DSK wrote:
I've also had marginally-willing students suddenly try to
give me back the helm the instant before a big wave (or some
other form of disaster) was about to hit. Hate it when that
happens.



Joe wrote:
No doubt..while training a Captain she insisted on taking a 225 ft
barge thru the Pelican Island Bridge near Galveston, has interesting
side currents and can get tricky...I agreed and waited just a bit to
long to take control, just as she jumpped back from the wheel screaming
take it. I tried like hell to get it up in time, but did a glancing
blow off the brand new fenders they just drove in. Sorry MF's claimed I
broke 3 of the pylons.... cost the company about 5 grand to fix...and
guess who had to accept the blame......


Well, you were the captain. Of course you were trying to be
a gentleman and give also give her a chance, but you should
have shoved her away from the helm and taken it yourself
when it looked like she was not getting in the right line on
approach. Or told her clearly that if she wanted to keep the
helm, she could take the blame.

As Capt, you can not shift the blame, even if she agreed. There was
some bull**** involved IMO. Here is a picture of the Bridge:

http://www.uscg.mil/vtshouston/image...ftbridge02.jpg

See the wood fender system? They were in the progress of putting all
new pilons in ..and I think they just used me as a scape goat and
blamed some all ready broke pilons on me. I told the company that, but
they said it was easier to send them a 5K check then to deal with it in
any other way. They also ordered me to go around the island on all
future trips heading west on the ICW. This would add about 2-3 hr to a
round trip. I promptly ignored that order and just made sure the bridge
was never bumped again.


I work hard at being a kind & patient instructor, but my
earliest experiences were with sailors who believed a good
rap upside the head, and having the helm yanked rudely out
of the hands (with a comment somehing like 'a retarded
spastic monkey with two broken arms could steer better than
you'), would provide the best motivation... in moments of
stress I tend to revert....

That works if you are not married to the other Skipper. The only
time I ever struck a crew member on the helm I caught him sleeping. I
fired him on the spot.

..... I only know a handful of sailors I would
trust to helm the boat in bad conditions while off watch.... none of them
were aboard at the time.


C'mon, 'Overproof' can't be that friggin' squirrelly and
hard-mouthed. Sounds like you're working to justify being a
tiller hog!


I don't know if it's the squirrelly part ..or not trusting your life
and the life of your passengers into the hands of a amature. I've had a
100 times I've been at the wheel for over 24 hrs straight in foul or
extreme conditions. Adreline and coffee can do wonderious things. But I
can relate to how good the hard bunk feels when you get to crash.


If the vessel is truly in such grave danger, then a relief
helmsman should have already been trained.

Bull****.


Adrenalin and
caffiene can work wonders but fatigue is still dangerous.

That said, I've stood some pretty darn long watches
myself... one reason why I like to get other people trained
properly.

properly trained to handle a rogue wave, compound set, giant troff,
rolling wave,
ect..ect..ect..ect..ect...et........ect........... .....ect..................


Nice thing about a tiller is that there are several ways of
letting a trainee put 'hands on' the helm to get a feel for
the vessel and the helm responses without actually giving
them control of the helm. Quite a few times in poor
conditions, such as quartering seas, I go through a bit of
teaching. Once the person seems to have the feel for it,
instead of giving them total control, I will rest my pointer
finger on the back of their hand on the helm. That way I can
push the way the helm should move, and they learn how much &
how fast to anticipate with the helm. Once I don't have to
push, we both have confidence in their steering.

Of course there are few people I have tempted to whap upside
the head, too... and a few people who just plain never get
it. But that souldn't be a surprise, driving a car is much
easier and look how many people think they can drive.

In storm conditions I worry about broaching, capsizing, pitch-poling,
having windows blown in, gear torn off the vessel, injury to
passengers, equipment failures.. ect....things I refuse to allow others
to deal with.

Joe



DSK