Last week, we invited two long time non-boater friends to join us for a cruise aboard our 30’ “Windy”, anchor for lunch and a swim. The weather was partly cloudy, so it was perfect. Our guests were so excited to go for a boat ride and a swim in Georgian Bay.
Boaters enjoy the boating lifestyle, but many friends who have never boated have no idea what it is like and often dream of going for a ride on a boat and having the opportunity to swim out in the open water. It is a real treat, or, as our guests told us, like a mini-vacation for them.
Guests aboard
We all got aboard with all our “stuff” and as we were casting off and preparing to leave the dock, our guests decided then would be the time to tell their story about something that had happened recently, in very loud voices to be heard over the sound of the motors. I had disconnected the shore cord and cast off all the lines except for the FLIPP Line that Brenda was holding from inside the aft starboard corner of the cockpit. She was waiting for my signal to release. I was trying to concentrate on backing out of the slip and waiting for Brenda’s signal that she was ready. But, I couldn’t hear her for the loud story tellers.
Brenda called out to our guests and asked them to sit down and suggested tell their story later. I signalled Brenda to release the line, she did and called back “clear”. I knew I was no longer attached to the dock and was able to back out of the slip with clockwork precision.
Boat Rules
This event brought back memories (that even we had forgotten) of articles we have published about this very thing. Every boater has procedures for just about everything. When followed, everything does flow like clockwork. The opposite is also true.
Brenda pulled up some of our articles and read them to our guests, who then understood the reason for our instructions.
Sharing Procedures
Two of the articles she read, that we published back in 2015, are worthy of repeating again this summer because guests, particularly non-boaters, are not mind readers. Non-boaters have no idea what to do on a boat unless the procedures are shared. Even some boaters as guests on your boat, need to know your rules and procedures.
Sharing boat procedures and rules with guests in advance, puts everyone at ease, releases any discomfort or tension, avoids conflicts and results in a much more enjoyable boating experience.
As one of our guests said, “That makes a lot of sense. I can do that”. Everyone was happy.
The two articles for guests referenced above are listed here:
For more tips and tricks check out Brenda’s book “First Mate 101”.
