The importance of being crew.

Dumberer here.....

I had a great outing with grumpf that day, the main reason i pulled the kicker on from the wire was i had a better angle on it to pull more on, i think the sail could have done with far more cunningham than i was able to pull on.

Grahams helming was top notch in my oppinion but still needs to improve where he sits and gybing.

Was quite dissapointing to piss it in on the 2nd to last leg but it was still great fun. Screaming round the course, oddly not using even 50% of the mainsail as it was blading off uncontrollably which i found an odd experience.

My only problems with the boat are the position you need to get into to get on the wire and the fact it doesent have an open transom, the boat neeeeeeds a doubble bottom to self drain it would make a hell of a difference.

Dan

Dumberer

Ah that explains a lot, I forget he was a washer woman on a B14 so trying to
do what comes naturally then, but he did bung on more kicker than I ever
imagined was possible from out there and it did sort my main out better,
having said that I'd let out my adjustable lowers which must have also
contributed.

Interesting learning other methods though. (Including new ways to stack it).

But back on topic, it just goes to show how much more important a crew is
these days, or was it always like that but they just got treated like sh1t?*

*Doesn't mean I'm going to remove the cue ball anytime soon..

Edited by G.R.F.

Originally posted by winging it Did you have custard with that humble pie, or was it cream?

Hey it's not that much humble pie, it doesn't mean I'm going to let him out
of the gimp suit and unchain him from the boat whilst I'm in the bar.

But you'd be surprised what my 'ironic bantery' style of yoof abuse can
inspire in increased performance from them especially the 'special needs'
type that seem to be everywhere these days

Good stuff Graeme, and magnanimous in the extreme.
Could be a good team you've got starting there,
with complimentary skills and all that.

It's not until he's not there that you realise how much more he contributes
and I'm beginning to realise that the younger crew generation actually take
on even more.

So Jumanji has had to go in for a bit of a service and check up, so last
night having fully resigned myself to helping out as race officer or rescue
boat, up pops 'dumberer' sans boat which is apparently left wrapped around
a bexhill lamp post along with his car and strikes deathly fear into my very
soul by offering to crew. (Worse even than the possibility of being found
wanting by Wing Wang and exposed as the sham of a helm that I am).

So everyone looks on knowing I've got no choice but to go and brisk ticket
sales commenced for the best seats on the club terrace to watch the
spectacle of Grumpf & Dumberer not so synchronised swimming and water
ballet in the freshening force 4-5.

So we capsized 1st tack, then again 1st gybe, he moves so fast, his weight
is different, I normally hang back to counter Jumanjis rush until it's settled
then make my move. Synchronising with a quick youngster takes some
effort, but by the time the start gun went and the effects of a self tacking
jib were factored in we made a good start and all things considered went
on to hold off the five oh and my old 500 better sailed than we ever did for
the full hour until stacking it right at the end of the last spinnaker reach.

Anyway the point of all this was the good things that came from it, the
acknowledgement that I still have loads to learn from these youngsters, he
grabbed the kicker and wielded it from the wire, talked of sheeting the
main from out there and me piddling with the jib (I ignored that one) told
me to sit further forward to engage the nose which seemed to work a bit
on the one hand but did encourage more waves into the pool that is the
cockpit we sit around going up wind, like lots of folks you meet in sailing
they know so much (a lot of which is total codswallop) yet know so little,
so we tend to ignore it all. Yet I now have a site more respect for the
fellow than before, he might even have picked up on some tactical
expertise in exchange, had we been better synched we'd have held onto
the MPS which ruled the night as it turned out.

But how much more can or should a crew take on? Is this a result of lots of
single handed wiring I wonder or the aspiration to manipulate the 49er.
Anyway a very interesting night, and a discussion point I guess as to what
the rest of y'all expect from a crew these days...

Then of course if I'd been a bit better I guess he wouldn't have had to do
all that stuff is the obvious answer but then again....

Edited by G.R.F.