Crew, Coaching & Leadership
Building crews and leading them at sea
A fast boat with an unhappy crew is a slow boat. Every offshore campaign is, in the end, a group of people who have to make good decisions together when they are cold, tired and a long way from home.
This section is about building that group and leading it. It covers command at sea and why it is serious, how crews are found, trained and kept, what paying to race in events such as the Clipper Race actually buys you, and the pressures on the fully crewed offshore race as double-handed fleets grow.
It also looks at what offshore racing teaches beyond the boat. One piece asks whether the best business school is cold, wet and moving, and why leadership is so often learnt offshore rather than in a classroom.
My own view comes from several directions: as a Royal Navy officer, as crew boss aboard Giant Panda, Hitchhiker and Backlash on the RORC circuit, from running businesses ashore, and now as an offshore racing coach working aboard other people's boats.
The common thread is simple. Good crews are made, not found, and the skipper who invests in the people usually gets more from the boat.
The articles are listed below, newest first. Explore the other subjects in the FirstShift article library, or read the latest articles.
