Like some of the other guys I have been blessed with a wife who enjoys sailing with me. That is not to say that if I fell off the earth tomorrow she would ever go sailing again and have Dauntless sold to the highest bidder by that afternoon!..but she does enjoy doing it together. Does she get a little nervous when the going gets rough? Yeah, she does, but as long as she seems to think that I have it under control she's cool with it. There are some things she just doesn't want to do. For instance, she'll take the helm all day long out in open water...put her at the entrance to a marina or in close company of other boats and she wants to get rid of the tiller like it's a hot potato. No big deal. I try not to ask her to do anything she's uncomfortable with. I have found that this approach, where she only does what she's comfortable with, has allowed her to gradually accept more and more of the sailing responsibility over the years we have sailed together, but totally at her own pace. That keeps it fun for her. My only observation/advice would be this. Don't yell. Sounds funny I know but I can't believe how many guys who would never think of yelling at their wife ashore, start barking out orders when they feel their own stress levels rising. I think that most don't even know that they are doing it and certainly don't mean any ill will by it. It just happens and it doesn't seem to get a very good reception from the spouse involved. A couple of outbursts per trip finds most guys with a wife who despises that freakin sailboat in the yard as it only represents an afternoon of ridicule and embarrassment for them. At that point your sailing career as a happy couple will probably be over. Keep it low key (I know it's hard sometimes..for me too!) She'll enjoy it more, feel like a worthwhile asset to the crew, get a sense of accomplishment and who knows before you know it....maybe she'll take the helm............................maybe! :-) Oh yes don't forget.....the "don't yell" thing includes when she's struggling with the trailer on the ramp. We've found that a set of FRS radios, one in the boat and one in the truck, allows very quiet "coaching" to be sent from the boat cockpit to the truck cab without any yelling or crazy gyrations. We've even gotten comments from spectators at the ramp about how smooth our launching process was. Little did they know that we were talking back and forth the entire time, just not yelling "Stop!!!" "Go!" "WHOA!" "LEFT" "Little More!!!" etc.etc. etc. hahaha (Dont get me wrong...we've had our bad days too!) That's my 37cents Have a great trip! Three cheers for all the gals out there that share the sail with us! Sean and Jo M23 "Dauntless" _www.havasumontgomerys.funtigo.com_ (http://www.havasumontgomerys.funtigo.com)
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