On 1/16/11 10:30 AM, YukonBound wrote:


"Frogwatch" wrote in message
...
On Jan 15, 10:54 pm, Frogwatch wrote:
On Jan 15, 9:57 pm, jps wrote:



On Sat, 15 Jan 2011 16:51:58 -0800 (PST), Frogwatch

wrote:
HAving just completed a great sailing trip with 4 men on a small
(28')
sailboat, I am still amazed at how it went. NO arguing or tension, no
feelings of lack of personal space, general agreement on most things
and we parted as good friends. HOW is this possible? It amazes me so
much that I have puzzled over it for days.
Consider: Person A, myself, extreme introvert who is self confident
in all techie matters but not so much in people things.
Person B. Another introvert, even more than myself
Person C. Less introverted than A or B but still on the introverted
side.
Person D. EXTREME extrovert. Never stops talking and constantly
makes jokes about everything.

Being the boat owner, having far more sailing experience than the
others and being oldest, I was clearly captain on the water. While
ashore, I relinquished responsibility to Person D most of the time.
All of the group except Person C were cavers so tend to be self
sufficient.
I maintain that Person D was the critical component in maintaining
group harmony but am not sure why.
This experience will certainly cause me to evaluate groups before
future trips. I had actually been sorta dreading the enforced
closeness but miss the group now that it is over.

Are any of the four given to being disagreeable by nature? I chalk it
up to being men and being on vacation.

My wife asks, "what did you guys talk about all that time, sex?"
"Of course not", I reply, men rarely talk about sex.
"Did you talk about women"? she asks.
"Hardly at all", I reply
"Then what", she wonders?
Truthfully, I cannot remember what we discussed except the trip and
previous caving trips but we seemed to laugh non-stop. I did my share
of science geek talk with one of the guys who has such an interest but
mostly it was a little sports, a little about our families about
friends, nothing unusual at all.
Women seem to think that men talk of nothing but sex and women whereas
we do nothing like that.
NOW, I wonder if that is what women always talk about. It's enough to
make a man paranoid.

Mostly, I allowed them to steer and handle sails while I gladly
exercised my major obsession with navigation, plotting our position on
the paper charts. Give me a paper chart and I can amuse myself for
hours.
We did lose the dinghy once when we tried towing it. It rapidly
filled with water and broke the rope. I managed to balance on the
boarding ladder bailing it while we continued under sail. Normally, I
sail alone so it was a major luxury to be able to sail with guys who
know how to do things with rope, like hoisting the dinghy.
Anchoring was another time I was glad to have cavers aboard as they
naturally know how to handle long lengths of rope without tangling
it. All I had to do was explain the necessity of not tangling the
anchor rope and they did it right without asking how. Being with
smart people whose abilities I really trust was a luxury I almost
never have and I truly enjoyed it.

Can you imagine taking the same trip with the likes of Freak, Loonie
Flatulent Jim, Dingy Dan etc???
That's one time I'd recommend packin' heat.


It's important to keep that sort of trash *off* your boat.