Did I Just Do That? - Side Effects of Cruising

Symptom #1) New Habits Die Hard

Some people do fist pumps.
I do foot pumps.

At my Grandmother's gleaming white, kitchen sink I pumped my leg up and down searching for the pedal.

That wouldn't have been such a big deal if I had actually been on a boat, where foot pumps are the norm at the galley sink. Noticing her collection of roosters staring at me I swept the dishrag over the counter, oops...that rooster was asking for it.

True story. 

For me, this return to terra firma kept proving just how much I'd changed.  Once recovered from the rooster attack I smiled, I couldn't remember how to act in a land based home. Leaving what I knew and starting anew brought on many emotions. Changes took place in me while I was away that may made me more sensitive, alert, happy and courteous.


Symptom 2)  Slow is the new fast.

Earlier in the day, I was told I could drive the car. (Gram's southern.)

Gram: Jessica.
Me: Yes?
Gram: Honey, you got to drive the speed limit child!
Me: I feel like I'm going so fast!

Yes. Walking can be faster than sailing, did you know that? Our most recent trip we'd done 4 knots all the way to Jamaica. Aboard Felicity, I joke that my cheeks flap at 10 knots!! Seriously though, driving in cars going high speeds wig me out. I rode a bike for 4 years!


Symptom 3) Budget, Budget, Budget

Running an economic cruising boat is something you learn as you go. Budget talk makes me cringe but GR is the money man. Thankfully, for us (me) he enjoys this task. He is constantly figuring costs when planning our next anchorage or our monthly projects all in order to keep our dream alive. When we are cruising we have learned to live more simply and work together as a team as each dollar is viewed as a fuel for our adventures! That being said, life on land becomes this constant negotiation of dollars and cents. Are we spending money that is supporting "the dream" is a question we often ask ourselves.




If you or someone you know is experiencing symptoms like these or others, you may need to seek a local happy hour or cruiser's potluck and start sharing stories and laughter!!

I'm sure I've missed a few other symptoms, have any to add?

Home is Where Our Boat is

This scenario happens daily. Generally, after the introductions comes the "where are you from" or "where do you live" question.

"You live on a boat?!" they sigh dreamily. "Oh, I've always wanted to do that."

"Really?" I ask, as wrinkles appear on my forehead. "I'd never even heard of people living on boats!"

I'm from South Jersey and the only boats I'd ever been on were *rough* little Whalers. We'd catch crabs with chicken on a hand line. The only boats I'd seen that looked decent enough to live on were, well, tankers! I know, I know, how the heck did I end up living the "dream"? It's all HIS fault!

When I decided to leave my land life behind I had only been dating GR a little over 10 months. Yes, with toddler in tow, I sold what little I owned and told the landlord I was leaving! We had already purchased the boat together, cruised from South Carolina to Daytona Beach and done a shakedown sail to Abaco, Bahamas. I was sun-kissed and sold on the idea of life aboard with sun-downers at sunset!

Yes, my family and friends thought I was crazy. (not that they didn't already know) They had plenty of well meaning things to say, but I've never been one to listen to them. (this they also know) I always jump into things, especially when I'm in love. Full speed ahead, no regrets, just learning experiences. Fast forward seven years and we are still together AND we still live on a boat. Granted the boats have changed, we are on our 3rd if your counting, and I can't imagine life any other way.

It hasn't always been easy, or glamorous, but the sacrifices we make to live this way don't really feel like sacrifices anymore. I've learned more about different cultures and languages during our travels than I had in school. I became a part of an incredible community of men and women who live aboard.  Everything we own is floating around with us; our cats, our daughter, our precious few material items. We don't own anything else except this boat, our bikes, our car and the scooter. No land. No house. We have been living this way for the past 4 years. We pay for everything (almost) with cash. We try to keep our kitty (living expenses for "cruising") separate from our living expenses while attached to shore (jobs, school). Our plan with Felicity is to 1) fix her up 2) cruise the Bahamas for the full cruising permit time allotted and 3) come back to the US and cruise the East Coast.

Before I lived on a boat, I was not who I am today. Leaving behind the "known" for the "un-known" was the only way I found myself. My true self. I think we are all the best version of ourselves when we push each other to seek out our dreams. Sure, it was his dream to start out but it's our dream to continue.

