When we’re prepping the boat for a passage we try to anticipate gear issues, feeding the crew, emergency situations and any other what-ifs. Upon arrival we’re relieved to have arrived safely, we’re tired and hungry, but in general we hug each other for a passage well done and excitedly relive the gorgeous sunrises and sunsets, stars and moon, quiet moments of retrospection and introspection.
But during the passage there are things that I don’t blog about. Nothing too serious, just enough of an irritation or experiencing the “cruisers nightmares” that we’ve read about or discussed with seasoned cruisers.
Here are some of those not so wonderful moments of cruising life.
A pigtail on the back of our chart plotter – radar combination unit had a flimsy end cap covering the vulnerable electronic pins. We didn’t use the particular plug for our depth sounder. During the constant use and swinging of the unit into the companion way, the damn end cap wiggled off, jiggled towards a stainless steel bolt and impaled itself. Zap, there went the mother -board. That was 2 days prior to departing SF. An expensive side trip to West Marine, we now have a new unit, better than the first one but the cruising kitty wasn’t prepared for that expense. Thank you Sis for the use of your vehicle!
This picture shows the panel opened up with all of the wiring behind it. The new unit is much nicer and doesn’t have loose pigtails hanging out.
On the way down from SF as the boat pitched I had a disagreement with the main winch in the cockpit. I lost and ended up with a sore jaw. My only saving grace was had it been my front teeth I wouldn’t be smiling now.
There are cobwebs floating around even in the ocean. One happened to float across my face and ended up in my eye. I am allergic to cobwebs so warm compresses had to be applied to keep the swelling and itch under control. WTH, out here?
Sometimes I get cranky. Honestly, I try to hide that attribute. John is so tolerant.
What to eat? Hangry (hungry pangs turning to anger) , the latest urban terminology that I occasionally experienced but doesn’t occur under passage. Plain rice with black sesame seed and salt wrapped in nori NEVER tasted so yummy.
And then there was the gastronomical episode that John experienced. No more food for him.
Passages are long and tiring, John’s back and butt gets very sore from lack of comfortable seating. We don’t drink alcohol under passage so his signature whiskey sours that fix his back have to wait. I’m fortunate to have ample padding.
There isn’t enough room for everything. The overstuffed cabinets, extra gear, and clothing tend to be annoying. Tools are buried when we need them, NOW. One feels like throwing it all away and go bare boat. But a few hours of examining the items, carefully repacking the cabinets, the boat expands and we’re very pleased and proud of our comfortable home.
Last nightmare: some idiot ran his boat into us, twice in fact, causing enough damage to send us scrambling to locate parts and repair what we could. The harbor patrol was so helpful providing a lift to the repair shop, a fellow Westsail owner provided a new custom made stanchion, another Westsail owner has offered his address and delivery service to receive our ordered parts on the way to Mexico. We’re so fortunate to have thoughtful people go an extra measure to help us out! Thank you, thank you Dennis and Carmencita, SV Shoestring, and John Milner, SV T.L. Sea
All things wonderful, newly made friends, and “cruiser nightmares”, experiences all rolled in seaweed, living life to our fullest. We appreciate the little things that are routine on land,
We miss our families even more and our memories of time spent with them give us balance.
Propelling forward tomorrow while we have a stable weather pattern to get around Point Conception.