A DAY IN THE LIFE

I thought it might be interesting, if you are interested, to get in on all of the nitty-gritty. Things I don't talk about on the web page but things that you might wonder about. If you are so inclined, below is a typical day in the life aboard a sailing vessel. I won't mention the too personal things but try to give you a taste of day-day life.

Our day usually begins at 7:00am. Sometimes earlier, sometimes later. My day usually starts a bit later. Bob usually arises at about that time, quietly makes himself a cup of coffee, takes it out to the cockpit with his book and has a quiet time until I get up. I have the timer set on the SSB to wake me at 7:45am, a ham station featuring very good weather. If weather is an issue, meaning we are sailing somewhere or in an exposed anchorage, Bob will tune into the 7:00am local weather. I will rise with the SSB, make a cup of tea and a piece of toast. As the water is boiling, I peek my head out and we exchange "good mornings." If this is a stay-at-anchor day, after breakfast I make the bed, sweep the boat and choose a room to clean. Bob gets s slower start to his day and relaxes in the cockpit with his book and several cups of java. If it is a get-under-way day, I batten down the interior of the boat and Bob does above decks. For me, this means putting all stray objects in a place where they can't go flying. Everything stowed in the galley, things on the bathroom counters put in the sinks, dishes put away or put in the sink, aft head (bathroom) seacock closed, all navigational equipment not in use stowed and things in use go in the cockpit. Computer is put away, hanging lamp is bungied down, etc. Bob, meanwhile, takes everything out of the dinghy (if it's more than a few miles, we have to hoist the dinghy motor up to the rail. This takes about 20-30 minutes. The motor weighs about 80 pounds and we have installed a hoist to make it easier for me), oars and pump get stowed and gas container gets lashed to the lines on deck. He puts away the swim ladder and anything else lying on the deck. Bob is our chief navigator. Bob is our only navigator. He goes over the routes with me and I can steer to the GPS and read charts but I don't do so well navigating from charts. This is definitely one of my weak points and his strong point.

After the boat is all battened, we start the engine, gather up our sailing gloves and walkie-talkies and come up. We turn on our walkie-talkies and each give a test while Bob is walking up to the bow and I take my position at the helm. It is usually at this point that I realize that we haven't turned our instruments on and I have to go below and turn them on, checking that the windlass is on (the electrical thing that raises the anchor). Changing the depth meter from meters to feet, I radio that I am ready and Bob gives me my first direction. Always forward right or forward left. He gives the direction and I repeat it and then do it. This keeps up until he lets me know that we're off the bottom, at which time I turn toward the direction we are headed and then he tells me the anchor is secure, at which time I give it some gas. Bob puts the brake on the anchor and snubs the line, walks back to the helm and takes the wheel. Bob always steers the first watch, getting us on our way to our first waypoint and I usually go below and finish making the bed or stowing that last minute glass jar and make Bob another cup of coffee.

We are off. Bob will steer the first 2 hours and then we will alternate until the last waypoint, at which time he takes the helm and brings us into our new neighborhood. Sometime in between, we hoist the sails. We both are able to raise all of the sails with the other's help although the mainsail takes more muscle and Bob usually does that. If we think we will be sailing with the mainsail, we take the cover off at anchor so it doesn't blow away. To raise the main, I take the helm and steer us into the wind while Bob muscles the halyard that raises the sail. I then pull in the mainsheet, which is in the cockpit, while steering. And so goes a sailing day. Sometimes it's a 2-hour sail, an all day sail or a 4-day sail.

If we are at anchor and planning to stay there, we have a variety of options. Boat maintenance is always staring us in the face, there are towns to explore, beaches to walk, little boutiques to discover and the never-ending grocery shopping, laundry and replenishing of fuel and water. There is also swimming and snorkeling, which are both very high on my list. After doing a combination of these things, we are hot and sweaty and have two choices for cleaning up. If we have an abundance of fresh water in our tanks, we take a shower in our shower stall. This consists of turning the water on and wetting down. The hair gets first priority, another squirt and lather up and a final rinse. We have an electric sump pump in the shower, which drains the water out to sea. We use approximately 2 ½ gallons each per shower. If we are low on fresh water, we have two salt water options. They both involve a dunk. Joy soap works beautifully in salt water and is the only soap I know of that will lather in salt water. If there is a nearby beach, we go there and have a wonderful bath. If not, we have to bathe off the boat. One of us stands on the swim ladder while the other shampoos their hair, takes a dunk and washes with joy while treading water. It's good exercise. The option then is whether to use the fresh water rinse hose in the cockpit or if we are really low on water, I just use a moisturizer all over and gel in my hair. I feel perfectly clean after one of these baths but fresh water is always better.

After this exercise in cleanliness, we are rejuvenated, and one of us cooks dinner while the other relaxes. This is the time of day where we wind down and realize how tired we are from the sun, the fun and the work. The cook gets relieved of dish duty and relaxes while the other does the dishes and clean-up. It's at this time of day where Bob and I are tired and relaxed and mentally go our separate ways. Bob reads a book while I write the web page, get weather faxes and listen to the cruisers net on SSB. We usually have little interaction in the evenings and enjoy just taking time to ourselves. Bob usually falls asleep at about 8:30pm, the first time, wakes up, makes himself a cup of coffee, reads some more and falls back asleep by 9:30pm. I usually stay at the computer, preferring my book reading to be used as a tranquilizer. I usually hop into bed about 10:00pm and read anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and a half. More likely than not, I go to sleep about 11:00-11:30pm. Old habits die hard.

