" wrote in
oups.com:

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.


For those sailor lurkers on the newsgroup....This is why you don't REALLY
need a boat of your own. Sailing with just an incompetent wife, most of
whom are NOT interested in playing captain-for-a-watch anyways, is fairly
foolhardy. Oh, they get away with it a lot, as long as things don't turn
sour. Then, having some hands aboard who know how to sail, fix things,
navigate, etc., becomes invaluable.

It works great, by the way, once you get over the "Captain Syndrome".
You get to play captain for free...more than you want, actually...(c;

Larry, 3rd Mate - Deck and Engineering
--
When they call ME "captain", my response is:
"Oh, no! Your not blamin' ME for this! YOU'RE the captain!"