CRUISING LIFE/??????

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Most people are quite curious to know what it must be like to live on a sailboat. A cruising life might seem as alien as life in outer space. There is no single definition of the cruising lifestyle. Although I have only lived on board a short period of time, for me it means spending time everyday.......in fact nearly every minute with my husband in the same space. Something we really have never done. Funnily enough I honestly didn’t find this idea frightening. We have been planning this lifestyle for a very long time and now that it is here we spend most of our time planning even more. We listen to weather forecasts, look at tide and current information vital to sailing anywhere. We have spent the last five weeks familiarizing ourselves with all the computer systems such as chart plotter and autopilot and compass.

Our boat is the focus of our lives. It is our new home and our mode of transportation. We will be moving from place to place, constantly learning new things and meeting new people. You may think this sounds interesting but lonely. Not at all; we have met so many new interesting people, exchanged emails and in one case have made arrangements to meet before we head back to Canada.

This lifestyle offers me adventure, challenge, and a renewed relationship with my first mate. I do not spend hours cleaning, shopping or watching TV. This early in our adventure most of our time is spent learning new things. This also includes learning to live with things that I cannot change. Mother Nature has her own way of making a point. Too much wind, not enough wind, constant rain, salty spray and choppy waves. We have to learn to adapt.

I feel that we are adequately prepared for our first long trip; 15 hours from Itchenor to Guernsey. We have all kinds of safety equipment, adequate navigation information and a certain amount of confidence in our abilities.

Our goal is enjoyment not endurance . I’m anticipating lots of excitement as well as some unknown demands as we enter the natural world of sea and weather, but our commitment to this adventure is unwavering.

DOMESTICALLY CHALLENGED

Sunday, August 22, 2010

5:45 pm

With a whole chicken roasting in the oven I’m taking some time to reflect on the last few days. The weather has been nothing short of miserable this past week. The skies are grey in grey and there is constant sprinkle in the air. As some of you probably know I have a washing machine on board, however not a dryer. This makes drying jeans for example virtually impossible, not to mention bed linens. When I do a load of T-shirts the entire boat is turned into a clothesline.

I now also have a much greater appreciation for flush toilets. Our toilets on board need to be pumped and pumped again for water to remain in the bowl. Oh, did I mention everything gets pumped out to sea. There is a holding tank (2 actually) but they only get used in marinas.

Last week we ran out of cooking gas. We do have a second tank to avoid just such disaster but when W. went to change the tank the fitting on the second tank was different.. Since we don’t have a car here even the smallest issues become all day events. After hearing about our dilemma someone from the office offered to drive us to get the gas tank exchanged.

Since we have lived on board now for four weeks, we have noticed that on weekends there is no power at the dock. This means no hot water (no shower), no charging the computer etc., nothing you would plug in.

Wolfgang has just pointed out that we can’t have roast chicken too often because

1 1/2 hours in the oven will not leave much gas in the new tank. Ohhhhhh!!!!!!

We were planning to leave for Guernsey this week, but looking at this week’s weather forecast shows gale force winds for Thursday and Friday.

Yesterday we did one more provision shop with a rental car. You all know what Costco is like on a Saturday, well multiple that times ten. Total mayhem, of course not only in the store but imagine the parking lot.

Today’s shopping list consisted of a dinghy and motor for those days where we are at anchor and want to get ashore. For those unfamiliar with dinghies; they are inflatable boats that can be deflated and rolled up for easy storage. I’ll report back how that worked out at a later date. It took us longer to decide on which dinghy and motor to buy than our decision about this boat.

Most nights W. and I play cards after dinner when we not entertaining neighbors. Last week we met a lovely couple from Eastbourne. They also have a new boat, so we spent the evening with a few bottles of wine comparing notes. They have now sailed back to Eastbourne, but invited us to stay with them upon our return to Canada from Gatwick.

MAKING NEW FRIENDS

Thursday, August 19/2010

It's lunch time here in the pub. It get very crowded every day at mealtimes. It's holiday time and all sorts of people are out on walking tours. A group of six ladies have just entered all wearing purple outfits and red hats. Can't believe the variety of people and dogs galore. We have met some new people who are tied up next to us. They have also come for a compass alignment and some small things that need fixing. They are a little less experienced than we are, so we are able to help them a little.

SOLO VOYAGE

SATURDAY, AUGUST 14, 2010

9:30 PM

I dare anybody to beat tonight’s entertainment Mind you we have opened a bottle of CHIANTI (with dinner) of course. There was a moment when the sun came out this evening after dinner so we wrapped ourselves in a blanket and sat in the cockpit while unpacking and reading the instructions for an additional anchor. Apparently it’s a good idea to carry two of everything.....who knew.

Thursday morning after christening our new home with some champagne we left our safe dockage and headed out. We didn’t have a particular destination in mind, but when mother nature determines your direction, compliance is crucial, resistance is futile.

For those of you who would enjoy following our actual route, go to “marinetraffic.com”; type in the vessel name and you can watch our progress.

Heading southwest we are in the Solent. Here people say if you can sail the Solent you can sail anywhere. The Solent is very much a shipping channel with freighters, ferries, Hovercrafts, sailboats (all sizes) 10’-60’, motor yachts, dinghies, fishing vessels all going in a different direction.

We arrived in Cowes ...(very popular in the UK,) early evening. We decided on a marina and called on our VHF....(our phone on board), they allocated a berth. Have I mentioned anything about the tides and currents here, crucial info for sailing in any direction. For docking into our berth, we tried once, we tried twice but the current was so strong the back end of the boat would not swing around, hitting another boat already docked. Our boat not a scratch, the other boat not so lucky. Our insurance company will love us. No body was hurt, but we were the topic of conversation that night.

