Five Ways I’m Staying Focused On Cruising
08/15/2017
Some of you know that while EW is working on the boat like the hero he is, I’m working in the Gig Economy with 3-4 contracting/independent jobs (depending on who is counting).
Yep. That’s a lot of fun. We should have done a bit of research before settling on St. Augustine. Tourism is their big business and it doesn’t pay well.
I digress.
Frequently.
Work is (finally) going quite well, but if a cruiser is not often on the boat and actually living in a home on dirt, it can be easy for said cruiser to lose focus. I’ve found a few things that help.
But first, a pause for the project. This an old photo. All teak has been removed except that under the deck fills and a few posts on the bow and stern. For that, he needs me. Two awesome friends each helped remove the track from one side of the boat. (Thank you, Ross and Matt!)
Now then, back to our regularly scheduled post.
Five things that get me excited about the cruising life when we aren’t cruising:
5. I have been envious of every blessed one of our cruising friends. And then learned that new friends who are having a wonderful cruise from Florida to Bermuda for the America’s Cup and on to Nova Scotia so far only recently got their boat back in the water after working on her for months. Lesson: We are not alone. Working on the boat for an extended period of time is part of this lifestyle and the rewards are worth it.
4. St. Augustine is a wonderful sailing “crossroads” allowing us to make new cruising friends and meet up with ones we met in distant ports. Just talking with other cruisers takes me right back to loving the life. Lesson: While we have made some great friends on shore, we need to remember to socialize with the cruising set on a regular basis. They are our people. (Keeping in touch with them on Facebook has been priceless—even if jealousy rears its ugly head.)
3. Since we are living in a furnished rental, I’m becoming familiar with new (to me) and different products, tools, and systems. No, we aren’t going to put a dishwasher on the boat, but I am going to find a place for a salad spinner because it’s as useful as Carolyn of the Boat Galley said. Also, do you know about micro-planes? A beautiful invention. Wonderful. Why did I not know this? Lesson: There are definitely things I need to research and learn about before repacking the boat. (HGTV and the Food Network have been wonderful sources.)
2. This is a great opportunity to clean and clean out the boat. First, while we are still CLODS, I’m going to scrub every inch of the interior. (Who am I kidding? I’ll do most of it. I’m not a skewer cleaner.) After she’s clean enough, I’m going to open every box that was left on board and carefully evaluate its contents to see if they bring me joy. (I’m not kidding. Ask EW.) Things will be tossed and other things will be stored in a new space. I’ve already negotiated one space in the galley that I foolishly gave to EW years ago. No, he does NOT need to keep filters and screws in the galley. What was I thinking? We have not re-evaluated the space planning since moving aboard 15 years ago. Lesson: Just because it fits somewhere on the boat, doesn’t mean you get to keep it on the boat. Remember, this is a minimalist lifestyle.
1. And the number one way I have been keeping my cruising spirits up? By planning the next adventure, of course. We don’t actually know when we’ll leave or what direction we’ll head. Some of that depends on the time of year we pass through the Bridge of Lions for an extended cruise. We have ideas, and I am researching them. Lesson: Dreaming about distant shores is what got us here. It will also motivate us to work for and on the next cruise.
April Sunset 2015 – Must be St. Thomas
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