On Sat, 29 Oct 2005 00:24:17 -0400, "Bart Senior" .@. wrote:

What are the attributes of an outstanding skipper?

Take a good hard look at yourself, and tell me which
attributes you feel need improvement in yourself.

Tell me what you plan to do to effect such improvements.

For me, and maybe for many of us, much of my sailing is done with
crews of varying experience. Great difference between a GORC race
crew and being the skipper of record on a BVI charter with a crew of
inexperienced friends and neighbors looking for a week of fun. Or an
around the clock, shorthanded, delivery trip. Or a day sail with my
better half (In all things other than sailing, thirty-five years and
still doesn't know the difference between a sheet and a halyard).

With that span, knowing what you can and cannot expect from your crew
is most important. And making sure that your crew will match the
event.

My weakest point is reverting to a skipper who overrates a crew's
experience during a minor crisis. Little squall comes up and I start
barking clear direct orders to a crew who clearly doesn't know what
I'm talking about.

I've crewed for others as much as I've skippered. There are a few I
would never go back with.

Frank