Guest drinking underway - what's your rule?

[Mac2]

Maybe it's just me, but I don't have the same restrictions for my dinghy as I do the big boat. No alcohol while running the big boat, but almost mandatory when I get in the dinghy?! Still a boat. Same laws. Hmmmmm

 

[fletch]

None for me or wife underway, have never had anyone else onboard who was not responsible. Once anchored, anchor alarm set or moored, good to go. Even then, have never seen anyone getting stupid.

 

[Jmarsh203]

Maybe it's just me, but I don't have the same restrictions for my dinghy as I do the big boat. No alcohol while running the big boat, but almost mandatory when I get in the dinghy?! Still a boat. Same laws. Hmmmmm

I second those rules, unless fishing in the skiff, I’ve always been pretty serious about fishing so don’t drink while fishing in it.

 

[keith c]

In Louisiana an open container is allowed and the boat driver can drink but the .08 limit applies to the driver. The problem arises when you are at idle in the middle of an ocean and the jet ski T -bones your vessel. Both drivers are subject to the alcohol test and if either is over .08 = BWI !

 

[psneeld]

I just wonder how many have a beer/wine or two while out to dinner and drive home.

 

[O C Diver]

I don't drink till the boats tied to the dock or anchored for the night. Maybe it's just me, but I don't drink in somebody else's home, boat, or whatever until offered or invited to partake of my own. My guests are the same way. Not a rule just more of etiquette.

On my charter (scuba) boat, one or two beers was permissible, provided they understood they were done diving for the day.

Ted

 

[Pete Meisinger]

I don't drink, neither does the Admiral, just a personal choice thing.

When I invite guests on board for a short cruise or a weekend I always tell them, "If you want beer or wine or anything bring it along, we don't have anything on board".

It doesn't bother us if guests want alcohol. They are adults.

pete

 

[Shrew]

There is a world of difference between 'having a few drinks' and 'being drunk'. First off, I have no such rules for guests. However, I'm not going to have an obviously inebriated guest handling lines. That being said, we don't normally have guests on the boat unless we're out on anchor or in a slip. Our guests are typically other boat owners.

We have the occasional drink while underway. It's fairly rare since we mostly run the boat in the early morning, and I just don't feel like a drink at 7:00am. I have no problem stopping at a restaurant with a dock, having a few drinks at lunch then taking the boat back out again. However, I'm a 245lb male and we're talking about 2 drinks with food over about an hour or more.

 

[slowgoesit]

Or worse. I had taken some colleagues to dinner at Jack London Square in Oakland. Had a great time. One person uncharacteristically had too much to drink. When we got back to my slip, she stumbled getting off and fell overboard.

That was 26 years ago. We're now married. I think she's been drunk one other time since then.

Peter

Well, heck Peter, can you BLAME HER? 26 years ago, she had a little too much to drink, and look what happened!?!
Can't blame her for being a little gun shy about drinking since, can you?

 

[slowgoesit]

I just wonder how many have a beer/wine or two while out to dinner and drive home.

If we're out, and driving, no drinking for me, period, but that's just me.

On the boat, the bar is closed unless we're at the dock, or the hook is down for the night and the WX is good. YMMV

 

[Bkay]

My rule for guests is "if you drink, you must save one for the captain for when we're docked". It's non-negotiable!

 

[SteveK]

An aside. About twenty years ago a leo friend told me that he and some other off duty members went to the bar to conduct research with the newly issued breathalyzers.

They drank at a normal rate and blew after each drink, recorded same. They then stopped drinking and took readings I forget exactly but within an hour after to duplicate someone pulled over in a roadblock after having a few at the bar.

While I did not get a copy of the results he looked at me, my size and age and said I could get away with 6 drinks maybe 8 drinking over a two hour window. That was very surprising and he was serious. Body mass and time duration.

Sorry, but I think this discussion is way overblown when zero is the only PC option.
To answer a question, yes I will have 2-3 drinks over dinner and think nothing of driving home. So far 4 times blew in roadblocks and was told to carry on. No DUI on my record. Your results may vary.

 

[OldDan1943]

my reason no guest drinking while underway; I might need their help and I'd like them to sober at the time of great need.

 

[mvweebles]

An aside. About twenty years ago a leo friend told me that he and some other off duty members went to the bar to conduct research with the newly issued breathalyzers.

They drank at a normal rate and blew after each drink, recorded same. They then stopped drinking and took readings I forget exactly but within an hour after to duplicate someone pulled over in a roadblock after having a few at the bar.

While I did not get a copy of the results he looked at me, my size and age and said I could get away with 6 drinks maybe 8 drinking over a two hour window. That was very surprising and he was serious. Body mass and time duration.

