No. 1, don’t listen to anybody else. Once you are at the helm, you are the captain. No. 2, the slower you go, the better off you will be. Before you go out, make sure you have gasoline and water in the boat, the engines aren’t leaking, and there’s no water in the bilge. You constantly have to check the tides. One last thing: Storms come in very, very quickly. Don’t go out if the readings are iffy on any level. Mother Nature is far more powerful and mysterious than you. — As told to Karen Weise