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.