Sorry, but I think this discussion is way overblown when zero is the only PC option.
To answer a question, yes I will have 2-3 drinks over dinner and think nothing of driving home. So far 4 times blew in roadblocks and was told to carry on. No DUI on my record. Your results may vary.

Attached chart showing BAC vs drinks in one hour (footnote says to subtract 0.015 for each hour). Tracks approximately with what your LEO friends observed.

My group of friends are a lively bunch and enjoy dinner parties and drinks/wine flow fairly freely. When I was in San Francisco, I probably had at least a half-dozen guests aboard at least a dozen times a year.; often more than a dozen, and frequently they were out of town guests. I'm a pretty laid back skipper, but idea of drinking seemed out of place. Not a PC thing at all. But then again, I was driving professionally then - I had a lot to lose with any infraction.

Peter

 

[SteveK]

Peter
Who said being overweight was a disadvantage. Yes that graph supports the .08 we used to have for 6 drinks, now at .05 down to 4-5.

 

[SteveK]

my reason no guest drinking while underway; I might need their help and I'd like them to sober at the time of great need.

Dan, are you drinking now?
It is to be sober, you are slurring your words.

 

[hmason]

My rule for guests is "if you drink, you must save one for the captain for when we're docked". It's non-negotiable!

We have a similar rule. First person to use the head cleans it at the end of the trip!

 

[tiltrider1]

I think this kind of discussion is dangerous and could possibly be used against you in the future.

I have no comment on this subject.

 

[SteveK]

I think this kind of discussion is dangerous and could possibly be used against you in the future.

I have no comment on this subject.

Thus the reason there are only non drinkers posting.

 

[psneeld]

Not at all...a few here know their limits and imbibe as limits and common sense applies.

Anyone should know that there are way many other factors with the human body like fatigue, prescription medicine, stress, etc, etc that are as debilitating to reaction time and judgement as drinking.

So boating under the influences of many perfectly politically correct debilitators vs alcohol is so common and apparent to me it's comical. I see my friends pull the same "oh I never this or that" and I know fully they are full of it.

The trick is to know your limits and unfortunately many seem to not have that ability and make the rest of us look bad.

 

[Portage_Bay]

Thoughts re drinking at anchor

Many here have said drinking is allowed once at anchor but not underway. I agree with that. However it's got me to thinking regarding alcohol and risks while at anchor vs underway. It is really safer to drink at anchor than underway? In some respects yes. Drinking underway could impair my judgement regarding navigation, collision avoidance and close quarters maneuvering. But being anchored carries risks as well. Fire, flooding, falling overboard or unexpected bad weather coming up and dragging the hook? I've had some anchor dragging episodes that had I been impaired would not have gone well.

Like some here have honestly noted I'll have a drink or two with a meal then drive home. Given the higher speeds and less room for error in driving a car if I judge that personal behavior to be OK then what could be wrong with a beer with my lunch while underway on a calm summer day?

I too have the rule of the no drinks underway. But does it make sense? For me part of the reasoning is old habits from the zero tolerance rules from my professional years.

It think in the end it comes down to knowing my limits and being very conservative in observing same. Another factor is the comfort of those with me. All who I boat with expect me to not drink and drive. It's important to them so it's important to me.

 

[OldDan1943]

Dan, are you drinking now?
It is to be sober, you are slurring your words.

Between being hard of hearing and walking with a cane, I just forego drinking on the beach unless I am staying at a local hotel.

 

[O C Diver]

Many here have said drinking is allowed once at anchor but not underway. I agree with that. However it's got me to thinking regarding alcohol and risks while at anchor vs underway. It is really safer to drink at anchor than underway? In some respects yes. Drinking underway could impair my judgement regarding navigation, collision avoidance and close quarters maneuvering. But being anchored carries risks as well. Fire, flooding, falling overboard or unexpected bad weather coming up and dragging the hook? I've had some anchor dragging episodes that had I been impaired would not have gone well.
.

Episodes?

If this was your boat dragging as opposed to somebody else's boat, and you think there’s a probability of it happening again, how would you ever get to sleep?

I'm a member of the 7:1 scope club. If my boat ever drug anchor after being set, something would have to be corrected or I'd be tying it to docks.

Ted

 

[Hippocampus]

Scientifically I know any amount of sleep deprivation or ingestion of any intoxicant increases time to an appropriate response. Also increases tolerance to potentially unsafe behavior. The limits codified by various agencies are based on estimates of when that impairment reaches levels to be manifestly excessively unsafe. You have a glow you’re not at your best.

