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Lessons learned

So what did we learn?

The crew was tired after a long Friday before we even set out. We went straight into a night sail following a nice spicy dinner and set off early the next morning on a long passage before we had really got our sealegs. We didn't have the right charts to cover our contingency plans had we not been able to anchor. I had only made a random chart check to make sure we had the primary plan covered. Not all the crew knew how to start the engine. Starting the engine on many boats involves scrabbling about on the cockpit floor. An idiosyncrasy of the boat electrics were that both battery level indicators seemed to register only the domestic battery level.

1. Do some short easy sailing to get the crew to know each other and the boat. This also allows a period of acclimatisation before setting off for a long passage.

2. Make sure you have all the charts to cover possible contingency plans too.

3. Make sure all the crew are fully briefed prior to setting off.

4. Get someone else to start the engine when the controls are awkward for the helm. Especially on a strong following wind.

5. It is difficult to know the boat well when you are chartering. But make sure you ask about the boats quirks and strange habits. Push to get an honest account of known problems. It is in everybody's interest.

Even experienced crews make mistakes, the important thing is to learn and share the learning.

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