The towing was a fairly simple procedure and they could maintain a safe distance. Transporting crew between ships on the high sea would be a dangerous and complex task. They might not even have the equipment for it.
I have a question. this is going to be a really uninformed question but keep in mind my knowledge of boat transfers come from movies and I don’t consider Pirates of the Caribbean authoritative on the topic.
What makes it so difficult, and what sort of special equipment is required?
I know, I know, cargo nets on the side of the ship are not going to be sufficient, easy as it looks in pop entertainment, I just don’t know why.
You can get an idea of the challenge by searching Youtube for videos of "pilot transfer" -- keeping in mind that pilot boats are intended to be boarded from, and container ships intended to be boarded by pilots.
(But then again, Gotheborg is surely equipped to take on pilots to enter harbours, so it was probably more about not abandoning the otherwise perfectly good sailboat.)
Need to get close enough that someone can go between without a wave throwing the big one into the small one.
Which is why “touch and go” between ships of equal size was considered a test of skill and a bit risky, normally they’d drop a rowboat or dingy. A tiny boat can’t really be crushed as it just bumps out of the way.
