I used to teach seamanship and boat handling to new boat owners. Most of them wanted to learn how to dock their boat—and then go tearing out of the marina as if they were on a fast Sunday highway ride. But that’s never where I started.
Instead, my first lesson was always rooted around safety. My strategy was based on the day I watched an excited, middle-aged man do a face-plant into the cockpit of his first new boat. He jumped aboard and his feet slipped out from under him, a result of the wet sole and his worn-out running shoes. It never occurred to him that the boat he just bought was
