As a fairly new sailor, I'm constantly surprised by how many women have been turned off to sailing and have stories of being out with husbands and boyfriends who yell and are impatient. I use my boat for dating and the first thing I do is put my date at the wheel and have her maneuver under power, then later under sail. It's an empowering thing and probably the easiest job on the boat, so long as I'm watching for potential hazards. When it comes time to tack, I provide simple instructions and she takes control of the process; She determines when to initiate the tack and informs me accordingly. If she blows the tack, I smile and we both laugh. We get the boat back underway and then discuss why that didn't work so well.
To Ron's point, gentleness and patience is an aphrodisiac. Maybe that's why some guys yell so much on boats - they're "frustrated!" And I don't mean about the sailing.
Other rule for me is, never blog about the times I'm out with women. What happens on the water...