Next morning we took a tour of the town, quaint and charming narrow streets, with pedestrian walkways only but a tourist trap with many expensive nautical clothing shops as attractions.

After a quick lunch we headed out in the rain wearing our yellow weather gear. Destination: Chichester Harbor ......Arriving at the boatyard only to discover that our place had been occupied by another Southerly, What the hell, we’ll raft up. This time we had timed the current just right, we didn’t leave a mark.

THE SOLENT

SATURDAY, AUGUST 14, 2010

9:30 PM

I dare anybody to beat tonight’s entertainment. Mind you we have opened a bottle of CHIANTI (with dinner) of course. There was a moment when the sun came out this evening after dinner so we wrapped ourselves in a blanket and sat in the cockpit while unpacking and reading the instructions for an additional anchor. Apparently it’s a good idea to carry two of everything.....who knew.

Thursday morning after christening our new home with champagne, we left our safe dockage and headed out. We didn’t have a particular destination in mind, but when mother nature determines your direction, compliance is crucial, resistance is futile.

For those of you who would enjoy following our actual route, go to “marinetraffic.com”; type in the vessel name and you can watch our progress.

Heading southwest we are in the Solent. Here people say if you can sail the Solent you can sail anywhere. The Solent is very much a shipping channel with freighters, ferries, Hovercrafts, sailboats (all sizes) 10’-60’, motor yachts, dinghies, fishing vessels all going in a different direction.

We arrived in Cowes ...(very popular in the UK,) early evening. We decided on a marina and called on our VHF....(our phone on board), they allocated a berth. Have I mentioned anything about the tides and currents here, crucial info for sailing in any direction. For docking into our berth, we tried once, we tried twice but the current was so strong the back end of the boat would not swing around, hitting another boat already docked. Our boat not a scratch, the other boat not so lucky. Our insurance company will love us. No body was hurt, but we were the topic of conversation that night.

Next morning we took a tour of the town, quaint and charming narrow streets, with pedestrian walkways only but a tourist trap with many expensive nautical clothing shops as attractions.

After a quick lunch we headed out in the rain wearing our yellow weather gear. Destination: Chichester Harbor ......Arriving at the boatyard only to discover that our place had been occupied by another Southerly, What the hell, we’ll raft up. This time we had timed the current just right, we didn’t leave a mark.

RAINY ITCHENOR

Tuesday, August 10, 10:26 am

Woke up this morning to the sound of rain splashing against my window pane, to be more specific it was the small hatch above my bed which had been leaking all night because I didn’t close it properly. I don’t think we’ll be out much today other than our daily visit to the pub for our internet fix.

At the moment there is a young chap here resolving some minor issues. We are still finding enough things to keep us busy while we are waiting for things to be done. If the weather improves we might take her (SA) out on our own tomorrow for the day.

OK two more chaps have arrived just now so I thought I’d head off to the pub early.

Sitting in the pub now with no other customers around it's a little strange because this place is usually hopping with people and to my great plearsure DOGS. The English do love their dogs. They are allowed in all the pubs, with dog drinking bowls visible everywhere.

The pubs here work differently here in terms of service. The staff do not come around to take your order. You must order your drink and any food at the bar. Once the food is ready they will bring it to the table , but everything must be paid for right away.

All the food we've had here in the pub or what we have purchased is very good. Yesterday' dinner consisted of prepared hamburger patties with roasted potatoes and veggies. The patties were seasoned perfectly and juicy.

Once W. arrives we'll have lunch here today. Need to do some online banking and more research, weather forecast for tomorrow since we plan we first solo sail. We have saved the campaign for the christening for our first solo sail

SUNNY IN ITCHENOR

Itchenor, August 9th, 2010 Thinking back at the time when life was tough and we had to fend for ourselves. Even the heat in the Cottage had to be provided by the surrounding woods and by the muscle power of the "wolfman". But now it looks like we will soften our bodies with leisure time on the boat and let the wind do all the work. Or....

The sun was shining for a change in the English channel and a bit of sun tanning was in order, ahh, the vitamin D !

A slight suntan is what the body needs, and no phone calls from the company. An added bonus.

Just waiting for a few fixes and the ominous spinnaker pole and we should be off exploring the south coast of England before we do the crossing of the channel. Vive la France, here we come!!

ITCHENOR ARRIVAL

It's been 20 days since we have arrived in this cute sea side village and I have done some other journaling, however we don't have a wifi connection on board so it's been difficult. There have been so many details that need attending and blogging is way down on the list. I had also been discouragaed because I'd written a piece at the airport and because I never had my password with me I couldn't publish it.

OK enough excuses. Since our arrival most things have gone according to plan. Our four boxes had arrived before us and so we unloaded them and moved on board. We rented a car to get around and do all our shopping. Our first visit was to Tesco (Costco) where we bought what we thought were the basics, However we did two more shops after that for the rest of the basics. We also did two big shops for chandlery stuff, marine gear, safety equipment etc.

We have beeen out with the boat (SA) in 20 knot winds and she felt seady and secure with waves pounding over the bow. The weather here has been mixed with cool temperatures which is really just the way I like it.

Most days we have lunch and dinner on board. Meals are fast and clean is easy.

Now I just have to figure out have to attach photos into these blogs. In the meantime I will copy and paste the entries I have made earlier.

Saturday