Phantom. 

to disappear without notice from a party; to go  ‘phantom

Phantoming is the largely misunderstood art of leaving a social gathering without saying goodbye. Recently I have taken a bit of heat for phantomimg. Let me explain my rational and effective method.

My phantoming almost always follows a very heavy bout of drinking. Yachting is a small, somewhat backwards and at times backstabbing industry. People are watching, words get around.

I know from documenting the super shit highway that saying good bye is only going to encourage more drinking and I might never leave.

I also have certain warning thresholds set inside my brain.

Head nodding to sleep snaps
Over agreeableness
A desire to smoke
Bouts of silence

After a combination of these I simply gather my things and phantom. No words are spoken I simply slip away into the night. My auto pilot kicks in. I return to my bed pausing only to get some drinking water. I then arise refreshed from my bed ready for anything and discover things like….

My crew mates asleep in the crew mess
My crew mates asleep in the guest cabins with other boats crew mates
My crew mate fell asleep on the dock before he fell asleep in the crew mess
My crew mates have large black outs from the night before

The reasons for phantoming are plain to read.

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