On Tue, 11 Nov 2008 14:47:22 -0800, "Capt. JG"
wrote:

I think you'll find the real challenge will be when you have a mix of men
and women. The women tend to be less likely to volunteer, and the men tend
to either want to take over or be condescending or have a lack of patience.

Finding the right chemistry with a mixed crew can certainly be
challenging but it's great when it all comes together. Three of the
best crew on my old Cal-34 were women, all very good in their own way
but quite diffferent. One was an operating room nurse who was so
highly organized that it was unbelievable. She liked to work the
"pit" and was always one step ahead of what needed to be done in a
complex mark rounding. Another was an aspiring movie producer who
stood about 5' 1'' but tough as nails and totally fearless. She
worked the foredeck better than all but the very best guys, even on 50
footers. The third was an artist who we taught almost from scratch.
She paid meticulous atttention to detail, kept a note book and learned
*very* quickly. Being gorgeous didn't hurt either. Some of the
guys were very skeptical in the beginning but they learned quickly
also. :-)