I am admittedly a casual racer. Beer cans and the occasional regatta. One of the main obstacles to getting to the next level (winning) is a perpetually green crew. Lots of rotation. I am racing a Hunter so there’s that but what do you successful racers do to get and keep crew long enough to get your boat handling smoothed out and a rhythm going?
How to get and keep good crew for racing?
- Thread starter markwbird
- Start date
talk to the crew, discuss goals and your needs. What does the crew get in return? Well the chance to sail of course, but also the chance to improve themselves as racers.
A DEBRIEF session at the end of the night is critical for learning. take notes
A DEBRIEF session at the end of the night is critical for learning. take notes
The best boats I've sailed on and the winning-est have a collaborative atmosphere. The skipper shouldn't have a "This is my boat and everyone will conform to my commands" attitude. That skipper will never attract sailors any better than he is because there would be no point for the sailors to go out with him. That's not to say that crew should act alone. But decisions should be discussed well before the "Moment" and a consensus reached. Everyone should leave their ego on the dock and be able to learn from the others on board. I've seen many times a newbie come out with a good observation simply because they are looking at a situation with fresh eyes.
Another crew killer is the skipper who changes his mind frequently. "We're going to tack... no wait.... let's tack..... no..." As skipper you should have a plan - a plan needs to be situationally adaptable - and enact the plan so the crew knows what to do. I can't count the number of times a skipper will lay out a start strategy and then a minute before the warning blurt out he wants to start at the other end of the line or whatever. Those are almost always lousy starts.
And never, ever, never yell at your crew unless someone is going to get hurt.
Another crew killer is the skipper who changes his mind frequently. "We're going to tack... no wait.... let's tack..... no..." As skipper you should have a plan - a plan needs to be situationally adaptable - and enact the plan so the crew knows what to do. I can't count the number of times a skipper will lay out a start strategy and then a minute before the warning blurt out he wants to start at the other end of the line or whatever. Those are almost always lousy starts.
And never, ever, never yell at your crew unless someone is going to get hurt.
They're not crew, the boat is a team. Treat them as such. When the team feels valued, they are more likely to return.
Keep it fun, too many skippers get so focused on winning the fun disappears.
Set an example, put effort into getting the boat race ready, replace broken, worn, and out dated equipment. Clean the bottom. Clean the boat.
The team is there to have fun, learn to sail better, get out of the house, or spend time on the water. They will not be as invested in winning as you are. Did I mention keep it fun?
Too many skippers treat crew as cheap labor. No body wants to work for free and no-one will have the same level of investment or commitment as you will have.
Winning begets winning which retains crew.
Don't blame the team, accept your role and responsibility for the boat's performance. I crewed on one boat where the skipper was constantly out of phase with the wind shifts, at times it was so bad, I thought we should rename the boat Out Of Phase. He seldom took responsibility for distracted driving or missing shifts, however if the crew took a few seconds too long on a tack, he was all over them.
The best times and memories I have of racing all involve days when the team clicked, tacks were good, problems solved, we worked together as a unit. That didn't always lead to a win, however, on those days we were in the front of the pack.
Recognize that PHRF is a deeply flawed system. It sounds good on paper, however, the basic assumptions are grossly incorrect. The imperfections lead to an arms race among the most competitive sailors, he with the deepest pockets will win more often. Your Hunter 34 won't be as fast as a J 105, however, with a fair handicapping system you should have a shot at podium finish.
If you start hearing jokes about Mr. Christian and Captain Bligh, think about how you are treating your team.
And, finally,
Keep it fun, too many skippers get so focused on winning the fun disappears.
Set an example, put effort into getting the boat race ready, replace broken, worn, and out dated equipment. Clean the bottom. Clean the boat.
The team is there to have fun, learn to sail better, get out of the house, or spend time on the water. They will not be as invested in winning as you are. Did I mention keep it fun?
Too many skippers treat crew as cheap labor. No body wants to work for free and no-one will have the same level of investment or commitment as you will have.
Winning begets winning which retains crew.
