I have been asked to give my views on this matter as part of a magazine feature, which will publish all sides of the matter. There will also be views from a Charter Skipper and the MCA, and this could form the basis of discussions with the MCA to make the law / regulations clearer to understand for all.
Please keep this civil and do not use it to argue with, or insult someone who may have a different point of view, as I hope to get input from charter skippers, boat owners, and boat anglers who do not have their own boat but may go out with mates, on charters or with boat owners looking for crew for the day in exchange for a contribution towards fuel costs.
When I bought my latest boat over 6 years ago, I decided I would like to find guys that would be able to regularly accompany me for the day for both inshore and offshore trips, whenever I wanted to go. My personal circle of friends did not include enough anglers that were able to go when I wanted to go and I decided to ask the members of WSF if I occasionally needed one or two people to make up the crew for a trip.
There were several benefits.
1) Two or three other people on the boat meant that if I were to have an accident or health problem then there would be somebody able to get help or take the boat back in.
2) An average wrecking trip could easily cost me £100+ in fuel, and a couple of others contributing towards this would mean that I could possibly go out more often (although the British weather has put paid to that!). It would be rare that anyone coming out with me would even contribute an equal share with me of the fuel cost (it would usually be less), but any contribution would help. I have only ever been interested in a contribution towards the days running costs, and not the overall cost of running my boat. If that were case then every time anyone came out with me they would probably need to give me about £300! Each person would be responsible for providing their own bait or lures, although as anyone that has come fishing with me will testify I usually end up lending or giving quite a few of my own away.
3) It would introduce new people to boat fishing that probably would not want to go out on a charter for the first time for fear of showing themselves up, by either being ill or not having a clue what to do. With only 3 or 4 of us on the boat we could all help any newbie, and if someone was really ill then they could be taken back to shore without affecting ten or more others. Hopefully these new boat anglers would enjoy the experience so much that they would then become regular buddies that I could call on to help make up a crew at short notice. I can not remember a single person so far that has said that they never want to go boat fishing again, and most are now regulars on charter boats, so it seems to have worked!
4) Fishing on your own is not only dangerous but for most of us having one or two others to chat to makes the day far more enjoyable, as well the fact that sharing advice and methods helps to improve your own success rate.
5) Teaching others what I have learned from over 40 years of boat angling and boat handling would hopefully give them a better idea of whether they would have the skills needed to skipper their own boat, before just buying one and setting to sea with no experience. It is impossible to learn what you need to know in a day or two of classroom training and a few hours on a 'school' boat. I have also shown numerous other boat anglers who already have their own boats how I plot, and anchor wrecks and other marks safely and effectively. This improves their own experience and success.
Over the past six years although only probably averaging a dozen trips a year out on my own boat I have introduced many people to boat angling that had never done it before, hopefully helped quite a few existing boat owners to make their own fishing more productive, made dozens of new friends, raised a few thousand pounds for various charities (usually the RNLI), managed to find new PB's and firsts for almost everyone that has come out on Sea Mistress, and enjoyed myself immensely while doing so. The small amount contributed by those that have fished with me (usually £10-35) each has obviously helped with the fuel cost, but as anyone who has their own boat will know, that is a drop in the ocean compared to the true cost of owning the boat. I estimate that my boat has cost me personally around £700 per trip when storage, maintenance, electronics and the cost of buying it are taken into consideration.
18 Months ago I started the Boat Buddies thread on here so that all those that wanted to do something similar could do so. To date there have been around 100 boat owners that have made use of this, and although feedback is limited I hope that most have those have now found people that they can call friends that they fish with regularly. The fact that some of these will help towards the cost of the day financially or in other ways, maybe helping with maintenance, storage etc is irrelevant. The main thing is that these people will hopefully all be enjoying their boating more than ever now.
However I know that there are some people out there that are a danger to themselves, never mind others, and I would always urge anyone that has any reservations about crewing for someone with dubious boat handling skills, a poorly maintained boat or no safety equipment not to go with them. Anyone asking for payment that is clearly above what could be considered a contribution should also be ignored. There is no substitute for a properly qualified skipper, and coded boat, but I believe there is also a place for responsible boat owners to share their day with others for a little help with the costs.