Home for the Holidays.....Or Not.

Happy Holidays!!

When was the last time YOU were home for the holidays? Cruisers, yachties and many others such as ourselves are often subject to spending the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and even New Years in unique locations surrounded by *new* faces. It can be fun and exciting to dine "potluck" style and to be introduced to new traditions but it can also be hard for families to cope without their loved ones.
 
Being in the yachting industry (or any service industry for that matter), holidays and weekends just aren't the same. Typically, we ("yachties") work every weekend and every holiday; it's just expected. It just comes with the territory. We work for people who work hard and want to play hard with their families aboard their *awesome* yachts, can you blame them?! Thankfully, owners' are using their boats. keeping us working and keeping us in the green. A recent study by The Triton, a local yacht crew publication shows crew perspective regarding working through this time of year. Some don't mind, some hate it but either way there's no getting around it.

Through the years we have found ways of getting around the separation.
You could celebrate at another time of the year when time off is more acceptable.
You could celebrate in unique ways like by using modern technology to be a part of your family party via Skype or Facetime.
Or you could just quit your job and go home! (At your own risk, of course)

Seriously, this year we are super thankful to both have great gigs that allow us more freedom during the holidays, meaning we will both be home on the "big" days. All three of us will go to sleep on Christmas Eve and wake up together to open presents, eat an incredible breakfast and spend the day playing with our new things and just plain enjoying ourselves. This year we are doing it right!

Ahhh, the Book Exchange

A lot of people ask what we do with "all that time" on our hands when we are cruising, well, I read. I read - a lot! Before we left Miami I stocked up on all those classic authors I never had time for like Ernest Hemingway, Herman Hesse, Charles Dickens & Ayn Rand. When we were sailing long, slow days I dove head first into tales that needed my full attention. Something, I couldn't do when I was caught up in the ho-hum of the daily grind(much like I am now). The first thing I did when we'd get to a new spot was find the book exchange! Packing up my good reads in a canvas bag and unloading & then re-loading with new titles and a BIG grin on my face! Free, Free, FREE! It seems nothing in life is free, except book exchanges!;)

Most every marina office or cruiser lounge has one, sometimes even the local marine shop. Personally, I feel a book exchange is a great courtesy that creates an intellectual space; allowing people to share fiction and non-fiction in a way that is old fashioned, friendly and leaves a warm feeling in my heart. When Gia was a baby, I got books for her that had names inscribed in the covers, sometimes paint stained the torn pages. They were once another child's books and for me that meant something. I have a thing for hand-me-downs. Gia, too, has left several books for other children to enjoy all over the places we have traveled. Once, in the tiny island of Nevis, we donated a few books to the local library and months later when we returned home there was a letter addressed to a 5 year old Gia, thanking her for her donation. I think I shed a tear of happiness. Books are powerful instruments that teach, encourage imagination and inspire us everyday.

Have you found your local book exchange? What are you reading these days?

“Books are a uniquely portable magic.”
― Stephen King, On Writing

 

Travelers with a Boating Problem.

The question is Sailor? or Traveler?

• Sailing - The fine art of getting wet and becoming ill, while going nowhere slowly at great expense.

• Travelling - To go from one place to another, a journey. 

The answer is ....

I have always been a gypsy soul; prone to wandering and unable to stay in one place for a long period of time.  Sailing only came into my life in the last 10 years, when I met my soul mate. (awwwww!) When we met I really had no idea how to sail or how the change of lifestyle would affect me.  He told me his dream of sailing through the Caribbean and living on a boat. We spent countless hours on Yachtworld.com looking for the perfect boat. (We are still looking by the way.) Well, that sounded right up my alley! Little did I know I would dry heave for an entire 8 hours while we slogged along at a painstakingly slow 6 knots on our first Bahamas shakedown sail. (I now know that 6 knots is actually a great speed, as long as your not ill.) Once the sun rose and that unmistakable cerulean blue water illuminated the sea before my eyes I knew my yakking was not in vain. As the dolphins breached and danced in our bow wake I thought to myself, “This is so worth the pain and embarrassment of seasickness.” Over the past 7 years of cruising we have been to over 15 different countries and seen too many cultures and landmarks to count. That my friend is living! 

