FROM A DIFFERENT ANGLE ...

We're often asked by non sailors,
"When you're out at sea, what do you do?  Do you ever get bored?

Well, we wouldn't want you to think that life at sea is one crisis followed by another - goodness me no!!  So I thought I'd take the opportunity to fill  the gaps in between ... 

Fellow cruisers may want to stop reading here and wait for the next crisis, not because you are of a ghoulish disposition , you understand, but because you probably do pretty much the same sort of stuff.  Of course ladies, you may want to reassure yourselves that it isn't just you who finds herself driving the dinghy round and round the boat trying to catch it when there's a bit of a swell ...

Gaps can take a few forms;
When you're out at sea on a passage
When you're snug in a sheltered anchor
When you're even snuggier in a good marina.

(The adjectives 'sheltered' and 'good' represent the best situation- those adjectives are subject to change and can drop several levels down according to wind, swell, anchor not holding.  The latter one can cause sleepless nights.)

You've checked the weather, fine.  You've parted company with the land and you're off.  Hey, the wind is in the right direction (rare for us)  It is usually on the nose (coming straight at you) behind and nothing to speak of, or non existent.  Cruisers tend not to go out when it's really windy.  That's for club racers who are only out for a few hours or the serious racers who have no choice.  We can deal with it when it happens but we prefer to start quietly.  Sails are up, course set and the third member of the crew (as Brian calls it) is working; ie the auto helm.  Show me a cruiser who does not bow down and worship their auto helm or self steering gear and I'll give up my Friday night alcohol.  (Personally, I offer frequent sacrifices to keep on its good side)  Having a piece of equipment that basically steers the boat does not mean that you can go off and fall asleep, but it does allow you to do other 'stuff'  You see, steering a boat by hand is both boring and hard work.  There are times when you can't do anything else as the auto helm can get a bit squeamish in heavy winds and seas, but hey, there's no need to flog yourself on a nice day.  I felt very sorry for a couple we met and who had had the 'no wind' situation so had to use the engine, and couldn't use there self steering - BIG POOH!

Along the way, we read if it's possible and I sleep (note that it's me - I can fall asleep anytime, any place and frequently do )  We also stare a lot at the sea, the clouds, the stars.  However we are not tweakers.  They are the ones who are bowling along nicely but feel an irresistible urge to try and get another half knot of speed.  Choice - tweak or work on the tan.  My excuse for the latter is that I'm gathering strength for the next crisis.  The man can put out a fishing line, just in case that 10lb tuna is in the area, but fishing has never been successful for us.  Our sum total over the years has been a string of mackerel just off Cornwall, a few measly flying fish and an octopus that I couldn't bring myself to bop on the head.

And then there are the visitors that pop in for a visit.  No doubt the cruisers amongst you have had your own.  I've already written about the dolphins, but there are other hitchhikers.  And like the dolphins they turn up at the point when your eyes are tired of trying to see something on the horizon, or you've just had a disagreement, or you're just feeling a bit blue. Remember that we're at sea and not in the sight or sound of land, so it's a miracle these critters find us. We've had bumble bees, wasps, butterflies, homing pigeons (a speciality of ours!) and tiny, tiny birds that are cheeky enough to give the saloon the once over whilst sitting on the skippers knee, and then fly in for a closer inspection.  The latest addition have been dragonflies.  We entertained them during 'Herge's Adventures of Tan Tan'.  ( remember the voice over?)  A pair arrived for a bit of Howzyourfather whilst we were drifting along.  We jokingly called them 'drones' as they bore a distinct resemblance to the robotic variety and speculated that given our position situated as we were, between two territorial waters, they were sending vital information back to their command base.  Interestingly enough, shortly after we left Lanzarote, a plane circled overhead - was it the same pilot that came to our rescue - and a week or so later yet another 'drone' appeared and perched itself for some time.  Was it enjoying the ride, or was it taking pictures of Brian reading and me wearing not very much?.  Is there now a file circulating the islands?  ( We do have a file in Cadiz, but that's another story! )

This picture is one side of the coin.  It can all get spoiled by ....oooh too much wind, technical failures and the like, but somehow, like the British weather, get a day of sun and you forget two years of rain.  Bring on a cup of Earl Grey please  Which brings me to ...

COOKING AT SEA 
I couldn't resit this ....

