Trusting Your Captain

 

I've heard several horror stories, especially from women, about close calls they've had or rotten trips that they thought could have been avoided. They blame their “captains”, usually their husbands, who had opted to sail when the weather forecast was iffy or had taken a shortcut to avoid a few extra miles … part impatience, part bravado and the boat and/or crew ended up in jeopardy.

We've certainly had our share of troubles, woes and mishaps during passages, but I never felt fearful of my life and I never lost trust in my captain. Probably, because he never gave me reason to. David is a prudent, careful captain. He maintains the boat well. We always have the spares we need aboard or he's innovative enough to jury-rig something that works. We don't take chances with the boat (our home) or our lives. He's much better in a stressful situation than I am and I readily admit it. He's logical, level-headed and acts sensibly in the worst of conditions. I've come to respect him for that at sea more than ever before.

When I hear men say, “I love to sail, but my wife hates it” followed by “We were so drunk that night, we nearly hit the reef. Ha, ha, ha” or hollering while trying to berth, “WTF are you doing? I told you to …”, I don't really need to wonder why some wives don't like it. Taking a non-sailor out on a crappy day or expecting him/her to do things unfamiliar to them under adverse conditions is not the best way to talk a partner into enjoying a sailing adventure. Being imprudent or foolish doesn't work well either … nor does bullying. Encouraging participation, explaining things, keeping your cool and dealing sensibly with situations that arise are part of the “just a little further” philosophy that we espouse. Learn, read, try, experience, encourage, take your time.

If I've learned anything aboard Nine of Cups it's that teamwork really counts in stressful situations and relying on each other is key.

Days and Ways to Celebrate

A daily list of mostly obscure holidays and fun ways to celebrate them.

Name Yourself Day

Ever wish you had a different name? This is the day to try a new one. If you're going to go for a change, make it drastic. Call yourself Pinocchio or Hector of Medusa for the day. Guaranteed after a day of that, you'll be happy with your current name.

Naps

 

Naps should never be underrated. Short naps, power naps, cat naps … I love them. They're refreshing and I take advantage of a mid-day snooze whenever I can. I have no idea why we tend to reserve naps for little kids who really don't appreciate them as much as adults do. The Spanish have the right idea with their afternoon siestas.

I don't like long naps. I wake up feeling groggy and then I can't sleep at night. Short naps though … oh, wow. Initially we felt a bit guilty about taking a nap in the afternoon. It's not considered really kosher to nap at work during the day, so it took a while to become accustomed to being our own bosses and taking a nap whenever we felt like it.

Nothing like feeling a bit sleepy in the afternoon and crawling onto the bunk for a quick forty winks. If one of us suggests it, it doesn't take much to convince the other to catch a little shuteye … in the name of companionship. Still, when a knock comes on the hull at 2pm and we're busy catching a few z's below, we kind of skulk up on deck and pretend we weren't sleeping.

The ultimate napper was and still is Jelly. She can nap anywhere, anytime. No guilt, no concern for shirking her chores. She naps, eats, poops and then naps some more. She used to nap on-watch and off. Now she just naps all the time. Remind me to come back in my next life as a well-cared for cat.

Writing has made me sleepy. I'm heading in for a catnap with Jelly. ;-)

What about you? Are you a napper?

Days and Ways to Celebrate

A daily list of mostly obscure holidays and fun ways to celebrate them.

Ferret Day

Oh yeah...even ferrets have their day. Here are some hints for celebrating!

PB & J Day

While celebrating ferrets, have the sandwich that Americans love... PB & J. Do you prefer smooth or chunky? What kind of jelly?

Me and My Camera

 

I was never much into photography before moving on to the boat. I always figured if I bought a postcard, it was as good as I was going to get, plus it was cheaper and easier. No camera, film and developing expenses to worry about. So I definitely regret having no pictures of the Eiffel Tower, Buckingham Palace and Caernarfon Castle. The postcards have long been lost.

Having a digital camera aboard has made all the difference in the world. I rarely go anywhere without my camera. When we first moved aboard, I had a cheap little digital that I got for free from the bank for opening a new account. The resolution was poor. The colors weren't true. There were very few bells and whistles. The photos were just shy of awful, but it was instant gratification and it whet my appetite for something better.

I've bought and used several cameras since those early days. I went through a “must fit in my pocket” stage (a little Panasonic) and vacillated between cameras that required AA batteries or rechargeable lithium ions. In the end, I determined what was most important to me was the optical zoom capability, image stabilization and ultimately of course, the quality of the photos. Oh yeah, and the budget.

For the past few years, I've been using a Canon PowerShot and I love it. It's relatively easy to use, and though it doesn't fit in your pocket unless you're Captain Kangaroo, it's easy to sling it over my shoulder or stash it into a drybag or a backpack. The quality of photos (despite the photographer) is excellent. I love the zoom capabilities. Canon seems to lead the market in this area. Just recently we've starting taking video clips and we were surprised with the quality of the results and how much fun it was to film and edit.

I've actually gone through several Power Shots. I had the 20, 30 and I currently use the SX40. It doesn't fit in my pocket, but offers so many other neat features that I can live with the size. I prefer an automatic point and shoot that also gives me the option of manual settings when I want them. I'm budget-minded as always, so an SLR and extra lenses have never been an option. I upgrade whenever I get back to the States and use the older camera as a backup. The upgrade is nearly always for increased zoom capability. The price on-line usually runs between $350-400 US.

I usually buy extra batteries and always have extras charged and ready to go, although one battery is usually good for 300+ pictures. I prefer smaller SD memory cards (4Gb) to larger ones unless I plan to take video clips. I'd prefer to upload the card frequently to my computer or use several cards rather than risk having everything on one large card which might get damaged or lost. At the moment, I'm coveting the Canon PowerShot SX50. 50X optical zoom … under $400...oh, man!

Before buying a new camera including every Canon I've purchased, I consult Digital Photography Review, which gives me an unbiased opinion of the camera, its features and how it performs. I spend as much time with my camera as I do with my captain, why not be just as choosy?

Days and Ways to Celebrate

A daily list of mostly obscure holidays and fun ways to celebrate them.

Spock Day

Not Doctor Spock, but the legendary Spock the Vulcan on Star Trek. (Leonard Nimoy 1931) Dig out your Pointy ears and your Star Trek paraphernalia and venture where no man has gone before OR watch some old Star Trek movies.