And I don’t mean waves…. or maybe I do. The other day a friend of mine asked me tell her the truth about our cruising life, not the prettied up version, written for entertainment and so folks would know where we are… but the real stuff, the good and the bad. And, as she was a good friend, and one I could trust to not blab all my inner secrets to the world at large… I did.
Now, after a couple of days of contemplating what I confessed to her… some of my frustrations, some of my darn right toe-tapping ‘what am I doing here?’ days, I’ve realize that (with the exception of a couple of too scary to share stories) I’ve pretty much shared the good and the bad with all of you… just maybe in not quite so much detail as I related to my friend. And, thinking about that got me thinking about how there must be some days when I’ve really sounded like an ungrateful wretch. You know, whining about the heat and not enough rain… And complaining about having to always be repairing things and working through maintenance procedures. And, then there’s the wind… oh those nasty northers… and coromuels… and other such weather challenges.
So, for the record, and so I can clear my conscience… here comes a review of the ups and downs, the good, bad and ugly… of this way of life, from my perspective… just in case you’re interested. If you’re not, please just move on and come back for the next episode of our continuing adventure on the good ship Shannon.
For the record on the ‘downs’:
Just for starters, I wish I could be two people. The first of me would be enjoying this marvelous adventure and experience. I’d have no guilty conscience dragging my thoughts back to home and family and friends… I’d just be a free spirit, forging onward into the unknown and enjoying every minute of it. The other ‘me’ would be at home, spending more time with my dad, my sisters, and my partners family and seeing a lot more of our friends, nurturing those relationships for the many years to come. I bet you can see the problem. I can’t have it both ways. I chose the compromise and am living with it… that being adventuring for half the year and being home for half the year. It’s definitely not guilt free, and it’s not the perfect solution, but it sure beats being only one of those me’s and wishing I was the other.
On the issue of boat size, you’ve heard me whine more than once about our lack of storage space. That, unfortunately, hasn’t changed. We’re unloading what gear we can, but remain over-stuffed with all the things we need for this adventuring life… all squeezed into a boat that is, or at least feels, about 6’ too small. Despite her ‘Ma and Pa Kettle’ look, with gear piled everywhere… Shannon forges on like the great dame she is, and we do our best to not let her feel or see our frustrations.. moving gear back and forth every morning and night, just to go to bed or clear the couch. Needless to say, we don’t entertain much.. and when we do it’s mostly in the cockpit… we can seat 6 out there… and we just pass the food back and forth :-)
On the issue of time spent maintaining and repairing. The common joke amongst cruisers is…. “it’s all about repairing your boat in exotic places”. While that isn’t all that funny :-( it’s definitely true. These good old boats don’t care where they are when they need your attention. They just demand it without any thoughts to your own needs or desires. Nope, don’t show any compassion at all…. just let themselves fall apart whilly-nilly without any thoughts towards availability of parts, temperature ranges, weather challenges.. or available skill levels. That being said, these repairs would be needed whether you were moored at your local yacht club in BC or swinging on an anchor in a wee bit of paradise… so, hmmm, let’s see…. where would I choose to be while I sit and contemplate what I’ll need and how to make said repair(s)? The good news is the cruising family (and it is a family) is filled with folks with many skills. We carry as many spare parts as we can, content in the belief that if we can’t fix it, someone we meet will be able to. Just like a family, cruisers help each other in so many ways. It’s humbling really… to be welcomed into such a warm and supportive group of folks. They’re great and we’ve made many friends who we will be in touch with for years. But let me not leave this topic without saying “yes, this is perhaps the most frustrating part of this life with a good old boat'”. We do seem to be spending an inordinate amount of time working on our dear Shannon. Not just to keep up with the neighbours, but to continue to try to bring her up to a nautically acceptable level of condition. It never seems to end. Everywhere I look, little jobs await me… when I finish one, I turn around and there’s another. I make lists, and then lists of lists (just like home) and I cross off what I get done… but in a world where the average temperatures are still higher than normal and the humidity will drop you to your knees some days, my work day is much shorter, and my list of still to do’s is much longer…. it is a tad frustrating. When we’re feeling sorry for ourselves, it’s because there doesn’t seem to be much time for ‘fun’. We haven’t been able to free our minds and our bodies to go seeking the fun times and the tours and the other stuff folks do in their spare time… We’re still hunting for time to call ‘spare’…manana.
