5 expert tips: How to be a yacht’s watch leader

Pete Cumming shares tips for being a great watch leader with Andy Rice

Although he’s the crew boss and watch captain of 100ft Maxi yacht Scallywag in his own right, Pete Cumming is always eager to learn from the best. After operating as a driver/trimmer on board Volvo 70 Tschüss 2’s line honours victory in the Transatlantic Race 2025 in June, he was inspired by the calm leadership of watch captains Neal McDonald and Stu Bannatyne.

“Neal and Stu are really good at making sure everyone on the boat is connected with the decision-making process, which keeps everyone motivated and all pushing towards the same objective. Which might seem really obvious, but I’ve been on plenty of boats where the front end of the boat has no idea what the people at the back are thinking.

“The moment Neal or Stu come off watch, they’re checking in with the navigator, Campbell Field, just getting an overview of what’s going on before they go to sleep. Are there going to be any sails challenges coming up in the next four hours while they’re off?”

Done right, the watch captain spans many roles, from co-ordinating the boat handling up on deck to making sure everybody on their watch is physically and mentally able to work to their best within a demanding and maybe even sometimes hostile working environment.

Here are Pete’s five key tips for being the best watch captain you can be.

Staying in the loop

I think it was Brad Butterworth who said that when a team breaks down, lunatics start running the asylum.

When there’s no communication through the boat, and maybe a lack of trust, you get in situations when the crew suddenly decide they’re going to call the gybe because the navigator’s asleep and you don’t want to disturb him. With the seasoned pros this lack of comms is never allowed to happen.

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It’s the watch captain’s job to make sure the chain of communication is always operating smoothly. Splinter groups develop on boats all the time, but if you can work with the navigator and the guys on deck so that everyone’s got buy-in to the strategy and the decision-making process, it makes the world of difference to the atmosphere on board, and ultimately to the team’s performance.

Earn respect

To be an effective watch captain you’ve got to earn the respect of the people around you, and that generally only comes with experience, a sense of competence and a good deal of self-confidence without arrogance.
If someone questions you, you’ve got to be able to cope with that and not look weak with your decision-making. Sometimes there can be big egos on board and you have to be able to stand your ground. You also need to lead from the front and occasionally show the guys that you’re prepared to get your hands dirty and do a tough or unpleasant job yourself.

That said, it’s important to choose the right moment. Don’t go down a rabbit hole of trying to get one small job done if that takes your attention away from the big picture. That’s your main job. Ultimately you’ve got to have good knowledge of most areas on the boat, without being an expert at everything, which is why watch captains tend to be recruited from the middle of the boat – a trimmer or someone who’s worked in the pit area who’s connected to the front and the back of the boat and understands the challenges of both ends.

Questions, not commands

A good watch captain empowers his team to make their own decisions, to run their own part of the boat as best they can. You have to be able to ask questions of each other, to check in on each other and ask for thoughts and ideas rather than pretending that you’ve got all the answers.

Stu and Neal are brilliant on watch and they might ask me: “Pedro, question for you: is the staysail over-trimmed? I’ll leave it with you.” It’s not an order, it’s a prompt. So I’ll go forward and I’ll see if the staysail needs a bit of an ease. They’re very good at empowering every team member to make their own decisions.

Keep it fun

Sometimes you can forget why you’re out there. We do this because it’s fun, and it has to be fun for all the crew. You might be capable of extracting the best performance in the world, but if you’re a miserable bugger you can shut that watch down pretty quickly. It reaches a point where everyone just counts down the minutes until they can go off watch.

Don’t be that person. Keep it fun, maintain an open dialogue where everyone feels comfortable talking to everyone else and enjoying each other’s company.

Have a quiet word

If there’s a bad atmosphere, as a watch captain you need to get to the root of the problem quickly. If someone is playing up or not fitting in with the team for whatever reason, the worst thing you can do is try and shame that person in front of the crew. It’s not always easy to find a place on board to have a quiet word with them, but that’s the way to approach it.

Find your moment to hear what they’ve got to say, because sometimes the reason for the upset can be completely different to what you might have imagined. Most people will appreciate the fact you’ve tackled the problem head on.

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