How I run a handover

A handover is a love letter to the next woman and a protection for the captain. Inventories current. Preferences book honest. Keys, safes, accounts, outstanding guest issues, the crew's real strengths, the laundry's moods.

I walk the boat with her. Not a slideshow. Cupboards open. I tell her what is about to break, who the preferred florist is, which guest will arrive with twelve bags and a dog, and which stew can be trusted with the wine.

Numbers: interior budget remaining, provisional calendar, uniforms on order, medical kit dates. If the owner is particular about a brand of water, that is in writing, not in my head flying home.

Do not poison the well. You can warn. You cannot recruit her into your grudges. She has to live with these people.

When I leave, I send one page: what is urgent this week. Then I am available for three days on WhatsApp, not three months. A clean cut is professional.