Here is an edited version of an article we wrote appearing in the latest version of Pacific PowerBoat.
After
a difficult covid 19-dominated year and with lockdowns hopefully
behind us, the summer cruising season finally upon us and overseas
travel options restricted for the forseable future, unprecedented numbers of boaties are
expected to head out to enjoy the delights of their local cruising
area and beyond.
a few old salts enjoy the seclusion that boating can offer one of the
great joys of the cruising experience for the majority of us is
sharing our adventures with family and friends (guests). We really enjoy showing guests around and not only are they great company, but give old destinations new life as they often
discover new aspects and notice different features of interest.
But
while there’s nothing quite like mates filleting the catch together
over a cold beer at the end of a great day and telling tall stories
about the one that got away, there can be a different sort of a
catch. Guests may not be used to boats and you may not have
previously have all spent so much time together in such close confinement.
Some
guests may be experienced boaties, but even they need to know the
peculiarities of your boat (yes and even those of the skipper). So cruising
with guests is made all the more enjoyable for all if they know what to
expect and after being welcomed aboard are made fully aware of
safety procedures, how things work, and the skipper’s basic
“rules”.
If
you’re planning to meet guests mid-way through your cruise consider
that it’s generally much easier and cheaper for you if they come to
where your boat is located rather than you needing to make major
detours to meet them. It’s a funny thing that we seem to baulk at spending hard earned dollars on a ferry or taxi, but not even more for diesel.
With space limited on boats you don’t want guests arriving with bulky
suitcases so discuss in advance what they should bring. Do they need
to bring their own linen and towels? If you don’t like guests
wearing shoes aboard your boat you need to provide guidelines
on suitable footwear as well as clothing for the cruise
(experience-based tip: guests always bring far too many clothes). Discuss food supplies to avoid duplication and to ensure any special requirements (which seem all too prevalent these days) are met.
out if your guests are prone to sea sickness. If they are it can be a
problem for you as well as them so make some suggestions for
medications to bring along. If they are bringing children do you have
suitable life jackets?
you intend to share costs it might be wise to mention this from the
outset. For example we generally share costs for food, drink
and fuel for the time guests are on board.
on a larger vessel it’s
all too easy to overlook a safety briefing as being unnecessary,
but
a briefing demonstrates
your competence as their skipper to guests and shows
you
are serious about their safety. Tailor
your
briefing
to your guests’
experience levels
and at
least
cover
the location of
life
jackets, use of fire extinguishers, man overboard procedures and any
hazards specific to your
boat. For some of our experienced guests
I extend the briefing to include all aspects of taking command of the
boat and use of the tender.
guests like to feel they’re part of the crew rather
than passengers,
so it’s often a good idea to encourage them to help with anything
from anchoring to cleaning up after fishing to manning the barbecue. In open waters give them a spell on the helm.
can be rightly concerned about weather patterns and sea conditions,
so it’s best to fully explain each
morning over
breakfast the intended cruising plan for
the day and
relevant weather situation.
Two
major challenging areas with guests aboard can be the heads and water
conservation. Explain clearly to your guests exactly how the heads
operate and what not to flush down them; dismantling a blocked head
is not the ideal way to start a great holiday together! Also explain
how your boat has limitations with fresh water compared with life
ashore and the need to conserve water during showers (yes this particularly applies to the ladies).
Most
guests find it important to be able to charge their devices – mobile
phones, iPads, laptops etc and you need to explain how they can do
this. We also ask guests to leave their phones off or in silent mode
overnight to avoid interrupted sleep for others.
having guests for more than a few days it can be a good idea to
encourage them to do some exploring by themselves to provide some
“time out” for all. Diane and I often take an early morning walk
by ourselves for this reason.
By
adopting some of the above suggestions your cruising experience with
guests can be made a whole lot more enjoyable for all and with memories of a great cruise they will
still be friends when they disembark.