Don't blame the team, accept your role and responsibility for the boat's performance. I crewed on one boat where the skipper was constantly out of phase with the wind shifts, at times it was so bad, I thought we should rename the boat Out Of Phase. He seldom took responsibility for distracted driving or missing shifts, however if the crew took a few seconds too long on a tack, he was all over them.
The best times and memories I have of racing all involve days when the team clicked, tacks were good, problems solved, we worked together as a unit. That didn't always lead to a win, however, on those days we were in the front of the pack.
Recognize that PHRF is a deeply flawed system. It sounds good on paper, however, the basic assumptions are grossly incorrect. The imperfections lead to an arms race among the most competitive sailors, he with the deepest pockets will win more often. Your Hunter 34 won't be as fast as a J 105, however, with a fair handicapping system you should have a shot at podium finish.
If you start hearing jokes about Mr. Christian and Captain Bligh, think about how you are treating your team.
And, finally,
I haven't raced since I was a teen and then I was just foredeck crew, but It's kind of a catch 22. You can't win w/o a good crew and you can't get a good crew unless you win.
We won 5 out of 7 seasons on Frisco Bay. We lost the first because we were racing division, but the next 5 we were a class, getting bigger every year. We stayed together, but I don't think the adults socialized much outside the sailing environment.
I've never had any trouble keeping a crew together, even for years, after the first few weeks. You either like my ways or not.
I guess my suggestion would be to find a crew source outside of the 'yachting community (like a high school) and train them yourself.
We won 5 out of 7 seasons on Frisco Bay. We lost the first because we were racing division, but the next 5 we were a class, getting bigger every year. We stayed together, but I don't think the adults socialized much outside the sailing environment.
I've never had any trouble keeping a crew together, even for years, after the first few weeks. You either like my ways or not.
I guess my suggestion would be to find a crew source outside of the 'yachting community (like a high school) and train them yourself.
Make sure your crew CARES about winning, set an expectation that the individual crew members are on the boat for at least 75% of the races. You can do this and still keep it "casual." I've been lucky with my skipper and I having similar attitudes about racing. With the same crew, over the course of a handful of races, you'll learn how to work together efficiently and quickly, and that is when you can start to fine-tune processes and procedures to start competing and winning flags. Lots of crew rotation will doom a team, because there will always be new crew members who have to learn the ropes. This slows the boat down. It's okay once in a while, but you need to have at least of couple of regulars to do the work, while the newby serves as rail meat or whatever.
Some thoughts.
First, you have to understand that you are really creating a PROGRAM, and you have to do a deep and thoughtful dive into what kind of program you can create and sustain. This is important because keeping a team together is all about matching expectations.
First look at yourself. Are YOU capable of winning sailboat races? Getting a 'crew' will not do this, because mentioned above, 99% of anyone that sails with you is likely to be less experienced. You need to match incoming crew with that expectation. Otherwise they will leave, and you will have a revolving door.
Next look at your boat. Good crew want to have pride on what they sail. You have to have the boat ready to win. If you don't put in the time and money to make the boat a winner, then you won't.
Based on those two things, you can start to get a feel for what kind a program you want, and what kind of people you can attract. Be open and honest about your plans and expectations.
Start talking and find the smallest group that can race your boat. Then focus like crazy on creating esprit d'corps. Team shirts, practice, facebook pages. Create playbooks. Practice. Share video. Practice. Cross train. Celebrate. Off-season parties. On-season parties. People will notice. Make a team that other people want to be on.
Build from there to your 'fully crewed' size, always having a playbook that describes maneuvers with that size down to minimum. That way you can still race if someone has to miss. Cross-train and have backups as part of your team.
FLY KITES DOWNWIND. Honestly. No one will stay with a program that does not when there are boats available that do. Going downwind under white sails is like watching paint dry. Spinnakers are sexy, and chicks dig it.
Set expectations and DO WHAT YOU SAY. Work on getting better. Attend racing seminars as a team. Invite a guest coach, either as favor or (even better) paid. Its a simple fact, you only get better by sailing WITH better racers.
Don't weird out when someone leaves for another boat. Its part of the deal, and you don't want a reputation for being a dink when someone leaves.
