On a lighter note, this is my first visit to Little Wing since winterizing the boat last Wednesday. The weather was too beautiful to stay away from the bay and the three day weekend allowed for some time to dedicate to chores.

Ah, but now I faced a need I have not encountered in almost thirty years: the need for a pee can. Ok, I've been hiking and camping plenty in those intervening years. But, well, you know, one can always step out of the tent or hammock and do one's business in the woods. Not since my years at Meta Tantay have I needed a pee can to spare myself a long trek to the toilet at night. There was no way I was getting off my sailboat at the end of my long dock in the middle of the freakin' cold night if I didn't have to. Enter pee can. And ...well, you know the rest.

As I was planning for this, I got to thinking. I have a perfectly suitable Wilcox Crittenden head on Little Wing. I run below to use it when underway, even when single-handing. But there are those times when the weather is rough or the bay is crowded when a run below under autopilot is not advisable. My male counterparts don't have to think twice about the need to go in these situations; they can discretely turn and, ensuring they are holding on tight and upwind, pee into the briny deep. I couldn't do the same..or could I? Surely, some entrepreneurial soul has brought their creative juices to this challenge. Yes, it turns out they have.

At least six great minds have developed business plans and brought to market devices that allow a woman to pee discretely standing up. Backpacker Magazine undertook a review of these female urination devices. A very thorough review of the whole pink and purple array of them. After studying these and weighing the pros and cons I decided to purchase one that seemed most practical and easily available to me: the Rhino (I kid you not) Specialty Funnel, available for $1.50 from AutoZone. Dual purpose... for all my boat needs.