Crew

I just heard today that Rob won't be joining Tom and I
this sailing trip. Rob had already made plans to
accompany his daughter on a missionary trip this summer to
treat Aids patients in Africa. His devoted wife
felt wisely she could miss him for that but not that as well as a '3 men in a boat' experience with the likes of Tom and myself. Last year I'd hoped to sail the Giri home in June with Mark but he had surgery that failed to heel according to our schedule. Obtaining crew is sometimes more difficult than feeding swans by hand and sadly pressgangs, walking the plank, and cats of nine of tails are frowned upon by the politically correct. More people today are solo sailing. The Blue Water Cruising Association has mostly cruising couples and often sailors do their best cruising in their retirement years. With our busy professional schedules I have difficulty making dinner dates with friends let alone finding people who can take off a month from their work and families to play pirate or explorer. Further the people that you want to share weeks of life together in small spaces where competency and skill and emotional stability and mental health are all critical factors are few and far between. When I sailed solo with my dog Stuart I can honestly say that I had to put him "on the couch" many times about his obsessive ball behaviour. In the cruising community most know that marriages and friendships are made incredibly richer and stronger through the cruising experience though some are sadly broken by the demands for honesty and mutual respect that arise in small boats in big seas.