ride, and that's ok with both of us. What I am having a little trouble with, is teaching her what to do in an emergency. She runs the jib sheets ok, but is just terrible at the helm, and is not getting much better with practice, she freezes when something goes wrong, and is slow to react when told what to do. Before every sail I remind her what to do if I fall overboard. (release both sheets, try to steer into the wind and wait for me to swim to the boat if I'm able to, if not, call for help) So what I do is prepare the boat as if I'm single-handing it all the time.

We are still new at this and it's likely I just picked it up way faster than she did, so more patience is needed, and I am giving her more practice at the helm. We have only been out maybe a total of 20 times, so there is a lot more learning to do.

But as for who is in charge...

I AM THE CAPTAIN :D
 
#19 ·
eMkay,
That not an unusual situation, and alas, it's why I'm the skipper and the Admiral is the Admiral - she sails better than I do (feels the wind etc..) so she tells me what to do.
Admirals have told skippers what to do and where to go since time began and the first time two people got on the same floating log.

Yours might find it a bit easier on a bigger boat - there is more time to react if / when something goes wrong on bigger, heavier boats.
(there, you owe me one)
 
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