For Women, by Women

[Livia]

If I may, I would enjoy it if this thread, in the Women Afloat forum, could be women only - no males posting. I realize this is the internet so I have no real say in the matter

Women: Post a link to a blog post or an article, written by a woman who was writing to other women, on a sailing or cruising related topic.

I'll start with one I really enjoyed:

Everything I needed to know to go cruising … « The Women and Cruising Blog

[SaucySailoress]

Nice thought, Livia, but not sure it's a great idea. I mean, I have already drifted away for ages through links to this blog, including this one: Confessions of a Bad Boat Wife « The Women and Cruising Blog which tickled me pink. Wow, the thought of a boat wife not being perfect, what a laugh!!! So the lady who wrote this blog post now has to go onto my rss feed...

[SimonV]

Oops, sorry I don't count....links removed.

[anjou]

Livia,

If you wish to discuss a topic with women only, why not head over to the Mermaids group, give me a shout, and I will let you in

[Livia]

Originally Posted by SaucySailoress

Nice thought, Livia, but not sure it's a great idea. I mean, I have already drifted away for ages through links to this blog, including this one: Confessions of a Bad Boat Wife « The Women and Cruising Blog which tickled me pink. Wow, the thought of a boat wife not being perfect, what a laugh!!! So the lady who wrote this blog post now has to go onto my rss feed...

That was a good read. Thanks for sharing that.

Also, in case it was unclear (and based on my PM inbox it *was* unclear), I was trying to find a fun topic to get some of the women on the board together in one space, not be a jerk to the guys.

[SaucySailoress]

I'm sure many of the guys are enjoying reading those stories, but notice how respectfully quiet they're being....

Anjou, I had thought about suggesting we move this thread to the Mermaids group Cruisers & Sailing Forums - ~~Mermaids Group~~, but figured it will get more exposure here, and perhaps raise awareness of the group. If that's what we want to do...

[angelfish2]

This thread is a great idea! I have been reading a nice blog written by a gal. It starts with this ploddingTOparadise and continues with ploddingINparadise. It is well written and lots of fun.

Livia, you really should join the Mermaids Group. It is a great group!

[SaucySailoress]

I received the following PM from a gentleman who declined to post in the thread, given the OP's request, but he and I both feel it's worth sharing:

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

I saw your post on the "womens" thread. I feel that all women would be served better by posting more in the regular forum instead of a suer secret site. Some of us "lowly guys" would really like to hear more women's view points. Last time I tried to get more women prospective I got mostly guys BS posts.

PS - I wife reads the forum sometimes but never has joined so doesn't post. I think she would if she felt more other women were active on CF. Then again maybe she just reads CF to see what I've been up.

[Livia]

I post all over CF when I have internet so I'm definitely doing my part to be a participant in the full forum

I had no idea that a woman only thread in a sub-forum titled "Women Afloat" would be so controversial. People have hurt feelings. People are calling me exclusionary and divisive.

It's silly of me to be surprised. This *is* the internet after all and people like to get upset about stuff.

So, sorry to start a thread and bail but...I'm bailing on this.

[Coops]

Now that you have bailed i will put a post on here. I do not see anyone being hurt or miffed at all and to be honest was pleasantly amazed how you did not get more male BS response to this thread. In fact, it was a credit to all of us in the normally male orientated peanut gallery how we respected your wishes. As stated in the male quote, it is good to get the female perspectives on lots of subjects, but i understand how you would also like a section/thread where you can have a girl talk without us lot trying to be clever/sexist/chauvinist/otherthings. You do have the Mermaids, so perhaps as you have been invited, you should join them. But please keep posting in the open section as well, otherwise the knuckledraggers will take over.

PS Just read your post again and realise that folks had pm'd you perhaps and not done it openly, sorry.

Coops.

[Livia]

Sorry Coops, I should have added that the hurt/miffed stuff was all via PM and I agree that the restraint showed by the male CF community definitely deserves kudos.

(can't stop myself from posting here, can I!?)

[SaucySailoress]

I thought the whole point was to get more girl talk going, not to exclude men...! And after all, talk about first buckets and bilges and navigation gets boring after a while!!!

[Livia]

As the OP, I wave my magic wand and invite all male CFers with insightful links that fit the original request (below) to join in if they would like.

Originally Posted by Livia

Post a link to a blog post or an article, written by a woman who was writing to other women, on a sailing or cruising related topic.

[cwyckham]

Originally Posted by Livia

Sorry Coops, I should have added that the hurt/miffed stuff was all via PM and I agree that the restraint showed by the male CF community definitely deserves kudos.

(can't stop myself from posting here, can I!?)

Don't go, Livia! I was really looking forward to reading this thread (quietly).

Edit: ok, I see you decided to keep the thread alive, though I preferred your original concept. The male peanut gallery are the devisive ones. I can't believe people actually complained by PM!

[Livia]

womenandcruising.com is full of great examples of good writing by women for women but I thought people might enjoy this one by the author of Motion of the Ocean:

Sailing as a Metaphor for Marriage « The Women and Cruising Blog