No potshots from me, but a couple of comments that I hope are
constructive.

We're taking
the Captain's classes beginning in a couple of weeks. That won't make
us better sailors, necessarily, but it will add to our skillsets.

The USCG tests for licenses assume that you have proven to be
experienced and competent in the service that you are testing for and
to a large extent just attempt to make sure there are no gaping holes
in your knowledge. Courses for the licenses tend to assume much the
same and cover a lot of ground very quickly. I wonder if it might not
be more appropriate to look at classes intended for novices rather
than professionals.

she tells folks, now,
that she wasn't in condition to stand watch, but didn't fetch me to
either take over or assist. We'll not make that mistake again.

This is critical. I've had two acquaintances die because their less
competent partners failed to wake them in difficult conditions. In
one case the boat was run down by a tow and in the other dragged onto
a lee shore. The husbands and their boats were lost in a large part
because their wives wanted to let them rest. I continually remind my
crew that she must wake me whenever she has any questions or doubts
and I try very hard to praise her each time she calls me even though
most calls are false alarms. Sleep management and watch
responsibility may be the hardest part of sailing short handed.

-- Tom.