BTW Richard, you could do well to get Ringmater's advice on
finding &
training a crew. C'mon Loco helo the guy out!

Most of my crew have been on the boat for around 8 years. When
starting out I went through a few friends and neighbors. Lesson:
Don't talk anyone into racing. Find people who are interested. When
you get friends and neighbors who are not into it they will be the
ones who you will have to call every week to see if they are going to
sail or if they will be going to the mall with their wife. My
philosophy on crewing on a boat is that it is the same as being on a
softball team or a bowling league. You show up. Some people seem to
think that because it's sailing they don't always have to show and
they don't bother to call. I tell my crew it's not a job but if you
can't make it please call on Monday not Tuesday night or Wednesday
afternoon. You can look for people who are interested on local club
websites. Sometimes they have a forum where interested people leave
their contact information. Even after you have a full crew you should
contact new people every year to see if they would like to sub for
regulars who can't make it from time to time. Benifits of doing this
are you have a group of subs and secondly you get to meet people
before you commit. How to keep crew: Only yell when someone is about
to do something stupid and break something. Also, tell every new
crewmember that you expect them to treat the boat as if it were there
own. Don't throw stuff around, don't break stuff and they are
expected to "clean up" the boat after the race. After you have been
racing awhile your good crewmates will know other people who are
interested when you need someone to fill in or replace someone who is
leaving. Keep it fun. Never sail back to the dock in a bad mood
because you didn't do well.

I forgot to mention. My motto has always been "There are no cash
prizes" In other words missing out on a trophy or plaque ain't worth
getting ****ed off about. On Ringmaster we like to win but we try to
keep it casual. Seems to work. Between 2 boats I have 32 plaques on
the wall plus a few other little cups etc.