There is always room fro improvement. Albeit I agree
that a good skipper instills confidence. Things like giving
clear direction to crew that are eager to follow orders
makes a big difference. Training crew is important, if you
are like me, and want to see things done in a snappy and
safe manner.

During my last trip to the islands, I had two crew jumping
halyards at various times. They were each slow raising the
sail--to my standards, although it is hardly critical. Finally, I
decided to demonstrate how I did it, which was twice as fast,
while hollering "faster, faster" to the tailer to keep up. It
made a big impression on the crew and I wish I'd done it
earlier in the cruise. I'm a believer in doing some things
fast--particularly reefing.

Tying a knot fast relates to less time spend on the foredeck
or in an exposed position.

There are situations where you can mentally plan ahead to
get better performance from your crew. There are times
when a bit of training will do this also. Simple techniques
like using a crew's name, and slapping him or her on the
shoulder to confirm an order is a good habit to get into in
calm conditions, and clearly gets the message across in all
conditions, including extreme or distracting situations.

I can think of a time where a short order to a helmsman to
stay focused on driving, when their were all sorts of distractions
in the cockpit, would have avoided an injury. Being a good
skipper means anticipating things like this and speaking out
at just the right time.

You and I have talked about keeping crew busy as a good
technique to maintain control and exercise leadership. Why
don't you relate some of your techniques.



"Capt.Mooron" wrote

"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.


Excellent subject Bart.....

I have never questioned my leadership abilities.... they simply exist.
Concerns regarding maintaining discipline, crew dynamics or control have
never materialized. I have no understanding of situations where a Captain
has been challenged or direction has been questioned. It has simply never
occurred aboard any vessel I have skippered.

The ability to deliver command without question is directly associated
with
the confidence and respect you have evoked from the crew. Nothing more and
nothing less. No book smarts nor certifications will ever bestow that on
anyone.

The obligations of leadership must be recognized prior to being
implemented.
These include the vessel and the crew.

Improvements and strong points?..... Command is a dynamic position
requiring flexibility within a rigid operational structure. The dynamics
change with each crew/vessel

Never question your leadership abilities or commands. If you are taking
time
to dissect your leadership skills here.... that uncertainty will in
reality
be reflected onboard and will be seen as a sign of weakness.

The crew's confidence is a measure of the Captain's abilities. You'll have
it down pat when nobody knows who the Captain is.... but the crew!

CM

Like I said, I had doubts about some people's ability to be honest about
their deficits.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

"Bart Senior" .@. wrote in message ...
There is always room fro improvement. Albeit I agree
that a good skipper instills confidence. Things like giving
clear direction to crew that are eager to follow orders
makes a big difference. Training crew is important, if you
are like me, and want to see things done in a snappy and
safe manner.

"Capt.Mooron" wrote

"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.


Excellent subject Bart.....

I have never questioned my leadership abilities.... they simply exist.
Concerns regarding maintaining discipline, crew dynamics or control have
never materialized. I have no understanding of situations where a Captain
has been challenged or direction has been questioned. It has simply never
occurred aboard any vessel I have skippered.

The ability to deliver command without question is directly associated
with
the confidence and respect you have evoked from the crew. Nothing more
and
nothing less. No book smarts nor certifications will ever bestow that on
anyone.

The obligations of leadership must be recognized prior to being
implemented.
These include the vessel and the crew.

Improvements and strong points?..... Command is a dynamic position
requiring flexibility within a rigid operational structure. The dynamics
change with each crew/vessel

Never question your leadership abilities or commands. If you are taking
time
to dissect your leadership skills here.... that uncertainty will in
reality
be reflected onboard and will be seen as a sign of weakness.

The crew's confidence is a measure of the Captain's abilities. You'll
have
it down pat when nobody knows who the Captain is.... but the crew!

CM

"Bart Senior" .@. wrote in message ...
There is always room fro improvement. Albeit I agree
that a good skipper instills confidence. Things like giving
clear direction to crew that are eager to follow orders
makes a big difference. Training crew is important, if you
are like me, and want to see things done in a snappy and
safe manner.

It goes without saying that clear and consice direction is paramount to
effective crew deployment Bart... nobody would claim otherwise. I do not
demand everything be done in a "snappy" manner. The tone of my voice lends
to the importance of the task. I do not delegate that which requires
experienced proficency to a crew not experienced to undertake that task at
the speed at which it must be done. If nobody on the vessel is able to
undertake a certain task I have them relieve me and do it myself. No fuss,
no muss, no accusations, no reprimands.They will watch and learn...

During my last trip to the islands, I had two crew jumping
halyards at various times. They were each slow raising the
sail--to my standards, although it is hardly critical. Finally, I
decided to demonstrate how I did it, which was twice as fast,
while hollering "faster, faster" to the tailer to keep up. It
made a big impression on the crew and I wish I'd done it
earlier in the cruise. I'm a believer in doing some things
fast--particularly reefing.

Certainly..... but had you made it clear from the begining... further
instruction would not have been required. If I race... I use a dedicated
crew.. they know what needs to be done. When I cruise it's up to me to give
as much lead as possible so that the crew can complete the task within the
required timeframe. That's part of being the Skipper.


Tying a knot fast relates to less time spend on the foredeck
or in an exposed position.

All my crew practise their knots.... then I have them all become proficent
at a single hand bowline.


There are situations where you can mentally plan ahead to
get better performance from your crew.

As skipper you should always be planning ahead.

