7th April
Lying in my bed last night it dawned on me that we have sailed in 2 oceans already. We did our day skipper in the warm Indian Ocean and our Coastal Skipper in the cold Atlantic ocean.
By reflecting and comparing the 2 trips I have a pretty good idea of the different oceans, taking my lack of knowledge and ability whilst in the Indian into account I can say the following for certain. The Atlantic was teaming with animal and bird life whilst the Indian had less animal activity. A comparative list reads as follows:
Indian Ocean:
Dolphins visit 1 occasion
Seagulls in the air most days
Whale spotted on 1 occasion.
Atlantic Ocean:
Seals visit daily, almost all the time seeming to race alongside.
Penguins spotted 1 occasion
Whales spotted 2 occasions
Jellyfish spotted in deeper water
Seagulls fill the air
Other bird life everywhere including Cormorants and ducks
The water in the Atlantic is very cold, making the boat hull cold to the touch and dark coloured decks easy to walk on (you normally need shoes it’s so cold). Wear a jacket and long pants whenever sailing and swimming is completely out of the question. The water of the Indian is warm, the hulls are hot and any dark coloured non-skid means burning feet on hot decks. A quick swim whilst anchored is welcome relief from the heat, a pair of shorts or a costume are the order of the day.
I realised from this trip that it is not the wave height that counts but rather the wavelength, comforting, as before leaving we checked the weather on windfinder and found 4.5 metre waves forecast. We compared this to other objects and realised the waves would be the height of our house! For a landlubber that seems pretty steep but once we were out there we managed just fine, gliding over the swells without a second thought. Being on a cat that also meant not heeling over.
I also discovered I suffer from seasickness! Barry said I literally turned green!
Boy oh boy, not the fun I had in mind, but the Sturgeron tablets I took worked like a charm. I will definitely be stocking up on those before we cast the lines off!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
Sailing Course
4 April 2010
We got back from our “Coastal Skipper practical” late last night. I was sadly disappointed by the whole experience. I did however, take away the most important information I could have hoped to get…we can sail around the world with our current experience and be just fine, that we were correct in our decision to go on a catamaran and that we will have the time of our lives. Pack the bags, board the boat, see you on the water matey!
We went on this course hoping to gain some valuable catamaran sailing experience, unfortunately our trainer spent the 6 days trying to keep everything a secret, prove anything we thought incorrect (often placing us in dangerous situations) and spending more time sulking in the saloon than anything else.
Things we did not appreciate included words like “No, we won’t tack along the shore line because I am too lazy”. “It is too much work to do ….” And the ever so professional and training like statement of “Fine, learn the hard way, do whatever you want”.
I may not be a sailing instructor but running aground while at anchor, sailing wing on wing whilst you are on a broad reach and dropping all your anchor chain and rode even whilst anchoring in 1.7m of water (at high tide) within 3 metres of the shore shows more than a little inexperience…or was it that our particular instructor had a chip on his shoulder and did not like that we had already had sail training from a professional and competent sailing school sailing school and actually had some knowledge, perhaps a lot more than he had intended or was able to teach.
When we suggested anchoring in slightly deeper water, he went closer to the side. When we suggested the sails be set up differently he tied more lines in an attempt to keep then where he had them and when we tried to put out 3 – 5 times scope for the anchor he dropped the full rode. Every time trying to “be correct” or “prove us wrong”. Whatever he was trying to do it made the 6 days almost unbearable, especially since we were the only 2 “students”. He even told us we would capsize the catamaran in a mere 8 knots of wind if we sheeted the main in hard. Luckily for him my children were not on board as I would not have been able to hold my tongue when risking my children’s lives.
On the other hand I am glad to be home with my kids and preparations are back in full swing. We are down a month now standing at 8 months to full time live aboard. My list for the next week includes home schooling stationery sets, checking in on the boat haul out date, together with a doctor’s appointment to discuss the various vaccinations and prescriptions we will be needing.
