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On 17 Dec 2005 14:32:23 -0800, wrote:

Another post concerned an 86 yr old wanting to sail over the horizon
but it had gotten too long, so...........
I was once forced to spend a few days at the harbor of Dog Island in N.
FL cuz it was just too nasty to go the three miles back to the
mainland. While hanging out on the dock, a very frail old lady with a
walker slowly made her way down the dock and into an open 19' sailboat
carefully stowing her walker. Finally, a younger woman came along and
told me that her granny insisted on going into town for her checkup in
spite of the weather. I expressed reservations about this but she
seemed to be a knowledgable sailor. The next day they came back and
when they got back on the dock I asked how it had been, the old woman
shook her head and said "I kept telling her to take the waves on the
quarter, but she wouldnt listen" Clearly, she knew what she was doing.

That speaks to the old woman's judgement, at an advanced age probably
the greatest part of her ability.

I didn't read the entirety of the previous thread, and I know some
85-plus sailors at my club, but I didn't see whether anyone mentioned
reaction time and confusion being issues. If I were in a shipping
channel with The Old Man On the Sea and his mind wandered while
helming in a tight spot, his heavy, large yacht could easily run down
a couple of Sharks and a dory or two before he'd feel the rumbling of
rig on keel over the diesel.

I have been in racing situations with 75 year old guys screwing up
dangerously at the start and I can say that few of us seem to know
when to swallow the anchor. On the other hand, I've had 80 year olds
helming like Ahab in 40 knots quite effectively, but it's fair to say
that's the exception, not the rule.

A lot of older couples take a 30-something crew to handle sail
stowing, anchors and halyards, it seems. They remain "co-captains",
but the muscle stuff is farmed out. That seems logical.

R.

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