BoatBanter.com - View Single Post

Jere Lull

On 2008-02-10 22:27:57 -0500, said:

She is so busy doing what she shouldn't be doing that she allows the
boat to jibe nearly knocking me into the water. I have had it, she is a
menace to everybody around her on the boat.

I have come to the unfortunate conclusion that she simply should not be
on a boat. Oddly, my daughters seem to do very well. Yes, I am
responsible for what happens on my boat and part of that responsibility
is keeping the inept from hurting others.

There's a real simple solution: Don't have her control the boat (or
anything on it) unless she really wants to. Let the kids have all the
time they want of course. (but don't push them, either.)

If she wants to sail the boat, let her do it when and where it's safe,
but don't expect her to "get" it immediately and do NOT instruct her
unless she asks. Your sole job is to keep a close enough watch to
quickly take over to keep her from breaking something and to stay
*quiet*. Who cares if you actually get anywhere for that bit? Who cares
if the jib or course isn't exactly correct? (and that boom should be
prevented, anyway.)

To keep the family going out, make it fun for each of them.

Pat's a better sailor than she thinks, but because she's
hyper-sensitive to her "mistakes", I usually single-hand as she lounges
about. To keep her skills current, I'll occasionally "pass out" or find
some other reason to put her on the tiller for a while. [Oh, she also
"forgets" everything between season. When it has to be done too quickly
for her to *think* about it, she gets it right.]

When I was doing my pilot's training, I sometimes would amaze at the
instructor sitting to my right, his arms comfortably folded across his
chest. He looked so calm as he entrusted his life to my inexperienced
hands. Wasn't until I made a real mistake that I realized that was the
position from which he could most quickly reach the wheel. He rarely
commented as I was doing something, would only instruct before and say
"you could do it better by...." afterwards.

Yes, they're not going to be very good at first.

Neither were we.

--
Jere Lull
Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD
Xan's pages: http://web.mac.com/jerelull/iWeb/Xan/
Our BVI trips & tips: http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/