Sailing is fun, but I could just as easily hop on a plane, train or in an automobile if my goal is simply getting there.  Not to mention sailing is still the most inexpensive way to travel considering the cost of fuel these days. I’m not sure I would sail around a lake or just go sailing every weekend just to “get out there”. I mean I didn’t do it before and living aboard doesn’t allow for very many “leisure sails”. To me, traveling is what boats were meant to do. I have often asked, “Why would anyone want to live on a boat that doesn’t travel?”  The cramped quarters, the lack of shower, refrigerator or air condition are all things that personally I have only gone without only as a compromise to the simple fact that I was living in paradise; even if it was temporary.

In our case this lifestyle is truly about the journey, learning and fixing and growing along the way. Ghosting along under a full moon with all the wind Gods shinning down on you can be magical.  And pulling into a new harbor with excited eyes that just soak up everything the island has to offer is what keeps me cruising. However, you can’t be in a hurry and you have to be ready to expect the unexpected.

Originally, sailing felt like vacation.  We sailed through the Eastern Caribbean stopping at every different island experiencing their cultures, food and landscapes. Yet in the back of our minds there was still a home to go back to; a King sized bed to long for, a walk in closet, a garage, a yard. So when the sun beat us down, when the leaks came through the cabin, when the bugs ate us alive we had something to dream about. Going home. But then, being home left us restless, we knew that we could never be content in one place for the rest of our lives. The search began for another boat. We sold the house and the cars and moved aboard full time. With nothing to look back at we were able to come to terms with our new home and our new lifestyle with wild abandon. We learned to adapt to the changes that come with leaving your homeland and entering  strange new countries with different values, foreign languages and unique foods.

Sailing, like we see in the movies rarely happens. When it does, yes, it is magical and perhaps that is why we all keep going out there. Over my experience there are some things I have learned about myself. What I do and don’t like. I do not like the jerking motion associated with rough seas. I am a fair weather sailor. Generally speaking that means we leave with light winds because heavier winds mean bigger seas. Lighter winds mean we run the engine. We have never ever felt bad about the fact that we are motor sailors, let those other wind junkies go slogging out there in 6 foot seas, not me, not me. I do not enjoy spending days on a constant heel. I do not enjoy taking spray over the bow without the comfort of a dodger to hide behind or inside steering station. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt!!

Hence the fact that we now live on a power boat. Yes, we gave up our deep keel and white sheets for Detroit Diesels. We still want to travel, we don’t want to commit to a house on land, nothing could keep us away from boating. Having our experiences and our choices we also now want comfort, space and speed. Felicity affords us all of that. For us, we have lived on the sailor’s side, we loved it and we learned many things. For now, we are on a different path but we are still traveling and we will never stop.

Travelers? Yes. 

Travelers with a boating problem? Definitely!

Click on the monkey's fist to read others bloggers on this topic.

Culture Shock

I was just reminded the other day that it's only been 2 weeks since we left Guatemala. I think I may still be reeling from a bit of culture shock. I didn't realize how detached I've become from America. Sure I keep in touch through the web but living on the boat sure changes a lot about a person.

As I watched dozens of Mac & Peterbuilt semi-trucks drive past the car window as I rode along in the back seat of a friend's car I felt like a complete outsider. I thought about the consumption our homeland has become accustomed to.  Fuel prices are incredibly high. Every thing is disposable, including people; it's all very disheartening. With all the advertisements shoved in my face through the media, different accents from NC, SC, GA and FL, and hard core work on the boat I began to feel a bit woozy.

There was a time in Guate that I actually had a little breakdown. I cried because I just wanted to go to a Wal*Mart. I'm sure that really I just wanted something familiar. I just wanted to walk down the aisle of a store and pick up my favorite, Philadelphia Cream Cheese. I just wanted to have that comfortable feeling of "home". Why do I still long for that? I know deep down that is not going to satisfy me for the long term.

In order to stay me, to continue living the way I choose to live I have to be very conscious of my actions and choices every minute! I was ashamed at the check out counter because I hadn't been prepared for this trip to the market and was without my reusable canvas grocery bags. It pained me to use those plastic bags. In Guatemala we would have been charged 2 centavos per bag.  Regardless we re-use them for kitty litter but we still feel obligated to refuse plastics because we have seen first hand the damage they can do.

Do you get culture shock after your return from cruising? Do you bring your lessons onboard home to share with others?