Caribbean Compass Yachting Magazine - February 2020

WHAT’S ON MY MIND
What Do You Do
with a
Broken Captain?
by Sally Erdle
to the Cape Verdes, six days away, to discharge the captain. One crewmember took
the main responsibility of constantly “babysitting” the captain, talking to him and
reassuring him. The owner and crew discussed “what if” scenarios, including possibly
having to manhandle or restrain the captain if he became violent, but it never
came to that.
As they neared the Cape Verdes, the captain said that he felt unable to find his
way home alone, so the owner contacted the captain’s wife, but she was unwilling to
come and get him, stating that “the boat owner is responsible for him.” Eventually
the owner contacted the captain’s national embassy in Mindelo, which to everyone’s
relief “dealt with it perfectly.” A representative was waiting on the dock when they
arrived and the embassy repatriated the captain.
february 2020 CARIBBEAN COMPAss pAGE 40
sarah steenland
I recently spoke with a cruising yacht owner who had just completed his third Atlantic
crossing under sail. He and his wife and the other four crewmembers for the westbound
passage had known each other for over a decade. The owner was an experienced ocean
racer; the others had varying degrees of sailing or motorboating experience.
Since this crossing was to be the bluewater shakedown cruise for a brand-new
French-built catamaran, none of the other crew had ocean-passage experience, and
the owner’s passage-making skills were rusty, he also decided to also take a paid
professional captain. He chose an experienced captain in his 50s with excellent references,
one whom he’d worked with previously and liked.
But warning signs began coming up. First, the captain insisted that he had to meet
his family in the Caribbean on a specific date, which would make a very tight time
frame. When boarding the boat the captain commented that he hadn’t been sleeping
well and asked for sleep aids. The owner, whose wife is a medical professional, said
they didn’t keep any aboard because they wanted everyone to be alert.
The day after departure from the Canary Islands, the captain suddenly announced,
“I’m having depression. I don’t think I can do this. I want to get off.” The owner told
him to take the day off and get some sleep. But when the captain resumed duties he
began making bad decisions on the helm. A day or so later, he said, “I’m anxious.
I’m afraid I’m going to run off the back of the boat and kill myself.” Then the captain
started to get aggressive, demanding Xanax, which they didn’t have, and insisting on
an immediate helicopter rescue or that a tanker come get him and carry him to the
nearest port, neither of which was possible.
The owner says, “It became laser clear that when you are on a 45-foot island and
the guy at the top of the chain of command is incapacitated you need a clear plan.”
The owner conferred with the rest of the crew and the decision was made to divert
Compass Cartoon
The day after departure the captain
announced, ‘I don’t think I can do this.’
The owner said, “The big takeaway for me was that even if you are careful about
crew selection you have to think about the worst-case scenarios. I’d dealt with all
sorts of boat breakdowns but never a mental breakdown. There’s always some anxiety
when going to sea, and that’s natural, but this was an extreme case. It brings up
more questions than answers. Is it worth having anti-anxiety medication in your
boat kit? When do you ‘prescribe’? Do you divert or abort the trip, or carry on?
“My wife and I were lucky that this happened early in the crossing, and we had a
fairly convenient diversion port and good friends with some boating experience
onboard. Imagine if we were completely inexperienced and this had happened a
thousand miles offshore.”
The Atlantic crossing on the new boat was ultimately successful. The owner
reports, “After signing the captain off we never considered abandoning the trip. It
was a solidarity decision; we had a crew discussion and we all felt ready to do it.
After this experience we all trusted each other one hundred percent.”