There are times
when a bit of training will do this also. Simple techniques
like using a crew's name, and slapping him or her on the
shoulder to confirm an order is a good habit to get into in
calm conditions, and clearly gets the message across in all
conditions, including extreme or distracting situations.

Training is on-going... not only for the crew but for the captain as well.

I can think of a time where a short order to a helmsman to
stay focused on driving, when their were all sorts of distractions
in the cockpit, would have avoided an injury. Being a good
skipper means anticipating things like this and speaking out
at just the right time.

I give everyone aboard time at all stations to better explain through
experience the effects of their actions in concert with the crew and
progress of the vessel. I will also occasionally order all hands to stand
down and stand by on the bridge/cockpit.... while I undertake several fast
tacks on my own. This gets the point across as to their relative value and
my abilities. :-)


You and I have talked about keeping crew busy as a good
technique to maintain control and exercise leadership. Why
don't you relate some of your techniques.

Yes... I believe we were discussing a situation in which you were reviewing
your response to a crew member questioning your actions. I believe I
mentioned that deployment was crucial.... in retrospect I would have
ordered all the crew to stand down and handled the vessel myself. I do not
tolerate insubordination and make certain that the seeds of mutiny are never
given opportunity to sprout. :-)

CM

"Capt.Mooron" wrote

All my crew practise their knots.... then I have them all become
proficent
at a single hand bowline.

So they can hold a beer in the other?

"Bart Senior" .@. wrote in message ...

"Capt.Mooron" wrote

All my crew practise their knots.... then I have them all become
proficent
at a single hand bowline.

So they can hold a beer in the other?

Yeah... now you're catching on! :-)

CM

"Capt.Mooron" wrote

"Bart Senior" .@. wrote
You and I have talked about keeping crew busy as a good
technique to maintain control and exercise leadership. Why
don't you relate some of your techniques.

Yes... I believe we were discussing a situation in which you were
reviewing
your response to a crew member questioning your actions. I believe I
mentioned that deployment was crucial.... in retrospect I would have
ordered all the crew to stand down and handled the vessel myself. I do
not
tolerate insubordination and make certain that the seeds of mutiny are
never
given opportunity to sprout. :-)

In that particular case I would have had to muzzle my girlfriend
as it took three verbal reprimands to get her to shut up. She was
very new to sailing, did not understand the situation, read it
completely wrong, and made a serious error in judgement. BTW,
we have not sailed together since.

In any event I agree with your suggestion to keep people
busy doing something else as it deflects the whole situation
and re-establishes control better than explainations or harsh
words--which I don't like to use.

You mentioned busy work. There are plenty of things
on a boat that could be classified as busy work like coiling
line that keep someone occupied

Why don't you give us some examples from your experience.

"Bart Senior" .@. wrote in message

In that particular case I would have had to muzzle my girlfriend
as it took three verbal reprimands to get her to shut up. She was
very new to sailing, did not understand the situation, read it
completely wrong, and made a serious error in judgement. BTW,
we have not sailed together since.

I wasn't going to mention particulars.. but I believe in this case she
assumed she had the ear of the king. In other words she believed her
relationship with you provided her with rank. Her mistake.

In any event I agree with your suggestion to keep people
busy doing something else as it deflects the whole situation
and re-establishes control better than explainations or harsh
words--which I don't like to use.




You mentioned busy work. There are plenty of things
on a boat that could be classified as busy work like coiling
line that keep someone occupied

Why don't you give us some examples from your experience.

That is more difficult to do than I initially imagined since there are so
many scenarios possible and such variety in situations,vessel and crew etc.
One example was when we returning from a sail in a good breeze. It was 30+
kts but steady and the boat was properly reefed. 3 new people on board that
were friends of a sailing buddy.
These folks had all just passed their sailing course.
My friend is a very good sailor, his skills and abilities beyond reproach.
I would trust him to command at anytime.

Anyway... we decided to "impress" the newbies, who had wanted some heavy
weather time sailing, during our return to a well populated mooring field.
We approached the mooring field under full press [having done this on many
occasions]. This of course scared the hell out of the newbies. The woman
demanded we slow down. I directed her to quickly break out the fenders as
the vessel was out of control and requested the remaining crew to stand by
along the rails to fend off while my buddy and I handled the sails. They
didn't even see us laughing at them they were so busy. We tacked through
that mooring field at full speed going around, in, out and about all the
vessels for the next 15 minutes without a hitch... then before they realized
what was happening... the vessel was brought into the wind.... I requested
the newbie at the bow to hook up to the mooring and once secure we dropped
canvas.

We all had a good laugh over drinks in the cockpit.

I spoke to the woman 2 years later and she was still impressed at the ease
with which I not only ignored her objections with fake panic..... but the
surgical ease at which my buddy and I negotiated the mooring field and
vessels until the newbies began to realize we were having it on at their
expense. She has her own vessel now and uses the same tactic. :-)

CM

"Bart Senior" .@. wrote in message ...
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.



Many good responses, but they all adhere to the old theories of management -
fullfilling the narcissistic needs of the crew. Face it, the number of crews
and captains that excel are few. A management philosophy that creates only
with a small number of succesful crews should be viewed as a failing
philosophy. I seriously suggest reading "The Art of Demotivation" by Dr. E.
L. Kersten. Here's a link:

http://demotivation.com/

I've seen the principles of this fine book applied in full under real team
conditions. I can honestly say it weeds out or corrects the problem people
fast and is of great benefit to the captains.

Bob Crantz

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

Who was your worst skipper? What made it
intolerable?

"Frank Boettcher" wrote

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