Sailing is a bit like having a baby.  In fact it's a bit like lots of things in life; getting married, getting a divorce, keeping up the mortgage payments, potty training, playing rugby ...  It's quite simple - no one can tell you what it's really like.  I'm sure that those who have been in close physical contact with numerous 17 stone hunks of fast moving muscle and a couple of acres of freezing mud have stories to tell but somehow they don't prevent others from giving it a go.  It's the same with sailing.  What do the adverts show - photos of yachts under sail, pushing through crested waves, leaning into the wind, at one with the elements, blah, blah (cue the final movement of the 5th symphony of Sibelius)  The man is looking rugged and seaworthy in his Musto gear ....  What you don't see is the woman below deck ....  It's breakfast/lunch/tea time.  ( I could go for broke and say it's the middle of the night, but I'll spare you those particular details ...  )  She is standing vertical to the boat which is at an angle - did I say standing - she is clinging on for dear life!  However vertical is an illusion.  The boat is continually moving in all directions.  You don't quite feel it the same when you're on deck which means that that the skipper is less than sympathetic to your outbursts.  It goes up and down, side to side.  It occasionally goes straight up in the air, hovers and crashes down ( I call that 'whomping' )  You will see food and utensils at odd places on the work surfaces.  She has worked out with much precision as to where each item will stay in safe from sliding or jumping over the edge designed to prevent such things happening.  On the oven top at a similar angle (boat ovens are gimballed so they follow the horizontal ) are pans of 'stuff' that are seemingly about to fall off.  If she is a consummate planner, she will have pre prepared a cold meal or planned one with minimal ingredients so that she does not have to negotiate too many cupboard doors and waste time picking up, or falling over on the items that fall out.  As a small person, I have, on occasion ended up head first in our rather large fridge reaching for the tomatoes at the bottom.  You do, of course plan the right meal for the situation.  Soup in high winds or big seas is not a good choice, but this is day 8 and you've lost the will to chop off your three remaining fingers.  At least you've worked out which direction to pour the hot water in to the mugs ..  which reminds me ...   when checking the CV of a potential crew member, ignore the bits about RYA qualifications, sea miles, charter experience and so on.  Have they got circus skills in there somewhere?  I jest not.  It saves so much time and effort if you've got someone on board who can walk a tightrope juggling mugs of tea!

WHAT YOU DO WHEN AT ANCHOR
Again, you've seen the pictures ... big blue water cruiser sitting alone in an obviously Caribbean location, electric blue sky, white sand, palms in the foreground .... you think...wow, I'd like a bit of that, thank you very much.
Well - that's partly why we're doing this cruising thing - sorry, I'll rephrase that - It's WHY we're doing this cruising thing.  BUT - remember - the photographer is on land.  The boat is on the sea.  No power source, open to the elements and generally, in the pictures, NO WAY TO GET OFF!.

Being at anchor is great- in a secure anchorage, with good holding, no swell and not too far from civilisation.  Ok, ok, one can dream ...  back to reality ....what does one actually do in this paradise?  You love it to bits! You swim, snorkel, read, maybe visit another yacht for books to swap, and then you shop.  And that's where the reality steps in.  You need to get there.  We'll assume that you haven't a yacht with a sneaky compartment at the back end that lowers the dinghy into the water, and that yours is on deck (already pumped up, we hope )  Getting the dinghy off isn't so much a problem but the outboard is a different matter.  Ours is a whacking great 4 stroke and weighs a ton, so we invested in a cunning crane to make matters easier.  As you manhandle the shopping trolley and yourself, your going out' shorts and sandals inevitably get soaked.  Once onboard, the outboard may go into a sulk , and then it's oars or paddles, which you have either forgotten to put in, or you've twisted your ankle on whilst boarding.....  All I can say is hats off to people who do all this on a regular basis with small children! 

And then there's the return trip with shopping and /or stainless steel, bits of motor, rope ...

And then you realise you've forgotten ....

And then you remind the one who is huffing and puffing that you're not paying marina fees and so you pat yourself on the back, have a beer, and do it all again the next day .....

There are, of course, lots of other nice bits about anchoring; the world wide village that can offer help, book swaps and general companionship.  One evening, I played my flute and after I'd finished, a ripple of applause could be heard .. I  hadn't thought anyone would be listening!

AS FOR MARINA LIFE ...

 It's fascinating!  Here in Gran Canaria, we're on a pontoon with other boats getting ready to cross the Atlantic ... or not .. 

This is Vladimir's boat. It does bear a slight resemblance to a submarine

Don't you just love the fenders!

 

 

Shades of ET ..

I don't think this one is going anywhere!

And what else do we do with our sun soaked days .. ?  

Why, we shop!  The first thing you do on arrival into a marina is find out where the supermarket, laundry and chandlers are.  ( There are 4 chandlers within 100 metres of us with very reasonable prices ) You then hook up to all things civilised, like electricity and water which you often have to pay extra for - hence the anchoring.  In between shopping you might do an early morning run, go to the beach, clean things, sleep, wash yourselves and clothes, and did I mention shopping....?  You may hire a car and view the sights in between filling up the gas bottles and visiting the out of town supermarket. We reckon that when you start seeing people you know whilst shopping in a new town, you've been around too long. It's taken us just 2 weeks!

So ... in answer to the question .... no, we don't get bored, and if we did, there's always retail therapy...