Published Articles:
What Do You Do All Day?
Published in “Living Aboard” magazine, April, 2000I'm sure most non-cruisers day-dream about a cruising life filled with snorkeling in crystal clear water near some deserted island, catching gigantic lobsters to cook on the long white sand beaches in the evening while drinking rum punches as the sun sets with a brilliant flash of green. We've been asked by friends to describe our cruising life - what do we do all day? For some people, life is hard to imagine without that job, unlimited free time is such a wonderful fantasy.
We recently had guests visit us while we were in Grenada in the West Indies, and I'm sure that our activities during the time they were with us confirmed these suspicions. We took them to the Sunday beach barbecue that most cruisers attend. This turns out to be an full afternoon affair since the addition of a small steel drum band as well as seeing other cruisers we haven't seen since the last barbecue and cruisers who have just arrived that week.
One full moon evening, a group of us decided to have a dinghy raftup and float around the harbor having drinks and munchies. This was a highlight for our guests, as there were two cruisers with guitars who played Jimmy Buffett music as we drifted through the harbor. When we drifted into the dinghy dock, a few of the dinghy motors were started to try to relocate the group, en masse, back into the middle of the harbor again. We have done this in other locations and have always had a good time talking and swimming.
Suspicions of non-stop cruiser partying were further confirmed when we were invited to "Sunday services" at a neighboring boat. This consists of noonish "Bloody Bulls", which is a spicy Texas version of a Bloody Mary, with appropriate snacks.
Other get-togethers were planned with people we have been cruising with for some time and we were busy each day having a good time and touring the island. There were a few boat projects completed during the time they were here, but the ratio
of work to fun was certainly heavy on the fun side.Of course, they missed some of our preparations for their visit. They didn't get to help us lugging heavy jerry cans of fuel to ensure that we would have enough to keep the motor running for power and refrigeration during their visit. If the diesel is really low, this could easily consume an afternoon. Water is another thing that we had to stock up on and it takes time to drag all those jerry jugs of water on board and put it in the tanks. I'm sure someone is thinking that all we would have to do is take the boat into the dock, and sometimes it will work out that way. Some areas we've cruised have either little or no docking facilities, and some times we don't want to take up the anchors that have dug in really well and have proved to hold in a good blow.
I stocked up on food and drinks before they arrived so they missed the fun of a "bus" ride into town to get to the grocery store. A bus in Grenada (as in many islands), is a minivan that crams in as many passengers as it can uncomfortably fit and then races up and down the winding mountain roads. After walking to various stores in town to try to get boat parts in an island that doesn't have boat parts, we visit the poorly stocked (compared to the States) stores that have mostly foreign products. By now, we're at the bottom of the island chain and we've read all the labels and know what most of these are, since we've been finding the same thing at each island. This knowledge finally comes in handy as it cuts down the length of time we spend in the stores. Some American products are sometimes available, but the rule is: If you see it and you want it, you better stock up because you may not see it again for a long time. I was told this and didn't heed the advice on one item, so I've been looking for weeks now for a certain cracker from Venezuela that we like.
After the backpacks (necessary cruiser gear) are full, as well as a few other canvas-type bags, maybe a soft cooler for the cold/frozen items, we find the bus again and pack together for the ride back to the dinghy dock. By the time you arrive at the dinghy and load things in and get back to the boat, it's well after noon/lunch time and you still have to put everything away and have a bite to eat.
Since we don't have the luxury of doing laundry in the next room while doing something else around the house, I had to take sheets and towels to the machine about a mile's dinghy ride away so they'd be fresh when the guests arrived. Of course, lots of land people have to go to laundromats to do their wash, and we think we're extremely lucky to find a coin laundry in the islands. If we do find a place, it usually has only one or two machines and of course there's always someone using both of them. So after waiting for them and doing our load, it's back to the boat to hang things on the sheets and lifelines. You can't assume that a laundromat will have both washers and dryers! That's a bit much to ask for. In some locations where there are no facilities, there are "laundry services" that will wash and dry for you, at a much higher cost. If we happen to need clean clothes in those locations, since we're on a budget, we have been known to do them by hand.
Some boat projects consume days instead of hours. You'd think it would be easy to get an electric motor rebuilt with new bearings. You can walk from one end of town to the other, stopping in at all the little shops, looking for someone who stocks the parts necessary for your motor, and finally end up at some house that you heard about from the last shop. We had just that type of situation here in Grenada, the guy in the house was the only one who had the parts we needed for our motor, and could get it done by the next day - and he didn't even have a sign out front! By the time John got back to the boat that day, it was time for dinner and the rest of the project waited for the next afternoon because it would take the entire morning to go into town to retrieve the fixed motor.
One day, John was doing a project on the boat when we heard a VHF call from a friend of ours who was coming in the harbor when the engine overheated. The entrance is lined with reefs and to be safe, he called for a dinghy escort. No less than 5 cruisers dropped what they were doing to help the vessel through to the anchorage. In this case, we knew the people on board, but cruisers will help any other boat in trouble. This is a comforting fact, but it does delay projects or plans because it has to be taken care of immediately. Cruisers can easily get into the "manana" syndrome. The saying that "manana doesn't necessarily mean tomorrow, just sometime in the future" is alive and well among cruisers as well as some countries we visit.
There are other sayings among cruisers: "Cruising is repairing your boat in exotic locations" and "Cruising is carrying heavy objects long distances". There is much truth to both. Cruisers' lives are not as convenient as it is back on land and simple things can take hours instead of minutes. However, most of us would not trade our lifestyle for the one we had in our previous lives on land. And we do have days of doing totally nothing, sometimes enforced by the weather.
This is only a short glimpse of what our life is like. We certainly do our share of sightseeing, snorkeling and having a good time because it's part of why we're out here. However, there are times of hard work and danger, such as boats dragging anchor during an unexpected storm, which seems to happen only at night. The cruising community is close, complete strangers go out of their way to help another cruiser, lend parts or share knowledge. We never found that to be the case with our land neighbors. I feel honored that we can be part of this wonderful group of people.
Last updated by darrensmith@hotmail.com
