{"id":159238,"date":"2025-07-25T06:24:54","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T05:24:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/?p=159238"},"modified":"2025-07-25T06:25:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T05:25:10","slug":"why-you-should-always-aim-to-share-all-roles-onboard-both-above-and-below-decks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/comment\/why-you-should-always-aim-to-share-all-roles-onboard-both-above-and-below-decks-159238","title":{"rendered":"Why you should always aim to share all roles onboard… both above and below decks"},"content":"Yet another wave slammed into our topsides. The carbon drum hull of the yacht we were racing echoed with a thunderous hum as we accelerated, surfing a wave. We were flying! And then we weren\u2019t. SLAM. The boat crash-gybed, rounded up violently and then stalled.\r\n\r\nThe companionway was a mass of people scrambling into foulies<\/a>. The boat slopped about in irons. Gong, gong, gong went the broken checkstay as it swung and clanged against the rig.\r\n\r\nAnd me? I stood frozen, can opener in hand, assessing the carnage. Amazingly, the pan was still on the stove. But its contents? The ceiling had turned red. The floor resembled a murder scene of squashed meat. I put my hand to my forehead, dreading the clean up, only to feel coagulated tomato paste binding my already-matted hair into one sticky lump.\r\n\r\nAs the least experienced crew member, being relegated below decks during an emergency is a rite of passage for offshore sailors. This was one of my first.\r\n\r\nI was 18, on a 78ft maxi, somewhere between Sicily and Gibraltar, fresh out of school, and very green. Fortunately in that moment, green in skill, rather than seasickness.\r\n\r\nThe first days after jumping aboard a new boat can feel like a return to the school playground. You want to fit in. Hopefully, a vacant task reveals itself.\r\n\r\nThe galley is a good place to start. There\u2019s always something to do. You become popular fast \u2013 who doesn\u2019t adore someone who feeds them? Menu planning, provisioning and preparing three meals on shore as well as at sea is full on. So it keeps you \u2018out the way\u2019 and gives you purpose.\r\n\r\nEarly in my career, it served me well. I built practical skills and learnt a vital rule: never serve meatballs in a blow.\r\n\r\nArticle continues below...<\/em>\r\n\r\n[collection]\r\n\r\nBe careful though, while \u2018inside\u2019 jobs may feel like the natural fit for less experienced crew members, this seemingly efficient role-allocation may not serve the crew well in the long term. A pattern I\u2019ve seen again and again, especially working with new boat owners and cruising couples, is that the more experienced person ends up on deck \u2013 sailing, fixing and making decisions, while the less experienced often ends up inside cooking, cleaning and organising.\r\n\r\nInitially, everyone is happy. The boat doesn\u2019t crash in the marina, you get to where you\u2019re going on time, and the boat interior stays orderly.\r\n\r\nBut as time goes on, trouble arises. The \u2018captain\u2019 gains skill and their crew feel comparatively less knowledgeable so their confidence decreases. They don\u2019t challenge their captain or ask questions so the captain\u2019s progression also hits a ceiling.\r\n\r\nThe crew starts to avoid deck time. Instead they take full ownership over the galley and their comfort zone deepens. One day, if the captain puts something away in the wrong place, they\u2019re scolded for interfering. Lesson learned, the captain now stays on deck and, just like that, the gap widens.\r\n\r\nThis doesn\u2019t just happen with couples, but also with friends, families and even professional teams. Often, the more one person or group of people grows, the more others pull back. And, without realising it, they flatline in skill and confidence.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_159239\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"630\"]\"\" Rotate the galley jobs too. Photo: Lumi Images[\/caption]\r\n\r\nSo, here\u2019s my advice: level up early.\r\n\r\nIn the beginning, slow the growth of the more experienced sailor \u2013 just for a moment \u2013 and focus on the other. Share the throttles and parking responsibilities. Make decisions collaboratively. Practice sail changes together. Take turns fixing the heads. Give each other space to fail and learn.\r\n\r\nAnd don\u2019t stop at the helm. Rotate the galley jobs too. Share the provisioning runs, the cooking, the cleaning. Because the truth is when everyone on board can handle both the deck and the dishes, the confidence builds in both directions.\r\n\r\nGiven time to reap the rewards you\u2019ll start to build a proper team.\r\n\r\nGrowing and learning together will strengthen your relationship. Everyone on board will have the freedom to have an \u2018off-day\u2019 knowing that someone else has the skill to take up their slack.\r\n\r\nAnd, the best bit, sailing plans tend to match the least confident person on board so if you\u2019re equally matched in skill, you\u2019ll be able to set your sights on more ambitious sailing plans and destinations. Level up and find freedom.\r\n\r\n
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Yet another wave slammed into our topsides. The carbon drum hull of the yacht we were racing echoed with a thunderous hum as we accelerated, surfing a wave. We were flying! And then we weren\u2019t. SLAM. The boat crash-gybed, rounded up violently and then stalled. The companionway was a mass of people scrambling into foulies. The boat slopped about in irons. Gong, gong, gong went the broken checkstay as it swung and clanged against the rig. And me? I stood frozen, can opener in hand, assessing the carnage. Amazingly, the pan was still on the stove. But its contents? The ceiling had turned red. The floor resembled a murder scene of squashed meat. I put my hand to my forehead, dreading the clean up, only to feel coagulated tomato paste binding my already-matted hair into one sticky lump. As the least experienced crew member, being relegated below decks during an emergency is a rite of passage for offshore sailors. This was one of my first. I was 18, on a 78ft maxi, somewhere between Sicily and Gibraltar, fresh out of school, and very green. Fortunately in that moment, green in skill, rather than seasickness. The first days after jumping aboard a new boat can feel like a return to the school playground. You want to fit in. Hopefully, a vacant task reveals itself. The galley is a good place to start. There\u2019s always something to do. You become popular fast \u2013 who doesn\u2019t adore someone who feeds them? Menu planning, provisioning and preparing three meals on shore as well as at sea is full on. So it keeps you \u2018out the way\u2019 and gives you purpose. Early in my career, it served me well. I built practical skills and learnt a vital rule: never serve meatballs in a blow. Article continues below… Be careful though, while \u2018inside\u2019 jobs may feel like the natural fit for less experienced crew members, this seemingly efficient role-allocation may not serve the crew well in the long term. A pattern I\u2019ve seen again and again, especially working with new boat owners and cruising couples, is that the more experienced person ends up on deck \u2013 sailing, fixing and making decisions, while the less experienced often ends up inside cooking, cleaning and organising. Initially, everyone is happy. The boat doesn\u2019t crash in the marina, you get to where you\u2019re going on time, and the boat interior stays orderly. But as time goes on, trouble arises. The \u2018captain\u2019 gains skill and their crew feel comparatively less knowledgeable so their confidence decreases. They don\u2019t challenge their captain or ask questions so the captain\u2019s progression also hits a ceiling. The crew starts to avoid deck time. Instead they take full ownership over the galley and their comfort zone deepens. One day, if the captain puts something away in the wrong place, they\u2019re scolded for interfering. Lesson learned, the captain now stays on deck and, just like that, the gap widens. This doesn\u2019t just happen with couples, but also with …Continue reading »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4389,"featured_media":143701,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[969],"tags":[1633],"review_manufacturer":[],"acf":[],"introduction":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159238"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4389"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=159238"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159238\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":159240,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159238\/revisions\/159240"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/143701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=159238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=159238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=159238"},{"taxonomy":"review_manufacturer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review_manufacturer?post=159238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}