Crew team building

Crew team building © Island Cruising NZ

If you are going to be spending a period of time at sea in a small boat, it is a good idea to ensure that you've got a positive team environment. After all, you and your crew are a team and you are relying on each other to safely get to your destination.

When it comes to ocean passages, most crews finish up being life long friends, but when you're living in tight quarters under tough conditions, there can often be personality clashes too.

Sleep deprivation, stress, seasickness, lack of personal space, bad weather, and a bad atmosphere can turn even mild mannered friendly people in to grouches. Temperament and attitude of fellow crew members is just as important as their sailing skills.

Problems usually arise where crew perceive that the yacht or skipper is unfit for the job which causes anxiety and undermines the skipper's authority. Disagreements between crew members are usually caused by personality clashes. If you see people not getting along - put them on opposite watches. Food can be another flashpoint - someone eating all the chocolate, or using all of a particular ingredient up in one meal.

Tempers fray when people get tired or scared. The best way to solve issues is to have a good honest discussion. Once situations are explained and diffused, you can usually resolve the situation and come back together as a team again.

I was chatting with a couple of people who have recently crewed on quite a few legs of the various rallies we've had around the South Island and up to the Pacific, about their experiences on board. They have sailed on a range of different boats all with different skippers on board. Here is some of their feedback.

Safety first

As a skipper and crew member you both need to do some due diligence on each other to ensure that you are comfortable with both that person, their experience and the safety of the boat. We've had a couple of instances of crew members heading off on boats which have turned out to not have the expected safety gear on board, or skippers who have had crew who didn't turn out to have the experience they claimed they had.

Be prepared to ask and answer some hard questions, insist that the skipper does a safety briefing and explains where all the safety gear is on the boat, and how they anticipate things would go in the case of an emergency.

Our rally passage plan template has a suggested crew briefing checklist to complete. If you are uncertain about the skills and personality of the skipper or crew at this stage then don't hesitate to pull out.

Crew team building - photo © Island Cruising NZ

Sharing the costs

It is important to also be up front with how everyone expects to deal with the costs of a passage. Every situation is different.

For point to point deliveries:

Generally the owner will pay for all the costs of running the vessel, insurance, marina fees, and country entry/exit fees.

Sometimes the owner will pay their crew for their time and all expenses. Particularly if the crew member is qualified with for example an Offshore Yachtmaster, VHF, Marine Medic & Sea Survival courses, or if they have lots of offshore experience and the owner wants to have someone on board with that expertise.

Sometimes the owner will pay for the crew's expenses such as flights, insurance and food. This might be for crew who are keen to help out but perhaps don't have the sea time or qualifications as yet.

Sometimes if the owner has extra space on board they'll take on volunteers who are keen to get some experience and sea time, perhaps to meet the Cat 1 regulations for their own passage, and often these people will pay a share of the food and their own travel expenses.

Once you reach your destination:

If crew are staying on board to cruise with the boat and are staying on board for a longer period of time, the owner would generally cover all the boat maintenance related costs, and other things such as food and drinks, activities, fuel, marina fees etc might be split among the other crew members.

If crew are working, for example, taking care of the children, doing lots of boat maintenance, or taking on other responsibilities, there may be some other arrangement.

Either way, it is important to be up front with how the costs are going to be managed and ensure everyone is clear and happy with that arrangement, before you set off.

Food

If you have unusual dietary requirements or are a vegetarian, gluten free or something else, make sure that the rest of the crew know. Make sure everyone is happy with the meal plan and that you have enough food on board that everyone will want to eat for the passage. Ask your crew for their preferences. Food is a good morale booster, and keeping the crew fed well is an important part of a passage.

Our rally passage plan template has a space for making a meal plan. Ensure you carry easy food to grab and eat if you end up with bad weather too. A snack cupboard can help with the midnight munchies. Have a thermos flask with boiled water so people can quickly and quietly grab a cup of tea/coffee or cuppa soup at any time of the day without having to boil the kettle all the time.

Everyone should also have their own named drink bottle. This makes less washing up, they can take the drink bottle in to their bunk and up to the cockpit without worrying about spilling it, and encourages everyone to stay hydrated.

Be a good skipper

• The skipper is responsible for the safety of the vessel and the crew. This is a job you should take seriously and you need to give your crew confidence in your skills and authority as skipper.
• That being said - you don't have to be an expert in everything. Ask for suggestions, give the crew the ability to speak up if there is anything that concerns them and ensure you address any issues straight away.
• Delegate tasks - navigation, weather, documentation, provisioning, health and safety, comms and doing the trip reports, writing the log, making water, cooking each day etc - people like to be given a responsibility.
• Standing orders - say when you expect the crew to wear life jackets, harnesses, when they should call the skipper, how often they should write in the log etc. Make the rules and stick to them.
• Share the tasks such as cooking and cleaning. Take pride in feeding the team and tidying up afterwards.
• Play on peoples strengths. Some people are night owls, others like to be up early. Get your watch system in line with how people work best.
• Check in - Have some time where people can honestly speak up if someone is doing something that annoys someone else. For example one of the crew I spoke to had no idea that her whistling was driving the rest of the crew crazy! Be honest and open to accepting criticism. Sometimes the little things people do without knowing it can become really annoying when you can't get away from one another!
• Get crew members on board a few days before departure to make sure that everyone gets along.

Be a good crew member

• Express any questions or concerns you have to the skipper.
• If you are not confident in the skills of the skipper or the safety of the boat - get off.
• Follow instructions, aim to be helpful.
• Take your watch keeping duties seriously. Be on time, keep a good lookout! The safety of the boat and crew is in your hands when you are on watch.
• If you snore - bring earplugs for everyone else!
• Keep your space tidy. Don't leave your stuff laying around all over the place.
• Be quiet and respectful when others are asleep.
• Clean the bathroom - ensure the boat has got plenty of tea towels, and cleaning cloths and keep everything sparkling.
• Give people some space and privacy. Have a space where people can have some quiet time on their own - time out.
• Avoid conflicting conversations, don't talk about politics, religion or vaccinations for example, when you know the other person has a different viewpoint. Agree to disagree.
• Don't wind people up. You might enjoy practical jokes, or making fun of people, but some people don't appreciate it. Be friendly and polite.

Have a plan for seasickness

It is best if the crew bring their own seasick medication that they know agrees with them. I heard a terrible story of a crew member who took a seasick tablet that didn't agree with him and he became extremely aggressive and anxious. Not a good situation for the rest of the crew! Have a plan for how the rest of the crew will cope if someone is seasick.

Protection from the elements

You'll have a happier crew if you've got protection from the wind, rain and sun. Keep an eye on the crew to make sure they are warm, have decent wet weather gear, are wearing a hat, have got sunscreen on, and drink enough water.

Building the team

It is important that everyone gets along with each other. Some fun ideas to create a team bond:

• Create a shared 'delivery' playlist on Spotify - everyone can add their favourite music
• Have team T Shirts
• Include crew members in the preparation workshops, encourage them to join Island Cruising and learn more about the passage.
• Make a time each day where all the crew get together - perhaps over dinner, or sundowners.
• Don't forget special occaisions, candles and a cake for birthdays, a special treat at the half way point, a ceremony when you cross the equator, celebratory drinks for once you've arrived safe and are all checked in.
• Have some competitions or games - photo of the best sunset/sunrise, writing poems, biggest fish, a game of bingo for people who see certain things along the way, best meal etc.
• Board games can be a fun way of passing the time.

In summary

Be friendly, respectful, kind, honest and up front. Do your fair share and avoid doing things that might annoy others. Have fun!