Kites, boats and personalities

[Grizwald]

GTC excellent point but without knowing someone (as opposed to meeting them) or just interacting on the internet, how would you know?
Many many years ago we took our sailing instructor with us on a charter and he brought along his wife. She was a small woman who drank at least 12 beer a day in addition to pain killers (the drink). By four she was useless to dangerous. To meet her, you wouldn't know, scary fact, she was a nurse and I'm sure she drank at work.

tkaraszewski- does your wife or kids kite? Do they launch you or do you self launch, or drift? I have found that the noise from wind generators keeps me awake. I am always trying to sleep with one eye open when at anchor so the added noise makes me cranky. I suppose you get used to it after a while.

[elguapo]

i'm a cruiser..

these days i dont spend as much time as want on my boat.. but i'm still in el caribe ~ 3-5 months every year.


my basic rule for a guest...
they can pick the time....or the location.
(but never both)

if i do not know them.. and they are not paying me $7k usd per week... if they are on my boat then they would be crew.

for crew...i expect 2 out of 3 basic requirements

1. the need to be able to cook....
2. be able to fix a diesel engine...
3. ...or look really good in a bikini

..it they are exceptional in anything.. i can overlook the other qualifications

sailing is easily taught....a personality isn't.
as captain of your ship.. you have to be quick getting rid of malcontents, problem creators...or anyone ejust plain annoying....like at the very next port.
obviously, drugs/weapons/etc is a big no no.. giving the captian stress is a big no no

i once tried to ban alcohol on my boat.. but i almost had a mutiny from my mostly english crew
i dont do that anymore..

[Zen_Rider]

Sounds like a tough life there buddy, what a nighmare!

You could arrange a video chat with a potential boat buddy, it's not quite the same as meeting somebody IRL, but you should be able to get a gist of somebody in a 20min chat. At least enough to rule them out if they are a personality clash, or a liability... Vid chat works well too if people are a long way away, and if it's a fail you don't feel like you have lost out on anything as your just sat at home with a brew...

I find most dedicated kiters to be pretty sound folk, Its a sport that requires a level of maturity and responsibility to persevere with. I've only ever had grief from the fair-weather-weekend only crowd, and that's mostly when I police the swim zone at our local beach. When they're desperate to get out, some folk really don't like being asked to rig up 100m farther down the beach from the car park, even when I'm offering to carry their shit...

[Grizwald]

Elguapo, That would imply that that your male guests all can cook and do diesel mechanics. Although tastes can vary.
I agree sailing is easy and personality can not be taught. If you are smart enough to understand the aerodynamics of a kite, the aerodynamics of a sailboat are duck soup.
If I tried to ban alcohol I would probably lose the boat in the divorce settlement but we don't drink while passage-making.

Zen_Rider The video chat is a good idea. I thought about asking to see the stamps in their passport as well. My thinking being that if you've been to a number of places you're more likely to be able to adapt situations outside your comfort zone. They are also smart enough not to bring guns or drugs across a border. Either that or they are really good at it.
I agree most kiters are pretty solid folks. As I said before I would not even contemplate doing something like this with any other group.

[tkaraszewski]

tkaraszewski- does your wife or kids kite? Do they launch you or do you self launch, or drift? I have found that the noise from wind generators keeps me awake. I am always trying to sleep with one eye open when at anchor so the added noise makes me cranky. I suppose you get used to it after a while.

I mostly self-launch. My wife is a beginner-level kiter and my kids are still a bit young to learn. My wind generator, on the other hand, is pretty quiet.

[elguapo]

Elguapo, That would imply that that your male guests all can cook and do diesel mechanics. Although tastes can vary.
I agree sailing is easy and personality can not be taught. If you are smart enough to understand the aerodynamics of a kite, the aerodynamics of a sailboat are duck soup.
If I tried to ban alcohol I would probably lose the boat in the divorce settlement but we don't drink while passage-making.

Zen_Rider The video chat is a good idea. I thought about asking to see the stamps in their passport as well. My thinking being that if you've been to a number of places you're more likely to be able to adapt situations outside your comfort zone. They are also smart enough not to bring guns or drugs across a border. Either that or they are really good at it.
I agree most kiters are pretty solid folks. As I said before I would not even contemplate doing something like this with any other group.

i was referring to crew.. (which i only have on board for crossings)
and yes, all crew would need to contribute in some way.. everyone helps on deck.. everyone helps cook and everyone helps with watch.



guests would be friends or family..


if in a popular cruising spot.. local word of mouth is all that's necessary. in marinas there would often be folks walking the docks looking for a boat to crew
crewbay, findacrew or the cruiserforum yield good results..if outside the normal cruising areas...

[Bille]

...

So imagine you own a good sized sailboat. You are planing an extended sail around the Caribbean stopping at odd places and kiting whenever wind and conditions allow.
...

That would be SOOoooo much FUN !!! My dinky Lil Hobie 21se ; it isn't
any where near big enough, to be cursing the Caribbean.

You should hire a good looking Asian female crew, to do your
sailing ; preferably girls that don't like wearing a lot of clothes !!

Bille

[JakeFarley]

You might perform a background check and social media check before interviewing them via video conferencing. Personally, I would bring my brother or other relatives or friends who do not kite, before I take a chance with kiters I do not know. There are kiters at my local spot I know pretty well who have sailing experience, so I would have several to choose from.

The problem I have is I don't own a yacht. I have thought of chartering one in the Caribbean. Have done so in the Bahamas and on the west coast of Florida. In the Bahamas, we chartered two boats for security purposes and we had a great time racing from port to port. One of the most enjoyable vacations I ever had.

[Matty V]

OP

You want to invite someone you never met to your boat for a week and have concerns about it.

Then don’t do it?

[longwhitecloud]

Believe in your own instinct of character judgement.

Organic introductions are good.

Limit the initial crewing, disguised trial.