Captain's Log

These days the vast majority of crews heading off for a time of cruising aboard their boats are couples - married or not - and like all couples everyone figures out the best ways to make life aboard and cruising work best for them.

Rosie and I have been sailing together for 30 years and have had the opportunity to live aboard and sail around the world. Along the way we met lots of other couples or families with whom we sailed in company, and always we discovered that there are no hard and fast rules for what works for a couple and what does not.

Some like to split the tasks aboard into blue and pink jobs. Many do not. Some like to have a skipper and mate hierarchy while others make all decisions jointly. Some prefer to stand regular watches while others simply let their sleep patterns determine who is on watch and who isn't.

Often one member of the couple has more experience than the other or assumes so and designates himself/herself the captain. Sometimes this works fine. Sometimes it does not. In destinations at the end of long passages - Panama, Tahiti, New Zealand - we have seen boats arrive with one half of a couple standing on deck with bags packed and an arm raised to call a taxi.

And we have seen cruising boats arrive at the end of a season to be abandoned by both crew who have decided that the cruising life was not for them, jointly or individually. It occurred to us that just because one person has more sea time than the other does not automatically make him/her smarter, more sensible or a better natural seaman.

But most of the time, couples who have lived together in the closeness of a cruising boat, who have weathered storms, dragged anchors, crossed oceans and made safe landfalls develop a special sort of teamwork.

It is a pleasure to watch experienced couples handle their boats without having to talk - let alone shout - about what is happening now and what is going to happen next. They have developed over time their own way of communicating, they know their boat, their jobs and long ago agreed how things are supposed to work. Part of their secret may be their shared purpose and shared responsibilities to accomplish that purpose and the respect they hold for their partner's abilities and opinions.

Even couples who are really in sync ashore will go through an evolutionary process as they become sea people. There are new demands to meet aboard a boat that are very real, often very sudden. But it does happen for most of us as we shift from land animals to pelagic cruisers.

Cruising is all about discovery. It is amazing what you will dis- cover about yourself, your partner and how you work together as you cross the blue water.

This month we are proud to announce that BWS has launched a new weekly e-newsletter for sailors and cruisers. Every week we will bring you sailing news and notes from around the country and the world, we will offer tips on new gear, fun things to do and we will offer a simple quiz that might just earn you a new BWS hat if you win. Log on to www.cruisingcompass.com to view an issue and to subscribe.

Fair winds,