Boating with a Spouse/Partner: the Safety of it all! Over the course of my time as a sailing instructor, as well as an amused and sometimes a not amused bystander, I've observed couples who boat together fall into a few predictive behaviors. If you've spent any time in a marina along the docks you probably have been witness to some interesting boating occurrences between partners. A few thoughts on this subject.
Man must be at the helm syndrome I'll run the risk of alienating a few of my sailing buddies by this, but we males tend to fall into this trap. When docking, he "mans" the helm while "she" dutifully runs up and down the deck (typically with fender in tow) to fend the vessel from the dock, get a line over, or act as the "jumper" to make fast the boat. Okay - I've done it too. I guess it may be viewed as wimpy to switch roles - but in many instances once "she" becomes comfortable with docking and leaving the slip or dock, I generally have found women have a better touch. Men tend to "muscle" the vessel with lots of diesel - she finesses the boat. This also means she knows certain things about the operation of their boat if she can dock it. The safety of this? If both individuals aren't familiar with the operation of the vessel while underway, you're in danger of losing your loved one - it's as simple as that. Imagine the male who is the only one who understands how to manage the boat under power, or sail. Now imagine him having a heart attack, falling overboard, or becoming disabled in some manner. What's she to do? How does she save herself? How does she save all aboard? It can be said that some women simply do not wish to know much on the operation of the boat - that's his job! But, if she finds herself in one of the above predicaments, I think she would want to know something about "his" job - and pretty damn quick. Here are my recommendations for a safe boating experience. It is not at all inclusive, just a few tidbits for consideration.
The minimal thing you should do together is know how to work the VHF radio. By the way, you should have a handheld VHF radio, at minimum, on your boat - I don't care what size vessel, a radio to me is a piece of safety equipment. Understand the difference between channel 16 and the other channels for communication - 68, 69, 70 and so forth. Know how to issue a Securite, Pan Pan or a May Day! Here's a link on the difference.https://www.boatingmag.com/when-to-use-mayday-pan-pan-or-securite West Marine and other nautical outlets have stickers that can be applied next to your base unit or somewhere on the boat that instruct the user on the proper way to issue these calls for assistance.
Capt. Dave Steward
Past Commodore
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