A recent posting by Rosalie B. solidified my opinion that women and sailing
just don't mix. It's a crying shame that some sailormen are burdened with
women that they will never be able to please but have to carry as a burden.

This is what I am referring to. Rosalie B. wrote: "I would have said a
smaller boat myself - either a CSY 33 or 37. But that's not what Bob
wanted, and the love of a specific boat isn't rational."

So, right away it seems that the poor man is viewed as irrational for
wanting the boat he wanted, not what she wanted. Right off the bat, a
source of contention?

And then she wrote this: "I find both sailing and fishing a little bit
boring. I go with Bob because I think he wants me to go, and I think he
needs me to go. I would be just as happy at home. BUT - if I go sailing, I
want a boat that is comfortable to live on, not just someplace to camp out
on the water."

Again the poor man's sailing is ruled by a spouse who doesn't even like
sailing. She finds it 'boring.' She only tags along because she thinks
she's wanted. She'd rather be at home but in lieu of home she wants a
floating home. While her loyalty is admirable, being a man myself, I think I
would quickly come to understand that she wasn't really too keen on sailing
and that she was doing it only because she thought I needed her. This would
do little to bolster my self-esteem and it would make me feel like I had to
carry the entire burden when sailing. How could I really enjoy sailing when
I knew my mate didn't enjoy it? How could I enjoy sailing when I had to sail
a floating home with a new problem to address every day just to make her
happy? Sort of ruins the experience for a man, doesn't it?

And she continues: "It's not that fixed a schedule - it is only that if we
don't go to a marina, one of us has to cook, and that's not going to be me.
So I try to plan so that we can go somewhere that Bob doesn't mind going and
I would like to see and where we can pull in and go to a restaurant for
dinner. A plan is not the same as a schedule."

A woman who doesn't cook? What's up with that? What good is a woman who
doesn't cook aboard a boat? The poor man! He must be a saint to put up with
what he puts up with. Even to the extent that he has to sail the boat to
places just because she wants to see them or to eat at a particular
restaurant. I couldn't live like that, could you?

Then there's this gem: "I don't like outboards (we have two), and I've never
claimed to be a sailor - pure or any other kind."

Imagine how the poor husband feels. He has a wife who proudly proclaims
she's no sailor. In other words the entire burden is his. Not only that, but
along with his woman comes a lot of baggage, so much so that one cannot see
overtaking vessels because of the large and high pile of stuff abaft the
helm that can't be seen over. Not only is this dangerous but it's
unnecessary if only the woman was a sailor. A sailor would not abide
dangerous conditions such as that, would they?

My intent is NOT to pick on Rosalie because, in many ways, she's a loyal and
remarkable woman. But, my intent is to simply point out how women and
sailing don't mix. It really is too bad that this is so often the case. Is
it any wonder that real men are so often found plying the oceans of the
world lone handing?

Wilbur Hubbard