THE VALENTINE
AQUATIC By Greg Van Belle
A Valentine’s date on the water can be glorious, but isn't without potential pitfalls. Enjoy some pro tips for aquatic romance.
Let’s dispel one myth right away: boating isn’t always the romantic tableau that poems and inspirational posters would lead you to believe. Generally speaking, cruising is a lot of work in uncomfortable or less than ideal conditions. Pitching around in rough seas in cramped quarters isn’t exactly conducive to a romantic glass of merlot. Crawling around the engine room looking for the source of that new oil leak
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84 NORTHWEST YACHTING || FEBRUARY 2019
doesn’t scream passion and desire. For a young, single liveaboard, sweet talking someone into walking down the dock to “see the boat” might work as a pick-up line, but climbing over lifelines and down the companionway steps has a way of putting the chill on whatever was working back at the bar. Day-to-day boating life is rewarding, exciting, and adventurous. Romantic? Not so much. This isn’t to say that boating
can’t be a perfect setting for a couple to grow a relationship. A good day (or night) onboard can be idyllic and wonderful, but it takes some luck, planning, and a healthy sense of adventure to overcome the reality of life on the water.
THE ROMANCE OF the SEA? For as long as human beings have sailed away from the sight of land, we have romanticized the sea. Its natural