A Charter Skipper Reflects
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A CHARTER SKIPPER REFLECTS
Most people who have sailed extensively would agree that with its secluded anchorages, lack of traffic and stark scenery, the Western Isles of Scotland provide some of the finest cruising grounds in UK waters. There have been traditional boats chartering around these parts for decades. Currently there are several, including Eda Frandsen, a converted Danish seine netter, who continue to provide a really vibrant trad sailing scene. 2010 will be Eda’s 15th continuous charter season and after all that time on the water it is worth reflecting on the time spent chartering and all our neighbours who have come and gone over the years.
The careers of charter owners/skippers are remarkably similar. You acquire a boat and spend your first few years skippering while your hair either rapidly turns grey or falls out altogether. As the business grows you spend more time juggling accounts, marketing and the like with what you are better at, i.e. sailing. You then finally bite the bullet and start to employ crew. So now the boat has to turn over a lot more money to pay the crew and you can never quite forgive them for scuffing your beautiful varnish or puncturing your new dinghy. Finally as your last strands of hair flutter to the ground you come to the inescapable conclusion that the boat is running you and not the other way around as it should be. You then get rid of her as fast as you can and go in search of a proper job. If we look at the history and track record of previous owners, this process usually takes approximately 10 years.
So why is the boat not on the market at the moment even if my hair is falling out? 
I think I was lucky in the hard and stressful early years as I shared responsibility for Eda with my brother. When you have inevitably vastly overspent on your dream and you also have no idea really how to sail your own boat properly. Of course a boat is a boat and a sail is a sail but what can and cannot be asked of your pride and joy thus far remains a mystery and it takes time and a variety of conditions to learn. This, in conjunction with taking inexperienced sailors out at the same time, can definitely cause you to take stock and think “Am I really cut out for this?" The sharing allowed me to become fully at ease with my boat and the area that I sail, and to really enjoy what I was doing.
Over the years I have done my time employing crew and after all this I have to confess that yes, I am a little burnt out too, but it is not with constantly sharing your space with others. It is not the annual 4 month long refits and endless varnishing. It is not even with the continual gourmet food and a constant lack of aerobic exercise. I am burnt out with the telephone; managing the website and generally polishing a chair with my backside. So 15 years on, I will be coming back to sea, sailing the boat I love, in the area I love and doing what I do best: making the challenges of sailing a large traditional vessel in this area fun, rewarding and available to anybody. Eda is, I believe, unique in this respect where the creator, manager and skipper are one and the same person and will be still for a good while longer yet.......................
