Gilligan wrote:
Leave the wife home.

She wants to sail.

Obviously she can not contribute to the solution of the
problem, she can only make matters worse.

Because he doesn't have the patience or whatever to communicate the
workings properly.
Just think of what might have
happened if someone was injured or quick action was needed to prevent
catastrophe.

He would have fallen apart.

The icing on the cake is to mention to her how lonely her retirement will be
when you are out sailing the world - without her.

No...for Christmas he should buy her sailing lessons with a female
instrictor or a male instructor with a ;ot of experience teaching women
and children..and the daughter should go, too/ I did not learn to sail
by being taught by my husband. He assumed too much. And when I got it
wrong he ye;;ed. So I sought out others with a lot of sailing experience
and began sailing on their boats. Funny how other people are loathe to
yell at you on their boats. The constraints of pioliteness with someone
elses wife helps a lot. (And their wife will crawl all over them if they
yell at you.)

I do not understand why men are expected to cater to women's emotionally
driven whims and are expected to "apologize" for not understanding.

He acted like an asshole. If he doesn't apologize just what do you
think the consequences at home will be? I suppose there are some men who
prefer the vouch for life.
Why
aren't women expected to understand men?

They do. That's the problem.

Why is it assumed that women are so
handicapped?

Men make this assumption. It makes them feel manly and strong. Goes
back to the cave days. The genetics haven't been wiped out yet.

Why must men yield to this emotional terrorism?

Because they like warm bodies...

Women are wired for dealing with children, other women and some family
matters.

Dealing with children means a woman deals with every aspect of life:
danger, illness, transportation, education, feeding, clothing, caring,
emergencies, disasters, household management. ALl the things you need
to deal with when sailing.

Men are wired for dealing with the external world - things such as
attacking beasts, danger, dinosaurs, thugs, science, sailing and the like.

You've never seen my mother go after a snake with a hoe. Or my
grandmother after a fox that got into her chickens. You are making
incorrect suppositions here. Women face beasts all day. They face the
external world everyday when they have to deal with teachers, the
pharmacist, the doctor, and the repairmen who come to the hoise to fix
ehatever her husband can't.

In your situation there was a conflict between the manly world and the
woman's world. It looks like the costliest solution won.

Bunk.....

It is unfortunate that the great and powerful mind of that Master Mariner
Capt Neal is not here to contribute further on this subject. I am certain
that he would add brilliant insight.

And thank God for that...