scott.projectsomewhere

Some people have a very strange approach to customer service…

As part of the Corporate Games, 4 boats full of Factory workers have been heading down to the local yacht/charter/training place and doing a bit of preparation. It’s been going on for a month now, with the main event starting on Friday.

Anyway, the charter company provides a supervisor/skipper to make sure the punters don’t completely trash their yachts… and the bloke we had yesterday was just unbelieveable. As in unbelievably bad.

We get on the boat with a case of beer, looking forward to a pretty casual wind-down to the day. First question we get?

Skipper: Have you guys got your roles all sorted out?

Me: Sort-of. We’re going to play it by ear and get people to rotate, so everyone get’s a go.

Skipper: That’s a bad idea. I recommend you keep to set positions otherwise you’re going to stuff up.

Me: Thanks for the advice. I understand where you’re coming from.

And we leave it at that. Knowing full well that we’ll do whatever the hell we want thankyou very much.

So we’re motoring out and the bloke starts up again…

Skipper: So what do you guys do at work?

Us: stuff…  etc etc

Skipper: Well you guys work at the factory. You must know what to do with money right? I sail these things every day. I don’t come in and tell you what to do with my money, so you should do what I say when we’re sailing.

Right. Thanks for the analogy.

By this stage everyone on the boat thinks this guy is a complete wanker.

And on it goes…

He blows up when we unfurl the headsail… saying we’re going to break the boat… he blows up when we go for a gybe… saying we’re going to break the boat… meanwhile it’s blowing a good 5 knots.

Skipper: You must do exactly as I say.

Me: Fine, feel free to grab the wheel whever you like.

Like I care.

Anyway… we meet up with one of the other boats and start going uphill. The mainsail looks like a bag of shit after he’s let the outhaul off (after explaining how to set up the sail at length)… so I go and pull it on…

And he starts again.

Skipper: That’s too flat.

Me: I think it’s ok. Let’s give it a go.

Skipper: I’ve sailed these boats thousands of times. I’ve got a degree in Aeronautical Engineering. Why listen to my advice?

Me: Good for you. I’m an Olympic class sailor (yes I was being liberal with the truth). STFU!

And he did. Thank facking christ.

So the bloke mopes for the next couple of hours in the back of the boat, as we go on and have a reasonble time, beating the other boats in the few short races we did.

Lucky for us we had our dust up in the first 10 minutes. The poor other teams that had this guy in the previous weeks had to deal with him for the full 3 hours.

And by the end of it - as we were heading for another win…

Skipper: I owe you an apology. You obviously know what you’re doing. You guys are the best of the teams I’ve seen. You should do well in the competition.

Mmmm… humble pie tastes good doesn’t it.

The moral of the story?

Everyone on the boat hated the bloke. Everyone on the other boats had experienced him, and now hated the bloke. The poor company has such a monopoly on the market that the arrogant nastiness of one of their staff can’t kill off their business.

But for christ’ sake, it wouldn’t take much effort to be friendly, funny and personable. Make sure everyone has a fun time. Make sure everyone get’s a good run. Make sure they go home raving about the great time they had on the water. Make sure they come back next time they’re doing corporate team building. Make sure they get hooked on the sport and become regular participants.

Or be a complete tool and piss everyone off forever.

–

The good thing is this guy won’t be such a wanker to us next time.

Someone has gone and un-locked the SailingAnarchy forums for Doug’s WebTV… and he hasn’t wasted any time firing up the foiling debate.

The latest incarnation is foiling for the 18s.

So if you’ve got a few hours spare, go start reading the comedy… but don’t dare add relevant information gained through pratical experience.

And if you’ve got a few weeks to kill, go start reading the TP52 thread on BoatDesign.net. If you can make sense of the argument… you’re doing better than me.

In similar conditions to last year, ActiveAir sheethand Evan took the tiller and steered the boat around the track in a tricky Easterly to win…. just. Not a bad effort for a first timer.

Though Evan is no beginner, the Youth World gold medallist does have some skills.

Sweeney was away “working” at the Grand Prix in Melbourne, and Club Marine was away being shown off at a sponsor gig in Brisbane, so it all just happened to work out we could sail on the boat for the day.

We started pretty poorly, getting off the line well, but being shut out of a clear lane quickly. Unfortunately for us, I had the tide wrong by about an hour, and we kept to the left, out of the tide-advantaged right side. Needless to say it didn’t work, and halfway up the course we were swapping tacks with the World Champions - Fiat, and National Champions - Macquarie, for last place.

