"Gerard Weatherby" wrote in message
...

Need to work on our communication skills a bit. While the engine running
much
cooler due to vastly improved water flow, the Admiral had trouble getting
the
choke and throttle setting right. She wasn't able to get it above idle
without
it starting to stall. I ran back to cockpit, set throttle and gas it up
to
crusing RPM, look up and find that she's let go of the tiller to grab boat
hook
to fend hitting another boat!

Heh last year I had some communication problems with the first mate.

Before going forward, I gave her the tiller and said "Hold it there". A
few seconds later the boat veered off course. I calmly asked her to get
back on course. Over the next couple of days the same thing happend again
twice.

The fourth time that it happened, my patience gave out. I exploded with
"CAN YOU NOT hold the F*&^&*g thing where I ask you to?". My wife replied
that she had held it exactly where I had left it. She was looking at the
tiller as she said this.... and indeed she had not let the tiller move at
all.

The lesson is that instructions have to be unambiguous. To me "hold it
there" means "keep the boat on this heading". To an inexperienced crew
"hold it there" means "hold it there".


I apologised for shouting, and considered my good luck in having a wife who
will come sailing with me.



Regards

Donal
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