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Sunday, March 31, 2019

Pet Peeves of boat life



The snow is slowly melting off my sailboat and I’m giving some thoughts to getting back out on the water.

There are some common things among the boating community that drive me nuts. Take your normal boating couple. Some men will never give up the helm. You see them there sitting at the helm, maybe smoking a cigar, shouting orders. The female part of the crew has to run around the boat doing things like dropping anchor and tossing lines.

The man may be 250 pounds of muscle, but his 100 pound companion has to do the heavy anchor and line work. Wouldn’t it make more sense for the big strong guy to do the heavy work? The only problem is that he’d never let her take the helm. That’s his job and no way will he give his position of authority and power.

That sort of male attitude occasional proves fatal. Picture this. The guy has a few beers and decides to relieve himself over the stern and falls overboard. (That’s actually a really common accident.) Suddenly the little lady is left all alone on the boat. She’s never had to control the boat before and has no idea what to do. Hours may go by before she flags down help or figures out how to use the radio. Her male companion is lost as sea.

Then some guys think a woman is on board to do all the domestic work. It’s different on a boat. For example, few boats have washer and dryers. You might end up having to walk a mile from your anchorage to the laundromat. You’d think the least the guy could do is to carry the bag of dirty laundry. It’s same thing with provisioning. It could be a long hike back from the store.

Then these same guys wonder why their women don’t like boating. Sometimes the first time they get back to shore they take a cab to the airport and fly home. Those same guys will tell me how lucky I am that my lovely wife is willing to go sailing with me. Oh yeah, they also make fun of me for doing most of the cooking on the boat. They don’t make the connection that perhaps that why my lovely wife sails with me. She also gets all the time on the helm that she wants.

Not only will she go sailing with me, she’ll turn the boat back around to pick me up.

-Sixbears

6 comments:

  1. A few of the guys they find floating may have keel marks.

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  2. My lovely lady for a long time was afraid to take the helm and preferred to play deck monkey. After a while she became more sure of herself and played captain too.
    Most women don't like boats because it's not a three thousand sq foot house !
    If you and your significant other want to try sailing and living aboard. Just move with them into the bathroom of your house for a month. Live, sleep and cook in that small space together for that time.
    You survive without divorce...go sailing.

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  3. Men that never let women helm the boat have about the same IQ as an autopilot... :-))

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  4. The same for RV's. I have friends that would never let their wife drive the RV. For me and my wife she wanted to drive (TT, 5th wheels Class A's and Class B's and I wanted her to so I could relax and enjoy the trip and the sights. The only time she didn't want to was when we were getting into a big town with lot's of traffic and crazy drivers.

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  5. I don't have a boat but my wife refuses to drive my diesel pusher RV.

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  6. Those couples that share the helm will be the ones to share the fun later! That's my thoughts, anyway.

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