Wives ARE the best.! How to keep 'em aboard!
The Admiral thought it would be a good idea for us to have a newer, bigger, nicer boat to celebrate our Thirtieth Anniversary. Though she had never sailed when I met her, she is now most often the one who is first to suggest that the homestead chores will keep...the weather won't...so, let's go sailing. Thus, I thought I might have something to contribute on the subject of how to help convert a 'lubber into a sailor. It is a hackneyed, but viable and genderless concept...Respect. Respect their fears (they may actually be more firmly attached to reality than you). If they think the boat is heeling too much, reef... you'll probably end up going faster anyway. If they think its too rough, offer to go back in if they want. The sense that they are not trapped aboard adds to their confidence in the boat and in you. Respect their comfort. Being cold, bruised, sore, aching and seasick does not make you a better sailor. If that defines fun for you, it makes you a masochist. Respect their intellegence. Knowing the definition of every nautical term is not essential to having fun or to making the boat move. Understanding the physics of laminar flow, lift, drag and the geometry of vectors may float your boat, but most people could care less. If you insist on sharing your testimony, your presence will be as welcome as a street-corner evangelist in a hair shirt shouting to the sky. Respect their feelings. Shouting corrections is insulting, even when necessary to be heard over the wind and water. Tell them what they need to know about what you want them to do before they go to the other end of the boat. Warn them that you will have to shout corrections due to your poor and inadequate instructions and apologize beforehand. Respect their leisure. We sail for fun. If they have the responsibility for cooking at home, they probably will not think that being a galley slave in a cramped, bouncing, inadequate kitchen is much fun. If you are guy, buy a gas grill, become proficient and brag a lot about your prowess. It will enhance your stature in the boating community. If you are single, it is better than than any pherome mother nature ever conceived at attracting the opposite sex. If you are married, it will raise her status among her friends and she WILL be appreciative and reward you. If you are a gal, develop one uncommon, delicious, EASY, kick-butt recipe that can be prepared over a candle with nothing but dust, rust, bilgewater and 5200. You will be welcome at any gathering. If you are afflicted with a male significant other of dubious intellegence, you will elevate him in the pecking order of his tribe and he will be more managable. If you are blessed with a respectful soulmate, it will provide many opportunities for mutual happiness. Respect their independance. They don't 'have' to be taught everthing about sailing by you. They don't need to learn what they need or want to know at the precise time that you think that they do. When they think they need to learn something from you, they will ask. If you refrain from answering questions with thirty minute expositions and keep it short, simple and in thier plain, native language, they will ask you more often. Novice sailors are not lost, they are driven away. Fair winds and smooth sailing,
