WHY ARE YOUR STORIES USUALLY ABOUT THINGS THAT BREAK?

One of the lessons we have learned in our four seasons on the boat is that things break...all the time. Some of our land-based friends and family have questioned whether we are not more prone than others to mechanical misfortunes. Some have even questioned whether we are ready to give up this cruising life and settle down on land where things don't break as often.

It's hard to convince some people that fixing things on your boat is part of the fun and adventure.

Our dear cruising friend Chris Erickson penned this eloquent explanation. With her permission I share it with you in the hope that the non-believers will begin to understand:

Definition of cruising: "Fixing your boat in exotic ports of call"

Dear Non-cruisers: imagine your house, your lovely house, with fully equipped kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms, living room, spectacular outdoor patio, and deck.

With your house comes a sewage treatment plant, your own electrical grid, water tanks, and fuel. Now imagine that house being rocked side-to-side, front to back, leaned, pivoted, and quite often dropped (off waves) in varying degrees of severity 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Oh yeah--and it is sitting in sea water whose only job is to seize, rust, oxidize, and eventually eat everything around you.

Now--how long do you think your house can take it before things start to break? Even brand new boats require constant attention. Sailboats even more than motor boats because of so many moving parts.

It's impossible to stay ahead of it all. So--the endeavor of cruising takes a certain personality type. It takes someone who can embrace their inner project junky and find challenge, humor, and a good story in the mishaps and mis-adventures.

When cruisers get together, do you really think they talk about how last night's sunset compared to the one the night before? No! They exchange stories of battles won with a recalcitrant head ("toilet" to landlubbers), struggles with an engine, near-misses in the dark, lines wrapped around props, ant invasions, ripped sails, dead electronics, and on and on.

It's the stuff that goes WRONG that makes good stories! It may not be what you want to deal with at the time, but it is the triumphs over the trials that you remember as much as the beautiful locations, great sails, and new friends. Take heart, Landlubber friends; cruisers aren't complaining. Engine woes et al are just part of a good tale being told.

Keep the tales coming Margaret!

Thanks,Chris. You bet I will.

CRUISING IS FIXING YOUR BOAT IN EXOTIC PLACES

As we sailed out of Snead Island Boat Works the sun was shining and the sky was blue. There was a light breeze and all was right with the world. For about 15 minutes. Then the overheat alarm sounded on the ystarboard engine.

We ended up anchoring for the night within view of the boatyard we had just left. The next morning we tried again with the same result. Phil even tried removing the thermostat. No help.

We headed south down the Intracoastal Waterway on one engine. As we traveled, we began to notice that the head (toilet) was not working properly. Soon it wasn't working at all. Things were getting serious now. In two days we arrived at Naples, where we were able to secure a mooring ball for only $10 per night, which includes shower and restroom facilities and laundry.

We have found a diesel mechanic to fix the engine and Phil is quickly becoming an expert at head repair. Why does Phil get stuck repairing the head, I hear you say? Well, it's because on a cruising boat there are blue jobs (for boys) and pink jobs (for girls). Repairing the head is a blue job. Normally, I would complain that was a sexist approach to job sharing. This time, however, I'm not saying a word.

There are no pictures this time. I'm sending this from my smart phone and I'm not smart enough yet to know how to put the pictures in.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Margaret

HALLELUJAH...THE ANTS ARE GONE!

No sign of any ants this morning.  I even got up around 2:00 a.m. and inspected the entire boat with my flashlight.  Not an ant to be seen anywhere.  We bow in respect to the manufacturers of Terro Ant Killer.


The major work is finished.  The boat is clean, the motors have been tested, sails have been checked, chartplotter works, radar works.  We made our second provisioning trip to WalMart yesterday and have enough food for several weeks.


I'm looking forward to a weekend of rest.  We'll take care of last minute boat jobs, do some laundry and watch the Colts play on Sunday.  On Monday, we'll set sail south, destination Key West.

We have several friends to visit along the way and hope to share Thanksgiving with my brother Allen and his wife Dorie.  They are in Palm Beach Gardens and have offered to drive over to meet us wherever we are anchored by Thanksgiving.


Go Colts.

--Margaret

THE ANT WAR CONTINUES...

The large ants appear to be gone; however during the night last night, the tiny ants regrouped and invaded the boat en masse.  Hordes of the little devils made a dark, throbbing line between our state room and the head.

I happened to notice them about 2:00 a.m.  Armed with a flashlight and my trusty ant spray, I caught them unawares.

We see no more alive this morning, but we are headed to Home Depot for a product called "Terro" which, according to several sources on the boating forums will rid the boat of ants once and for all.

