6 Things Every First Mate Should Know

Dockwa publishes the first article I’ve written exclusively for their newsletter.

If you’ve been cruising long enough — on the Loop or otherwise — you’ve probably learned about Dockwa. It’s an app-based marina reservation service that makes it easy to book space at marinas as you travel.

I love using Dockwa for a few reasons:

• It makes it easy to compare participating marinas in an area.
• It calculates my dockage costs up front, so there are no surprises at the marina office.
• It requires participating marinas to publish and adhere to cancellation policies. (Indeed, when a marina I’d booked a month in advance for a 10-night stay tried to keep my money on cancellation, Dockwa stepped in and made sure I got the refund I was supposed to get.)
• It enables me to pay with ApplePay so I get 2% back cash rewards on every stay.

Honestly, I wish all marinas used Dockwa — and that’s not just because I’m now writing for them. I really do think it’s a great service.

Anyway, Dockwa has a blog with articles written just for them. The articles are full of tips and advice for boaters like us. At the bottom of the blog page is a place where you can enter your email address and get a Dockwa newsletter with similar content.

Dockwa contacted me about a month ago after stumbling upon this blog. They asked if they could use existing content and have me write exclusive content just for them. Since I’ve been wanting to do more writing about boating and the one publisher deal I had going fizzled rather uneventfully, I jumped at the opportunity. The result is an ongoing relationship with the folks at Dockwa to help them fill their blog and newsletter with content.

And that brings me to the title of this post, which is also the title of the first exclusive piece I wrote for them: “6 Things Every First Mate Should Know.” This is a topic I’m passionate about. Why? Well, I’ve met so many couples on the Loop where each partner plays a specific role — Captain and First Mate — and knows next to nothing about what the other does. This could be a serious problem in the event of an emergency if the Captain becomes incapacitated while under way and the First Mate has to handle the boat while getting help.

That’s what the article is all about. If you’re one of those couples, I urge you both to read the piece. It’s short and to the point.

And if I missed anything you think I should have included, please take a moment to add your comments here. I can always write up a “6 More Things” piece in the future, with a hat tip to the folks who offer up ideas.