Seafaring women earn the right to lament
Issue 76 : Jan/Feb 2011
Not all women believe they were meant to go to sea. I’m convinced, in fact, that the vast majority are sure that women are not meant to travel on boats of any kind. Historically, it hasn’t been our role.
This past summer, we had the wonderful opportunity to encounter two tall ships at sea. As they loomed larger on the horizon, I understood for the first time the lives of those women who stayed behind watching from the widows’ walks for the return of their seafaring men. Lives aboard in those days were hard in the best of times. Women were not generally welcome nor invited to come along. I imagine they preferred the shoreside vigil to the trials of life at sea.
These days, a few of us choose to cruise with the men in our lives. Life aboard isn’t that hard . . . although there are moments. The food is better, the bunks are softer, and the work to manage a boat is less difficult because we have the mechanical assistance of tools such as winches and windlasses. The boats are smaller and the masts are shorter and fewer in number.
Still, anchors must be retrieved from the bottom, and this can be a filthy business. Our boat is not yet equipped with a windlass and it takes two of us to manage Jerry’s newest solution to the problem of our aging backs: hauling up the anchor and chain with the help of a halyard. Anchor retrieval is always a muddy job. I dress for hauling the anchor in what I refer to as my “muddin’ suit.”
Once both anchors are on board, stowing them and the resulting mess is mine to deal with. I’m more particular about cleaning up the deck, and especially so since we just had it Awlgripped last year. We insisted on non-skid with an attitude so we’d be less likely to break a leg or fall overboard. Even though Jerry has dubbed it “40-grit non-skid,” we like it for safety reasons. But aggressive non-skid is difficult to clean.
That’s why I asked Jerry to shoot a few photos following a particularly arduous mud fight on the bow. The photo above documents one of those times when those of us who choose to go to sea with our mates stop to wonder at the things we do for love.
Thank you to Sailrite Enterprises, Inc., for providing free access to back issues of Good Old Boat through intellectual property rights. Sailrite.com