Once this ant problem is resolved, we can finish up our work and get underway.  Then I'll have more interesting and exotic topics to write about than ants.

BIG ANTS AND LITTLE ANTS

As we were getting the boat cleaned up and stowing things away, we noticed lots of tiny little ants in the salon and the state room.  I checked outside and found a steady stream of them crawling along the electrical cord that extends from the boat to the hookup on land.

We got some ant spray and ant traps, and sprayed where we had seen them, and soon most of them had disappeared.  We're still seeing an occasional tiny ant, but I think we've won that war.

Yesterday, I found three large ants on our bunk (fortunately, they were on Phil's side of the bed).  I dispatched them with a Kleenex.  A few hours later, there were three more large ants, right in the same place.  And then three more, and then nine more, and this morning, nine more again. (Wonder if it means anything that there are always multiples of three.)

We figured they must be dropping down from the ceiling, so today Phil opened a section of the headliner above where we were finding the ants and shot ant spray inside.  Scores of ants fell onto the towel we had spread out on the bed.  As he removed the headliner there were many more ants, plus white pods that resembled the pods on Invasion of the Body Snatchers, only smaller.

Everything is cleaned up now and no more ants have appeared.  We are leaving the headliner off for a while to let things air out and to be sure there are no stragglers. 

And you thought the cruising life was just white sand beaches, gin clear water and sundowners.

WHAT A MESS!

The cockpit is where the "stuff" first lands as we empty
the car.  Notice the captain checking to see if the dinghy
will hold air and float.

Usually when we return to the boat after it's been on land for the summer it needs a little sprucing up, but not a major cleaning.  I don't know why, but this year the boat needs much more than sprucing up.  It needs deep cleaning, inside and out.

The car was loaded to the gills on the trip from Indiana to Florida.  It was so full that we had to stuff in the last items and close the doors very quickly so nothing fell out. 

We've been here two days.  I've cleaned the salon and the galley and Phil has brought the last items from the car.  He has also filled the dinghy with air and attached the motor, reinstalled the sails, and is preparing to install the bimini (sunshade).

Now we begin the sorting and stowing.

Here is the "before" look:



The galley (kitchen), with a view of the garage.  Not one
empty inch of counter space.







Looking into the state room.  
We were fortunate to
locate the bed last night.

The salon (our living room).



I hope to bring you "after" pictures very soon.







 

TIME FOR A NEW ADVENTURE

If you're new to our blog, welcome!  We are Phil and Margaret McGovern from Greenwood, Indiana.  In 2007, we purchased a PDQ 36 sailing catamaran.  It was our first boat and we didn't know how to sail.  In fact, other than taking a few boating courses in a classroom, we didn't know much about boating at all.  Most people thought we were nuts.

Slowly, with lots of practice, reading and research, and assistance from many cruising friends, we have learned what we needed to know to travel safely, anchor securely, read a chart and plan a trip.  We haven't sunk the boat or damaged another boat (okay, maybe I once put a tiny little scratch on a fancy power boat...but I don't count that).  Most important, we've never lost anyone overboard. 

We have had many wonderful adventures.  Some were scary.  But when we look back, we wouldn't change a thing.

We are about to begin our fourth season of cruising.

Indiana Summer has turned into Fall and it's time for us to go back to the boat.  We'll load the car and head out on Sunday morning, hoping to reach Snead Island Boat Works near Tampa early enough on Monday to get Sunshine splashed and move on board.

It's been a fine summer.  We spent time with our kids, grandkids and siblings.  The grandkids gave the pool a good workout and had some fun sleep-overs.  (What happens at Grandma's stays at Grandma's.)  Phil completely rehabbed two of our rental homes.  We put them on the market, but they didn't sell.  We were able to rent both of them, which is the next best thing.  I pretended to sell commercial real estate, but buyers were scarce. 

With snow flurries predicted this week, we are eager to head South.

Our plan this winter is to stretch our wings a little and have a new adventure.  During the last three winters, we have explored the Bahamas, the Keys, and the east and west coasts of Florida.  It's time for something new and Mexico will be this year's destination.

We will spend a month working our way south from Tampa down to Key West, where our son, Andy, and his girlfriend, Jill, will fly in from Seattle.  If the weather gods smile on us and we get favorable winds while Andy and Jill are visiting, they will join us on a three-day sail to Isla Mujeres, Mexico, a small island just five miles from Cancun on the Yucatan Peninsula.

Stay tuned as we begin Cruising Season Four.

--Margaret