As I write this, I have come to the conclusion that we at On Watch Yacht Delivery are ready to expand.
I have spent the past couple of months trying to juggle all of the requests we have been receiving for yacht deliveries. I believe this flood of business is the result of years of hard work and dedication to building a solid performance reputation.
In the past three years we have been successfully completing our goals and coming in with our deliveries on time and on budget. We are now at a point where I can no longer sustain the pace of requests on our own. I am in search of responsible, non-smoking, captains and crew with a solid work ethic and will to do things the right way the first time and every time. We want to share in our success with like-minded responsible captains and crew to sustain our momentum and good reputation.
Want experience but don't want the hassle of paperwork and advertising? I am open to meeting and cooperating with other established yacht delivery services for referral work and seek Captains and crew who would like to do occasional deliveries.
If you are the owner of a yacht delivery service, a crew-person who wants some occasional work or needs sea time/offshore experience with an established yacht delivery company, please contact me at captainjeff296@yahoo.com
On Watch Yacht Delivery is a growing company with a solid reputation. We want to partner up with people who are motivated and seeking to grow professionally and personally. Get in touch now and let's build something bigger!
Captain Jeff Lewis
On Watch Yacht Delivery & Management
www.onwatchyachtdelivery.com
Red Sky at Night
IP 380 in Old Bahama Channel
Monday, April 18, 2011
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
FATIGUE!!! A Crew's Worst Enemy
Before I get started with my first blog, I want to clarify that while I have been a sailor for 40+ years of my life, I do not profess to be an expert or the greatest sailor on the planet. I know there are a lot more experienced sailors out there who could probably sail rings around me. All I hope to do is pass on some of my experiences.
A short background of my history, I started sailing when I was 9 years old with my Father who over the years built a very solid foundation of basic seamanship and practical knowledge which has allowed me to be somewhat successful in building my new business (3 Years) On Watch Yacht Delivery & Management. After retiring from the Coast Guard after 20 years of service, I tried the corporate world, real estate sales and yacht brokerage. I had good success in all of these fields, but never found them to be very rewarding until I started delivering yachts.
Admittedly, I deliver smaller yachts (Under 60') so far, however, the rewards of completing a delivery are never small to me. In just the past three years I have logged over 10,000 nm throughout the Gulf of Mexico, Eastern and Western Caribbean, Atlantic Coast and Bahamas.
As I mentioned before, my Father instilled a lot of basic wisdom into me at a very young age. He taught me to always respect the sea. Not to FEAR it, but RESPECT it. His best lesson to me was to always be aware of your limitations and stay vigilant to the onset of FATIGUE! This is often easier said than done as most of us overachievers think we are superhuman and capable of anything! My Father always said, "Eat when your not hungry, drink when your not thirsty and sleep every minute you can!" This is great advice and I have been accused of insisting my crew get rest to the point of being annoying.
So far, my crew and I have (fortunately) been able to identify when we are becoming tired and a bit "loopy". I believe this comes from years of experience on the water. The first signs of fatigue are more than just being sleepy or lethargic. It begins when you can no longer complete simple tasks such as donning your foul weather gear properly, forgetting details, and of course edginess or loss of your temper with your crew mates.
Sea-sickness can really wreak havoc on a crew as I have heard countless stories of mishaps at sea beginning with crews who were all or in part suffering from "Mal de Mer". Once you begin heaving your lunch over the rail, the next problem is (quickly) dehydration, then lack of nutrition needed. This is when fatigue starts in sneak in and slowly, bit by bit, fog your judgement.
Examples of fatigue becoming deadly is in plenty of cases, but recently in the 2010 Caribbean 1500, the annual run from Chesapeake Bay to Tortola, one crew became ill while crossing the Gulf stream in gale force winds and rough seas. They reported back by radio, that the whole crew was suffering from sea-sickness and even the hired Captain aboard was not feeling well. Unfortunately it appears the fatigue set in a fogged their judgement. They decided to abort the trip and divert for Marsh Harbour, Bahamas. it appears from their track, they originally opted for Bermuda, but did a 180 degree turn and headed South.
The fact that they diverted was not a bad decision, although if they had continued Southeast for another day or so, the winds and seas would have moderated to much better conditions. I know this because I was delivering a Pacific Seacraft 40' just a few hundred miles north of them at the same time. Their (Final) fatal decision was to attempt to go into the channel at night with 15' to 20' following seas and no moon. In short, they hit the reef outside Marsh Harbour and abandoned ship to their raft which was overturned by the seas and they lost their Captain and her body was never recovered.
