Some Thoughts On Crew Wage Penalties

by John K. Fulweiler, WindCheck Magazine
You should read William F. Buckley, Jr. Take a dose of saltwater if need be, but his visceral love of sailing is an elixir for what wee fatuousness burrs up the sailing soul. For Bill, the love of the heel and the luff and sheen of spray is what brought him to the water. He didn’t need the newest or fanciest hull, just some sail and stretch of water. It was the voyage and timeless miracle of moving with the wind that proved satisfying, not a lacquered rail’s lusciousness or a photo-shoot styled cockpit.

I walk through museum-sized houses and pad down lengths of teak deck wondering to myself: “What’s the point?” As a youth, people lived. Big houses had scrambles of dogs and big boats were used and knocked around and slathered with salty brine. Nowadays it seems so much is all about the show and less the tell because what adventures and memories do you make aboard a jewelry box? Sure looks good at the dock, but that’s not much of a recollection to swaddle yourself in when the boat’s gone and you’re counting sunsets.

My point is, sail the stuffing out of your steed. Don’t pine for the larger or newer because it’s still the same wind and punch of sun. The tide will still set you down and a morning’s sunrise will get you up and maybe your kid’s toothy grin will scar enough neurons to leave a memory you can ride when you’re not out there anymore. Sure beats riding the dock.

And for my part (aside from sailing), what I’ll do is keep chasing the owners of these floating monoliths who can’t seem to pay their crew. I like that work because the cases are typically quick and neat and resolutions yield prompt justice that’s sometimes lost in larger lawsuits. Not paying your crew is incredible to me, but if you’ve spent anytime around big boat boating you’ll know about the “big hat, no cattle” malady that seems to afflict some of that crowd.

Swim your way far enough through the federal law, and you’ll come across a statute that provides an escalating penalty when a crewmember isn’t paid in a timely fashion. – WindCheck Magazine, full story