From the helm of Slow Dance, a little 2006 Mainship 34T, as in trawler. When writing “from the helm” I’m more comfortably seated on the salon sofa that is behind the helm. Bottom line, it’s still written from the boat, rather than the writing room.

Yes, the iPhone pic was taken at Christmas, hence the tree. In the framed photograph is my “Dad,” the man that unconditionally loved my mother and me, and got me into boating while dating my mom. From 1960 until 2003 when he passed away, he was the kind of “Dad” every child should have. Never once did he ever raise his voice to Mother or to me. He didn’t have to, he commanded respect, rather than demanding it. I’ve often called him the closest thing to a real “John Wayne,” that I’ve ever known – a “man’s man” with total respect for others, especially women and children.

Also seen at the lower helm is ALF, from the late ’80s TV series, ALF. His personality was known to be troublesome, sarcastic, and cynical, which pretty much describes that of a boat. Since we can blame everything on ALF, he makes our crew complete!

Thanks for reading this far, and I hope you’ll “follow” TheWriteBoat. I promise Oh Captain My Captain will not overwhelm you with daily posts.