Do. Not. Yell. Ever. It does not help, and as leader and skipper its your fault anyway.
First, you have to understand that you are really creating a PROGRAM, and you have to do a deep and thoughtful dive into what kind of program you can create and sustain. This is important because keeping a team together is all about matching expectations.
First look at yourself. Are YOU capable of winning sailboat races? Getting a 'crew' will not do this, because mentioned above, 99% of anyone that sails with you is likely to be less experienced. You need to match incoming crew with that expectation. Otherwise they will leave, and you will have a revolving door.
Next look at your boat. Good crew want to have pride on what they sail. You have to have the boat ready to win. If you don't put in the time and money to make the boat a winner, then you won't.
Based on those two things, you can start to get a feel for what kind a program you want, and what kind of people you can attract. Be open and honest about your plans and expectations.
Start talking and find the smallest group that can race your boat. Then focus like crazy on creating esprit d'corps. Team shirts, practice, facebook pages. Create playbooks. Practice. Share video. Practice. Cross train. Celebrate. Off-season parties. On-season parties. People will notice. Make a team that other people want to be on.
Build from there to your 'fully crewed' size, always having a playbook that describes maneuvers with that size down to minimum. That way you can still race if someone has to miss. Cross-train and have backups as part of your team.
FLY KITES DOWNWIND. Honestly. No one will stay with a program that does not when there are boats available that do. Going downwind under white sails is like watching paint dry. Spinnakers are sexy, and chicks dig it.
Set expectations and DO WHAT YOU SAY. Work on getting better. Attend racing seminars as a team. Invite a guest coach, either as favor or (even better) paid. Its a simple fact, you only get better by sailing WITH better racers.
Don't weird out when someone leaves for another boat. Its part of the deal, and you don't want a reputation for being a dink when someone leaves.
Do. Not. Yell. Ever. It does not help, and as leader and skipper its your fault anyway.
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Great stuff, Jackdaw. Thanks for taking the time to lay all that out.
I raced one design Ensign class for about 10 years. I had a great crew. Ensign crew is typically 3, but 4 is ok too. I recruited teen age kids and spent about two years training them. But then, they were terrific. I rarely had to say anything in the handling of the sails and I could concentrate on strategy and tactics. We won our share and our losses were entirely my errors in strategy and tactics. I had them with me almost 10 years, high school and college. But then they all had jobs (like me) and worse, wives and girlfriends (like me), and sailing fell off the bottom of the priority list. I tried recruiting associates at work but it just wasn't the same. They enjoyed the day on the water but there was no fire in the belly. So we moved up to a 30 ft cruising boat and my wife and I dabbled at Wednesday night no spinnaker cruising class, but that was an evening on the water with no excitement. So we gave up racing completely but, and this is a huge but, my years racing taught me how to sail and how to handle rough weather, and most importantly, to maintain calm under stress. When it was windy and rough in the Ensign I would always tell my crew ".....noise won't hurt you, but losing concentration on the task at hand could..."
I so meant to mention this, but forgot; "Do. Not. Yell. Ever."
Selling the larger sailboats as a dealer, instruction was offered for two weeks to include systems, sailing, docking, electronics, etc. the one thing I was adamant about was the other spouse trying to teach with instructor aboard. The instructor or I would say if his wife or daughter were at the hem, the father or spouse would have to walk the plank if told to do so. That got a laugh but the point was made and those couples thanked us. Never had any problems reported. Yes there was a time or two I stepped in taking over a boat on demo when the person was very unsafe
I was crew in the Centerport/Huntington Ensign fleet for a few years. The Star sailors used to call us "Sea Slugs." But it was one design, there were some excellent sailors and I learned a whole lot. Ensigns were an example of an affordable platform on which good sailors could compete without big checkbooks. I'd argue the sailing ability of some of those skippers exceeded the larger budget sailing campaigns co-existing in those harbors.
Ha! We had to contend with the Etchells and the Shields sailors who tended to be a bit self impressed with their windward ability. But as you say, our Ensign fleet had some of the best sailors on Narragansett Bay back in the day.