Drs. and prescriptions. Some areas are much harder to deal with than others. For instance, my insurance company greatly rewards me for using their own pharmacy. This means I have to calculate just where I am going to run low on prescriptions and order the refill to be sent to a dockmaster's office. This is harder than it sounds because we almost never know ahead of time where we are going to be and when we will be there. In the Bahamas, it is impossible since mail takes anywhere from 3 weeks to never. Doctor and dental appointments usually get scheduled spur of the moment in a strange port by recommendation or when we are home. Emergency appointments are a royal pain and can take much time and money. In Beaufort, I had to get permission from my insurance company and go to the hospital they recommended and that meant renting a car. It took most of the day and wasn't all that much fun.

Mail. Mail is taken care of by my sister. She does a beautiful job of saving it up and sending it to any port that I ask her to. The monthly bills are paid automatically by a bill-pay service at Fidelity Investments. It's a wonderful, reliable service for only $4.95 per month. When my sister does send mail, she usually sends a cute, little care package with cards, pictures and sometimes wonderful, homemade cookies that she makes with her daughter and my friend, Kathy. When we get our package, as we did two days ago, we find a nice shaded area and separate our mail and go through it while we munch on the cookies.

Laundry. No matter where, it's a pain. We have walked anywhere from ½ block to 3 miles to do our laundry. Sometimes we need quarters and sometimes tokens. Sometimes the Laundromats are surprisingly clean and sometimes we can smell the fumigation smells. In the Abacos, I had to do 4 loads with only 1 washer and 1 dryer. It took most of one full day. It's usually hot and dirty but to every negative there's usually a positive. There is nothing different about living on a boat than living on land when it comes to having a fresh shower and lying down on those sweet smelling, freshly washed sheets. Or putting that sweatshirt over your head to that clean, dryer sheet smell. Groceries and incidentals. About the same as laundry. Sometimes they are convenient and just when you think you are anchoring in a booming boating town like Annapolis, and there will be a good selection of nearby stores, you find out which bus can get you there for $1.50 round-trip and in only ½ hour. Things like laundry, groceries, Wall-Mart stores, usually take the better part of one day. Privacy. From other boaters is only a problem in an anchorage like Spa Creek, Annapolis, where we are surrounded by condos, apartments and other boaters. We have seen many a pair of binoculars trained on us. We feel like we are living in a fish bowl in these kinds of anchorages. In places like most of the Bahamas and less busy places, privacy is not usually a problem. If you have to run out to check an anchor in the middle of the night, no matter what you are or are not wearing, it's almost never a problem. From each other is a different story. This takes some work and most couples get into a niche fairly soon or separate. Bob and I always managed to live in small places and not be under each other's foot. There are actually many places to be by yourself on this boat while still only 2 feet away. For instance, right now Bob is reading on the couch while I am sitting 2 feet away at the nav station. We haven't said a word in about ½ hour. If it weren't raining, I might be above deck reading or working on the teak. Sometimes Bob goes into town and I stay on the boat. Yesterday I went shopping with the girls while Bob stayed behind to work on the autopilot with Eric. We manage very nicely to live in tight places and still remain best friends. Our friends out here all manage as well. Not that there aren't squabbles and misunderstandings. After all, we are all still mostly human.

Grooming. Grooming is done the same as at home with a few exceptions. Haircuts get done whenever you can't stand looking at yourself in the mirror anymore or your mate can't stand the sight of you, and says so, and by anyone nearby with a pair of scissors. My best haircut to date was done on a beach at Little Majors Island by someone I had never met before, for free. My worst haircut was just 6 weeks ago in Marsh Harbour at a salon for $15.00. You ever know and actually, we never really care. Make-up for me is a thing of the past. Ditto hair color. I always knew I would like little bits of gray (ugh!) Those pesky face hairs get tweezed just a little less regular since you can never spot them. Average time, about 3 inches. When I turn my head real slow and realize that it can't be a hair from my head because they are only 1" long, it's time to find the tweezers, which are stored in plastic and out of the moist salt air. Bob trims his beard up on deck in the breeze. When he's done, the whole boat is covered in hair and I pray for rain. Nails are done in the cockpit on grooming day. Whenever that is.

Friendships. Friends are made everyday. Sailors are a friendly bunch and we think nothing of knocking on a hull and introducing ourselves. If there is a connection, we may have cocktails aboard one of our boats or may go out for a meal. People with the same make of boats are drawn to each other but good friends are made and kept by working at it, same as everywhere. Most of our friends are younger than us, but certainly not all. We look for cruisers instead of weekend sailors because we have more in common. And same as at home, we love to laugh and always manage to find people that help us do just that.

If I have missed anything that you are curious about, feel free to e-mail us at: Mutualfun@pocketmail.com