Some neurosurgeons will often intake no caffeine for a day or so before surgery as caffeine can increase tremor. Trivial amounts of ethanol can suppress tremor. But in an effort to bring their best to the OR would rather avoid both agents.
I love single malts and experimenting with the diversity of them. Still I run a dry boat while underway. . Think there’s enough enjoyment in the activity it doesn’t need any enhancement. I got into big trouble with this once. Unbeknownst to me one of my crew was a alcoholic. I state my no intoxicant policy while vetting crew. Apparently he hid nips in his kit. But was not alone frequently enough to imbibe. He went into full D.T.s halfway through the passage. We had some lousy weather during the first half so a watch stander with a second napping in the cockpit to help if needed. Time below was eating and sleeping. I treated the acute event but then took him off the watch rotation and allowed him to drink at a low level to prevent further withdrawal events or symptoms but not even enough to get a glow. He was terribly embarrassed and the atmosphere in the boat was strained.
Believe boat US published a break down of deaths during boating. Don’t recall exactly but think alcohol was involved in most.
I like my scotch. Wife likes her Prosecco. When just us two or with people over when on the boat one of us limits ourselves to one. That way one of us will smell that weird smell, or hear that new noise or sense that change in motion that clues you in at night something is up and needs to be checked out.
Same reason I’ve given up on shotgun season. You maybe nowhere near legal limits but your judgment is impaired. Even if your aim is minimally effected. See too many empty nips and beer cans in the woods now.

 

[Portage_Bay]

Episodes?

If this was your boat dragging as opposed to somebody else's boat, and you think there’s a probability of it happening again, how would you ever get to sleep?

I'm a member of the 7:1 scope club. If my boat ever drug anchor after being set, something would have to be corrected or I'd be tying it to docks.
Ted

Seems a harsh condemnation without knowing the full circumstances of what we experienced and how we managed the situation. While cruising Cholmonedeley Sound on the east side of Price of Wales Island Ak. We experienced 3 days of stronger than forecast winds. Full gale or better the entire time. Gusts to the upper 50 kts.

First episode was my boat dragging towards the beach. We'd anchored in Sunny Cove because the winds were southerly and Sunny Cove is well sheltered open to the east with a very short fetch to the south of the entrance to the cove. Turns out that the holding wasn't as good as could be. The anchor held from late afternoon through the wee hours so we picked up the hook about 5 AM just before sunrise and moved to Lancaster Cove.

Lancaster Cove has good protection to the south and good holding ground. Also room to drag north if that should happen. We held fine over the next two days but sail boat came in and anchored upwind of us. About 0.1 nm upwind. No real concern initially but he started dragging towards us. It got very close before we got his attention and got it all sorted out.

As to how we managed it, we were 3 aboard and kept anchor watch the entire time monitoring radar, GPS and visual bearings during daylight. The night watch we took in 3 hr shifts. Sometimes it's just not a good idea for all to go to bed and sleep through the night.

Since this is a thread on guests drinking aboard here's the linkage. Had my cruising partners gotten drunk we'd have a hard time managing the situations. I needed their help.

 

[O C Diver]

Seems a harsh condemnation without knowing the full circumstances of what we experienced and how we managed the situation.

Sorry you saw my post as harsh. Maybe if you had originally indicated the dragging was under exceptional circumstances, I wouldn't have responded as I did.

In 7 years of cruising, I have seen more than 10 boats drag anchor, 2 having collisions with other boats. Thats 10+ with under 30 knots of wind. It infuriates me when people treat it as just one of those things that happens.

Ted

 

[Portage_Bay]

Understood. And thank you for responding.

 

[Juggerknot]

Someone on another thread mentioned they do not allow passengers to drink while underway --- period. When I was delivering, I had a zero-tolerance policy for anyone aboard (including owners - was in my contract).

But when hosting friends for a day out on the water, while my wife and I won't drink while underway, I don't care what my friends do as long as no one gets sloppy drunk. As a matter of fact, hard to imagine a nice afternoon watching Blue Angels; or 4th of July fireworks, etc. without some libation.

So what is your policy about drinking underway? Zero tolerance? Moderation? Other?

Peter

As long as they can still hit the head and don't puke in the salon, they are free to pour to their hearts desire =)

 

[Mark Laurnen]

Legality aside, accidents do happen. Should a drinking guest go overboard without a life vest on, and be injured, I know many wealthy lawyers who are always looking for an opportunity to become more wealthy. I'm a vocal proponent of life vests, unobtrusive inflatables, for everyone, at all times. While working for years at Roche Harbor resort in my youth, I was witness to many escapades, some alcohol fueled and some not. Perhaps this could be more of a cold water issue as many sober people cant seem to swim in the waters of the Pacific Northwest. Perhaps I'm overly cautious, I hope that I never find out.

 

[timb7734]

Booze on board underway

No booze, no way, no how, until the boat is securely tied up for the night.