I was not on this boat. I do not know all the facts. I only see the results of what must have been a series of bad decisions. First, to abort when weather would have improved further South. Second, to choose Marsh Harbour and attempt to enter an unlit, unmarked channel at night. Third, to abandon ship as badly as it was being battered, the boat was still there and intact the next day.
One can only assume this crew wanted desperately to get out of the situation they were in. They were no doubt, sick, tired, cold, wet and miserable. I am sure laying off the Northern Bahama Coast for 10 more hours in rough conditions was not an appealing thought. I am sure they believed they could follow their GPS and all would be fine. (Total trust in one's GPS is a whole other subject!)
In summary, something clouded their judgement. Something made them perceive that they had to get out of the ocean and duck into the "Safety" of the harbor. In reality, the safest place to be was offshore. I wonder if there would have had a different outcome if they had at least ONE person on board who was rested and thinking straight? Stay vigilant! Stay RESTED!!!
A short background of my history, I started sailing when I was 9 years old with my Father who over the years built a very solid foundation of basic seamanship and practical knowledge which has allowed me to be somewhat successful in building my new business (3 Years) On Watch Yacht Delivery & Management. After retiring from the Coast Guard after 20 years of service, I tried the corporate world, real estate sales and yacht brokerage. I had good success in all of these fields, but never found them to be very rewarding until I started delivering yachts.
Admittedly, I deliver smaller yachts (Under 60') so far, however, the rewards of completing a delivery are never small to me. In just the past three years I have logged over 10,000 nm throughout the Gulf of Mexico, Eastern and Western Caribbean, Atlantic Coast and Bahamas.
As I mentioned before, my Father instilled a lot of basic wisdom into me at a very young age. He taught me to always respect the sea. Not to FEAR it, but RESPECT it. His best lesson to me was to always be aware of your limitations and stay vigilant to the onset of FATIGUE! This is often easier said than done as most of us overachievers think we are superhuman and capable of anything! My Father always said, "Eat when your not hungry, drink when your not thirsty and sleep every minute you can!" This is great advice and I have been accused of insisting my crew get rest to the point of being annoying.
So far, my crew and I have (fortunately) been able to identify when we are becoming tired and a bit "loopy". I believe this comes from years of experience on the water. The first signs of fatigue are more than just being sleepy or lethargic. It begins when you can no longer complete simple tasks such as donning your foul weather gear properly, forgetting details, and of course edginess or loss of your temper with your crew mates.
Sea-sickness can really wreak havoc on a crew as I have heard countless stories of mishaps at sea beginning with crews who were all or in part suffering from "Mal de Mer". Once you begin heaving your lunch over the rail, the next problem is (quickly) dehydration, then lack of nutrition needed. This is when fatigue starts in sneak in and slowly, bit by bit, fog your judgement.
Examples of fatigue becoming deadly is in plenty of cases, but recently in the 2010 Caribbean 1500, the annual run from Chesapeake Bay to Tortola, one crew became ill while crossing the Gulf stream in gale force winds and rough seas. They reported back by radio, that the whole crew was suffering from sea-sickness and even the hired Captain aboard was not feeling well. Unfortunately it appears the fatigue set in a fogged their judgement. They decided to abort the trip and divert for Marsh Harbour, Bahamas. it appears from their track, they originally opted for Bermuda, but did a 180 degree turn and headed South.
The fact that they diverted was not a bad decision, although if they had continued Southeast for another day or so, the winds and seas would have moderated to much better conditions. I know this because I was delivering a Pacific Seacraft 40' just a few hundred miles north of them at the same time. Their (Final) fatal decision was to attempt to go into the channel at night with 15' to 20' following seas and no moon. In short, they hit the reef outside Marsh Harbour and abandoned ship to their raft which was overturned by the seas and they lost their Captain and her body was never recovered.
I was not on this boat. I do not know all the facts. I only see the results of what must have been a series of bad decisions. First, to abort when weather would have improved further South. Second, to choose Marsh Harbour and attempt to enter an unlit, unmarked channel at night. Third, to abandon ship as badly as it was being battered, the boat was still there and intact the next day.
One can only assume this crew wanted desperately to get out of the situation they were in. They were no doubt, sick, tired, cold, wet and miserable. I am sure laying off the Northern Bahama Coast for 10 more hours in rough conditions was not an appealing thought. I am sure they believed they could follow their GPS and all would be fine. (Total trust in one's GPS is a whole other subject!)
In summary, something clouded their judgement. Something made them perceive that they had to get out of the ocean and duck into the "Safety" of the harbor. In reality, the safest place to be was offshore. I wonder if there would have had a different outcome if they had at least ONE person on board who was rested and thinking straight? Stay vigilant! Stay RESTED!!!
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