Please discuss:thumbs:
Please keep this civil and do not use it to argue with, or insult someone who may have a different point of view, as I hope to get input from charter skippers, boat owners, and boat anglers who do not have their own boat but may go out with mates, on charters or with boat owners looking for crew for the day in exchange for a contribution towards fuel costs.
When I bought my latest boat over 6 years ago, I decided I would like to find guys that would be able to regularly accompany me for the day for both inshore and offshore trips, whenever I wanted to go. My personal circle of friends did not include enough anglers that were able to go when I wanted to go and I decided to ask the members of WSF if I occasionally needed one or two people to make up the crew for a trip.
There were several benefits.
1) Two or three other people on the boat meant that if I were to have an accident or health problem then there would be somebody able to get help or take the boat back in.
2) An average wrecking trip could easily cost me £100+ in fuel, and a couple of others contributing towards this would mean that I could possibly go out more often (although the British weather has put paid to that!). It would be rare that anyone coming out with me would even contribute an equal share with me of the fuel cost (it would usually be less), but any contribution would help. I have only ever been interested in a contribution towards the days running costs, and not the overall cost of running my boat. If that were case then every time anyone came out with me they would probably need to give me about £300! Each person would be responsible for providing their own bait or lures, although as anyone that has come fishing with me will testify I usually end up lending or giving quite a few of my own away.
3) It would introduce new people to boat fishing that probably would not want to go out on a charter for the first time for fear of showing themselves up, by either being ill or not having a clue what to do. With only 3 or 4 of us on the boat we could all help any newbie, and if someone was really ill then they could be taken back to shore without affecting ten or more others. Hopefully these new boat anglers would enjoy the experience so much that they would then become regular buddies that I could call on to help make up a crew at short notice. I can not remember a single person so far that has said that they never want to go boat fishing again, and most are now regulars on charter boats, so it seems to have worked!
4) Fishing on your own is not only dangerous but for most of us having one or two others to chat to makes the day far more enjoyable, as well the fact that sharing advice and methods helps to improve your own success rate.
5) Teaching others what I have learned from over 40 years of boat angling and boat handling would hopefully give them a better idea of whether they would have the skills needed to skipper their own boat, before just buying one and setting to sea with no experience. It is impossible to learn what you need to know in a day or two of classroom training and a few hours on a 'school' boat. I have also shown numerous other boat anglers who already have their own boats how I plot, and anchor wrecks and other marks safely and effectively. This improves their own experience and success.
Over the past six years although only probably averaging a dozen trips a year out on my own boat I have introduced many people to boat angling that had never done it before, hopefully helped quite a few existing boat owners to make their own fishing more productive, made dozens of new friends, raised a few thousand pounds for various charities (usually the RNLI), managed to find new PB's and firsts for almost everyone that has come out on Sea Mistress, and enjoyed myself immensely while doing so. The small amount contributed by those that have fished with me (usually £10-35) each has obviously helped with the fuel cost, but as anyone who has their own boat will know, that is a drop in the ocean compared to the true cost of owning the boat. I estimate that my boat has cost me personally around £700 per trip when storage, maintenance, electronics and the cost of buying it are taken into consideration.
18 Months ago I started the Boat Buddies thread on here so that all those that wanted to do something similar could do so. To date there have been around 100 boat owners that have made use of this, and although feedback is limited I hope that most have those have now found people that they can call friends that they fish with regularly. The fact that some of these will help towards the cost of the day financially or in other ways, maybe helping with maintenance, storage etc is irrelevant. The main thing is that these people will hopefully all be enjoying their boating more than ever now.
However I know that there are some people out there that are a danger to themselves, never mind others, and I would always urge anyone that has any reservations about crewing for someone with dubious boat handling skills, a poorly maintained boat or no safety equipment not to go with them. Anyone asking for payment that is clearly above what could be considered a contribution should also be ignored. There is no substitute for a properly qualified skipper, and coded boat, but I believe there is also a place for responsible boat owners to share their day with others for a little help with the costs.
Please discuss:thumbs: