Being in charge is full on.

The instructor day starts bright and early, and finishes at whatever time your candidates decide to go to sleep. You can’t completely cut off responsibility there though, many “person accidentally in water” incidents occur during the night…….

And it all starts again at dawn. Even earlier if you’re sleeping in the saloon and you have early birds on board.

Then there’s deliveries. With a delivery there is no off; everyone is on, all the time. Even if you’re off watch you are expected to step up if needed, and if you’re skipper then you really don’t have off time at all.

The ability to sleep whatever the time of the day is incredible, but essential. Likewise the ability to keep one ear on the radio and the mutterings of your crew whilst the other ear is asleep. Also to interpret the creaks and groans which tell you which sail or winch is being tampered with at a given time, and whether that’s correct it not. And, most importantly, the ability to go from sleep to on deck in but a moment.

At the same time, to take a moment for yourself is so important. It’s the only way to keep sane, to breathe, to rationalise, to walk through what you have experienced and to anticipate what may come next.

Things break. People don’t listen and flush things down the loo they aren’t supposed to. You have to deal with the worst traits of people in confined spaces. You have no-one to defer to, and as the person in charge there’s no option except to step up.

The moment your skipper takes to sit at the chart table, or to lie in their bunk, to speak to no-one, to answer no questions, that’s what keeps us going. It’s how we appear divinely up the companionway, move the hatch aside, look ahead then back, smile at the crew, and ask “Anyone for a hot drink or a biscuit?”

We just need a moment to remember why we do this, and breathe.