Over the past year I have been making a list of all the medicines we have used, including a few we have not but might likely need, together with a little research on the internet as to the vaccinations requirements and suggestions for the many countries we will be visiting. Most vaccinations remain active for 10 years and have a period of a few days to a few weeks before becoming effective. Some require more than 1 dose at intervals of a few weeks and some can be administered together. We will discuss all of these with our doctor and let him advise the best course of action to take in terms of timing, possible side effects and effectiveness. Luckily both the boys recently had a measles vaccination due to an outbreak in the area and Kyle even went so far as to say “I love injections.” The statement “I laugh in the face of danger” comes to mind so we are good to go from that side.
We received a letter inviting Barry and I to a special assembly on the 16th of April for the Top 10 assembly for Rauen, he never fails to impress me with his dedication, diligence and effort. This kids deserves all he has coming. Well done boy! (Again)
It is also Kyle’s birthday this week so celebrations seem to be the order of the day, my youngest child is officially in double digits. Happy, Happy birthday boy, hope you love the gift and its perfect for the yacht too!
We got back from our “Coastal Skipper practical” late last night. I was sadly disappointed by the whole experience. I did however, take away the most important information I could have hoped to get…we can sail around the world with our current experience and be just fine, that we were correct in our decision to go on a catamaran and that we will have the time of our lives. Pack the bags, board the boat, see you on the water matey!
We went on this course hoping to gain some valuable catamaran sailing experience, unfortunately our trainer spent the 6 days trying to keep everything a secret, prove anything we thought incorrect (often placing us in dangerous situations) and spending more time sulking in the saloon than anything else.
Things we did not appreciate included words like “No, we won’t tack along the shore line because I am too lazy”. “It is too much work to do ….” And the ever so professional and training like statement of “Fine, learn the hard way, do whatever you want”.
I may not be a sailing instructor but running aground while at anchor, sailing wing on wing whilst you are on a broad reach and dropping all your anchor chain and rode even whilst anchoring in 1.7m of water (at high tide) within 3 metres of the shore shows more than a little inexperience…or was it that our particular instructor had a chip on his shoulder and did not like that we had already had sail training from a professional and competent sailing school sailing school and actually had some knowledge, perhaps a lot more than he had intended or was able to teach.
When we suggested anchoring in slightly deeper water, he went closer to the side. When we suggested the sails be set up differently he tied more lines in an attempt to keep then where he had them and when we tried to put out 3 – 5 times scope for the anchor he dropped the full rode. Every time trying to “be correct” or “prove us wrong”. Whatever he was trying to do it made the 6 days almost unbearable, especially since we were the only 2 “students”. He even told us we would capsize the catamaran in a mere 8 knots of wind if we sheeted the main in hard. Luckily for him my children were not on board as I would not have been able to hold my tongue when risking my children’s lives.
On the other hand I am glad to be home with my kids and preparations are back in full swing. We are down a month now standing at 8 months to full time live aboard. My list for the next week includes home schooling stationery sets, checking in on the boat haul out date, together with a doctor’s appointment to discuss the various vaccinations and prescriptions we will be needing.
Over the past year I have been making a list of all the medicines we have used, including a few we have not but might likely need, together with a little research on the internet as to the vaccinations requirements and suggestions for the many countries we will be visiting. Most vaccinations remain active for 10 years and have a period of a few days to a few weeks before becoming effective. Some require more than 1 dose at intervals of a few weeks and some can be administered together. We will discuss all of these with our doctor and let him advise the best course of action to take in terms of timing, possible side effects and effectiveness. Luckily both the boys recently had a measles vaccination due to an outbreak in the area and Kyle even went so far as to say “I love injections.” The statement “I laugh in the face of danger” comes to mind so we are good to go from that side.
We received a letter inviting Barry and I to a special assembly on the 16th of April for the Top 10 assembly for Rauen, he never fails to impress me with his dedication, diligence and effort. This kids deserves all he has coming. Well done boy! (Again)
It is also Kyle’s birthday this week so celebrations seem to be the order of the day, my youngest child is officially in double digits. Happy, Happy birthday boy, hope you love the gift and its perfect for the yacht too!
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