Jim has been busy keeping the blog up to date since San Diego and I have to admit being a bit apathetic to this task.
Firstly, I have been adjusting to living on a boat, detoxifying from city life and the rat race and trying to get used to the change in my role. It has been an adjustment for me to go from a professional where others are relying on me for advice and care of their loved ones to mom, wife and sailor where those relying on me are a n=2. My responsibilities have shrunk and grown at the same time.
I’m the full time cook on board, something I’ve dreaded since I’m not very proficient in the kitchen, I just cope. Cooking is not a passion of mine, just a chore. I’ve envied friends of mine who have a pantry full of exotic ingredients and manage to whip up something fabulous in 30 mins and love to do it. Both my mum and sister have that passion for cooking but I prefer to eat what’s put before me! Food shopping is another chore that I dislike and I hate having to plan meals as I’ve no idea what I want to cook from one day to the next, let alone the next week like we have to do when cruising. Met Market is not just around the corner from us. Going to the mercado is an interesting experience as I’ve no idea what to buy and what to cook and now it’s in a foreign language as well. It makes it 10x as onerous as it does in English. So for now the menu is whatever recipe I can find in the book with the ingredients I’ve gotten. I’m limited to broccoli, carrots, green beans and cucumbers as vegetables that I can deal with. I’m not a salad person so don’t tend to make it.
I do like baking though, so have made some bread, some peach crumble, I’ve perfected my pizza dough recipe and even made a birthday cake for Jacintha, although I did decorate it with shocking pink icing from a box. But we can’t just live on cake alone.
I’m also the teacher on board and haven’t been doing too well on that score as I’m so slack about it. Jacintha whines and complains about having to do her math and journal writing. She started out great and completed half her math coursework by the time we left San Diego but both Jim and I were so busy with preparation/sailing that we’ve been pretty slack at checking her work and keeping a schedule. So now she’s not as interested in it as she was and getting a bit frustrated with fractions. Plus there’s always something more interesting to see and do like going to the markets, swimming at the beach, walking around an island. I’m really glad I didn’t purchase a strict program to work with as I don’t think I could spend that much time enforcing school work and administering tests. And during passages we both get a little green around the gills so no schoolwork on sailing days is a rule!
Having my social circle cut down to 2 people has been somewhat frustrating for me. I have been used to interacting with lots of different people in the hospital and having friends that I could do things with that Jim wasn’t interested in. Now my world has shrunk to Jim, Jacintha and the boat. We go most places together as we only have the one “car” – our dinghy. So I’m limited with what’s within walking distance or a bus ride away, and what either Jim or Jacintha want to do. We do meet people on other boats but it’s not the same as calling Agnes for a coffee, going for a pedicure with Jennifer or catching a chick flick with a bunch of the girls. And socializing is easier when we’re at a dock at a marina as opposed to anchoring out far away from everyone else, then one feels even more isolated. Jacintha feels the lack of friends as well, so I do try and and make an effort to find other boats with kids that she can play with. So far we’ve met Amaia and Alina on Family Circus, Gracie and Billie on Seahorse V, Bucket on Velvet Sky, Hannah on Ohana whom we just met at Mazatlan. She’s had a couple of boat sleepovers so far! We even met a couple of nice land based kids at the El Cid Marina Resort that she enjoyed playing with. Samantha from the Canadian Okanagans was real special as she gave Jacintha a birthday present!!
I was surprised at how noisy sailing actually is. In my mind, I always thought it would be a quiet commune with nature! How wrong I was. At the dock I was surprised to hear pitter patter of what sounds like raindrops. Turns out they’re shrimp eating at night that make that noise – they were loudest in San Diego bay. The first time I heard it I wanted to close all our hatches!
When we turn off the motor it means there’s wind enough to sail. There is always the sound of water rushing past the hull as we travel along, sloshing, splashing and gurgling. Then there’s the boat that sways to the waves, whether it’s from the big lazy long Pacific Rollers that rock the boat from side to side like a cradle or from the shorter, sharper chop of wind blown waves that lifts up the boat and surfs underneath. All these movement makes the boat creak and groan with each wave. Pots bang against each other and the spice jars rattle. Things in the cupboards rattle all adding to to noise on the boat. The sails may flop and pull on the sheets causing some banging. Lastly, there is the wind. You don’t hear it below 10 knots. From 10-20 she is a low hum. From 20-30 she starts to sing. Above 30 she starts to moan. I do not want to hear her past 30 knots as I am unable to sleep for the din in the cabin.
What do I like about cruising?
I love waking up and finding myself in a different place and not having to think about work. I couldn’t get enough of watching the pelicans dive bomb into the water to catch a fish in Bahia Tortuga. I was amazed by the amount of different butterflies we’ve seen along the Baja Peninsula. I love dropping the anchor and being able to see it on the sandy bottom with the chain lying in a straight line behind it.
The amount of fish at the anchorage and marinas has been spectacular. At Bahia de Los Muertos we shone a light into the water and it attracted so many fish. We managed to put a net into the water and catch a fish. My favorite watch is when there’s a moon out casting a silver light on the sea and the boat.
When we meet other cruisers I love hearing their stories. How they made it there, how long they’re staying, where they’re headed to, how long they intend to sail. The cruisers net in the big towns like La Paz and Mazatlan make one feel like a part of a community. This is a daily 8am VHF radio check-in every cruiser listens to in the town. They ask if there’s any emergencies out there. Then give a tide and weather report. Then ask if anyone is new in town or leaving. Then if anyone needs boating help and is anyone willing to help them with it. Plus organizing activities for the community.
I am amazed at the growth in my daughter both physically and mentally the last 3 months. She’s more confident in talking to people and very sure of herself. She’s not afraid to speak up for herself and is independent when we have to do an overnighter. She’s brave when we have choppy seas and doesn’t complain about it. She comes on deck with her life jacket on and hangs onto the mizzen mast in the cockpit till things settle down. A real trooper in trying times. She loves adventure and was excited to walk around Isla Isabella to see the nesting frigate birds and blue footed boobies.
All in all cruising has so far been a wonderful experience and there is still more to come.
