"Making connection between the stern of a small boat and the gangway of a ship is sometimes quite an athletic undertaking even when the weather on shore looks perfectly calm. Adequate underthings are a requisite, also a skirt that allows for a wide step and heels that won't be perilous. A visit to the engine romm, when allowed, requires a perpendicular descent on steel ladders with blasts of air coming from beneath, so be forewarned (and take an extra pair of nylons and white gloves).
I had visions of Marilyn Monroe descending the ladder (a la famous picture of her in the white billowing dress).
Janet
P.S. I read this because all the stuff about what to call Tom made me want to know how one does address a retired member of the military - still don't quite get it but now know how to properly address a letter to pretty much anyone under the sun, including His Holiness.