A few nice shifts and the top mark bought us some distance on Fiat, and put us just at the back of the pack. We picked a few more downhill, and brought the wind down with us to close the gap on the leaders to a couple of boatlengths and the wing mark. We then took a couple more on the next run, and rounded the bottom mark in 5th.

Nice.

At this stage Evan was lamenting how easy it was to steer an 18. Hmmm.

We pulled some more shifts out on the next work, taking the right-hand side and the lead going into Rose Bay, and shutting Belle out of the lead at the top mark.

A bit of a stressful downwind and an early, slow rounding at the bottom had us still leading - but only just over Fiat.

But we lost it soon after… the timing for the tide was now correct, but we still sailed in it for too long and crossed behind Fiat.

Anyway, a bunch of good shifts later and we were in the lead, by about a minute at the top mark.

If the previous downwind was stressful, this one was ridiculous. We had a good lead, but saw it disappear quickly as Fiat brought new breeze down. We pushed them into Shark on starboard, then gybed on their face on the way back to try and keep them behind us. We then sailed stupidly high to stop them rolling us, and headed into the lee of Point Piper… while the OCS 7 was gaining quickly… Fiat gybed out, we followed later… then gybed on them again on the way to the finish. They gybed out again for the line onto starboard, 7 just crossed them, 7 gybed again inside to cross the line, we gybed again and just took 7’s stern as both Fiat and 7 gybed again for the line, and we crossed ahead by the tiniest of margins.

Fark it was tense… and gybing an 18 once in 5 knots is painful, let alone that many times.

A good day on the water for Evan.

And Sweeney texted Pete afterwards: “good work but tell scotty he’s not my friend any more”.

(more…)

So I’m locked into going to Garda now. Airfares and accomodation are booked in.

Now I have to wait for the boat to arrive…

Who else is going? My list so far includes:

Bladeriders:

• Rohan
• Amac
• Nicho
• John Harris
• Myself
• Simon Nelson

Thorpe foilers:

• Les
• Ben

Prowlers:

• Mark Robinson
• Luka scratched… buying property in Sydney… therefore no holidays (forever)
• John Illet

Others:

• Alan
• Pete Harney

13 Aussies. Not bad.

Sunday’s Queen of the Harbour race for the 18s was a good lesson in managing one of these 18 campaigns… or how not to do it.

The day started quietly as I got out of bed and drove over the hill to pick up the boat and get it into a good spot in the park.

But the boat wasn’t there.

Ok, maybe for some reason it was already at the park…. no.

Maybe it was at the factory…. no.

So I race home, fire  up the computer and get the phone number of the Club Marine guy who was planning to take the boat to Brisbane later this week.

Any ideas on where the boat ended up being? Facking Hornsby! Almost a 2 hour round trip to pick up!

I had to race over and borrow a car capable of towing it that distance, and then start driving… and driving.

But I made it back to the park at about midday, having missed the whole breakfast, shower, lunch thing.

Then we put the rig in the boat and start putting the sails on. Cam goes over to get the repaired centreboard from VanMunster.

No, the centreboard is at the workshop in Morriset (close to 4 hour round trip). Woody is using the old one.

So I grab the keys off Woody and race out to the factory to get another one that might fit…

Come race time I’m wrecked. After racing around sorting crap out all morning I’m ready to go to sleep, let alone race.

Anyway, we do race. Getting off the startline badly all 3 times, and cruising around in an easy 10 knot NE breeze to finish deep in the fleet.

And afterwards… we pack up… and it’s back on the road… to get the boat back to Hornsby.

I guess it’s the least I can do for the sponsor… but gees.

I might just try and be a bit more organised next time.  Or go back to sheet and avoid the hassle.

With only a couple of months to go, it’s time to start putting the $ down for the upcoming Moth Worlds in Garda.

It looks like I’ll be flying the boat, door-to-door from Sydney to Circolo vela Torbole, at a cost of about $1300. Is it going to be worth bringing it back to Australia at that price?

Then there’s flights, about $2500. Probably should organise those soon.

Then there’s accomodation and other expenses for the couple of weeks. Another few thousand or more.

Then there’s spares, entry fees, and the extra bits and pieces that come up…

So all in all it’s one expensive proposition. But it is Garda.

I normally wouldn’t flinch, but the thought of doing all the above, and putting down another $15k for the boat is giving my rational other half (but there is only one of me!?) a headache.

And I’ll only have a month or two between the boat’s arrival and the event start to prepare it and myself. Not ideal.

So day by day I tend to fluctuate between being committed and having reservations… again not ideal.

I’d better go and put the money down quickly…
… and should I try to tack on the 18 Europeans in early June? And a visit with the family to Calabria afterwards?