For the record on the ‘ups’:
There’s one big one for me… and that’s the people. Not just the cruisers, and I’ll speak of them in a minute, but the Mexicans we have met everywhere we’ve stopped. Once I got over the fear of fierce looking fellows, many carrying very large guns, guarding everything from elementary school children in a military neighbourhood, to border guards and others who don’t seem to know the rule about not walking with your finger on the trigger… once I realized these guys aren’t really that scary and when they smile, their faces light up like the sun… I started to relax. Now they don’t look so different or so fierce. Now they smile at me and respond to my somewhat halting spanglish when I wish them good morning, or good afternoon. This morning I even tried a “how are you?” and it worked.. he answered. That’s when I got stuck.. but he didn’t seem to mind and he practiced his English and I practiced my Spanish while we fumbled through a couple more lines of greeting. We’ve met many Mexican families in the small fishing villages like San Evaristo and we’ll meet many more as we travel. We have toys for the kids and it’s really fun to give. We also have items for the men and women. We have been welcomed warmly where ever we have stopped. Kathy does very well communicating with them.. and I, well I smile and nod a lot and they don’t seem to mind… probably think I have a speech problem or something… but we’re getting along.
As for the cruisers… what a family. Like other somewhat ‘extreme’ sports or lifestyles, we all have something in common… we’re here… in a boat… most of which we sailed from some distance… Enough said. To have shared the experiences that we have – speaks volumes – and creates an immediate familial connection. Just like in life, you don’t get real close to everyone you meet, but of the folks you do meet, there are many who quickly become very close and dear… Common interests such as music, or fishing, technology, art, culture… you name it… these common issues create yet another plane upon which your friendships grow. Good or bad, there is also a lot of socializing.. Whether it’s a quick ‘sundowner’ on the dock or beach, or a full-blown pot luck appie party and jam session… these get-togethers occur regularly and are great fun. We do have to be careful tho’. Their numbers can get out of hand and it’s easy to run out of food or ideas for food. As well we’ve found we want to limit our socializing a tad… it was kind of taking over and biting in to our alone and together time…
Wildlife, of the mother nature kind: All my words and all our photos will never be able to do justice to the beauty that is the Sea of Cortez. I could never have imagined the sea life and the majestic beauty of the Baja. To swim with whale sharks and sea lions, to be entertained by leaping rays, to swim with schools of tropical fish, to look deep into azure and turquoise blue waters, to even be able to select the exact piece of sand you’re going to plunk your anchor into.. to ‘paint’ with the spotlight at night – running it across the sea surface and having thousands of fish leap from the water in the path of the beam… to experience being surrounded by hundreds of frolicking dolphins and dozens of feeding whales… to fall in love with the full moon, night after night after night… and to thrill at the sight of a meteor racing through the atmosphere.. What more can I say? These things… the people, the nature, the lifestyle… is why we are here.
So, like so many things in life… there are some ups and downs to this cruising adventure. But the one main realization I have is that we would never be able to have this experience without going through the tough stuff first and as we go. There’s no exactly right time to go (age, career, family); there’s no exactly right size of boat to go in (24’ – 74’ they’re all out here); there’s no exactly right way to plan your courses and routes (it’s an individual choice); and there’s no exact formula for figuring out when you’ve seen enough, done enough, travelled far enough… (I guess we’ll know when we get there).
So that my friends, is my message this Sunday morning. I wish all of you a day filled with peace and love. Be good to yourselves… enjoy your families and friends. Hugs to you all…. CJ
