The Importance of Nonchalance In Boating

My wife BJ snapped this photo recently--I was backing Betty Jane into her slip, a process that typically requires several maneuvering changeups. Without going into the whole deal too deeply, let's just say there's quite a lot of backing down that goes on, but also a fair amount of going ahead.

Moreover, none of the backing down stuff or going ahead stuff occurs in anything like a simple form. For example, you'll have some backing down for a while...then a shot of going ahead for a while (to reposition the stern in, say, a misapprehended cross-current situation)...then some more backing down for a while...then a shot of going ahead (accompanied by a rapid rotation of the steering wheel to put the opposite rudder on)...then goofy mixes and matches of these iterations for, oh, maybe a solid three or four minutes.

Confused? Heck, that's okay. So am I. Always have been.

Besides, boathandling's not the subject of this entry anyway. What I'm getting at here has to do with appearances and, more to the point, the appearance of myself (above) while working through a typically complicated and lengthy scenario of back-downs, go-aheads, and steering wheel spins.

Hey...do I look like I was just about to fall asleep or what? Even though my nerves are writhingly tense and I am big-time worried that several of my friends on the dock (who seem to enjoy watching Betty return to her home even when they've probably got better things to do) will see me sweat or even screw up. And even though one of my buddies is crowing to the other, "Watch this...bet he scrapes a piling...ha, ha, ha."

Well guess what, folks...I did NOT scrape a piling or even come close on this particular day. And I maintained such an aura of nonchalance while teetering on the brink of a nervous breakdown that I should have been given an award that Sunday evening...perhaps an Oscar.

After all, nonchalance (or the appearance of nonchalance) during seriously or even seemingly dicey times onboard is important. If nothing else, it keeps your crew from freakin' out and jumpin' ship, a development it's tough to be even a little bit nonchalant about.