Are you stupid?

While the likes of Ellen MacArthur, Sharon Sites Adams, Amanda Clark and Gail Hines have contributed so much to sailing, to have a woman on the water, fully and undeniably in charge of a sailboat, is still very much out of balance with the number of women sailors. Even when I am declared skipper of the day, I am likely to defer or even relinquish my charge to Ed if the going gets rough.

For the Pancake Breakfast cruise, though, I could not be deferential. Ed would not be on the boat as he usually is, nor would he be shore-side to launch or retrieve Bliss. He was 1864.19 miles away when I told my mother I was going sailing for the weekend.

“Where?” she asked, the pitch of her voice raising an octave.

“Oh, Lake Pleasant, on Bliss.” I answered as nonchalantly as possible.

“I thought Ed was in Florida?” She paused, waiting for me to tell her she was wrong.

“So?”

“What? Are you stupid?” Read more