The Next Chapter - Life Aboard a 42 foot sailboat

 April 26, 2021 

In June of 2019, my job in Egypt was complete. This blog so far 

has been a testament to just how much we learned in just 3 years of living abroad. As first-time expats, everything was a learning opportunity.   We grew and changed quickly.  While living in and learning about another culture, we also learned much more about our own country and culture.  Because we lived in a commune-type situation, living with many of the same people we worked with, often even in the same building as our classroom, we grew personally and socially.  These new diverse set of friends, from all regions of the US as well as several different countries, taught us to see things from a variety of perspectives. As we were afforded many opportunities to travel, we were constantly improving our understanding of geography, history, culture, not to mention we got really good at knowing how to plan and book affordable and interesting vacations in a hurry. 

So, in June, we said our goodbyes to friends in Egypt and moved aboard S/V UPBound in Italy. S/V stands for “Sailing Vessel”.  That was just one of the thousands of things I would learn within the first few months. As newbie sailors, we had a very, very steep learning curve.  

One of our first tasks was to come up with a new name for our boat because, after all, we had no idea how to pronounce her old name “Orifiamma”.

Why has it taken me nearly 2 years to write a blog about sailing?  I am not sure.  I have come up with a lot of “excuses”, each with a grain of truth, but honestly, I am not sure.

I do know that sailing and living on a boat requires a LOT of time-consuming work.  Before we sailed, we regularly watched a few sailing videos on YouTube.  Honestly, I don’t know where these You-Tubers find the time to sail, keep their boat in good working order and presentable, film, and edit.  There is always something that needs to be worked on, and, because tools are generally stored in your main living space, the whole boat gets torn apart every few days.   It’s not like we have space for organized tool boxes- nope- everything from screwdrivers to spare parts for the engine, the toilets, the cupboards, etc is loose in boxes under the seats, and you dig for everything because invariably, what you need is closest to the bottom and back of the storage area.  So, everything takes twice as long to fix on a boat as it might in a house.   No, I am not the mechanic in the boat- but I often have to help find something or another.  So, is lack of time why I haven’t written?  Probably not. 

This part of the boat is called the salon.  The table and seating is on the left, along with the television set, and the navigation station to the right.  The engine compartment is accessed under those steps. This area is also where all the tool are stored.  If you go up the steps, you are in the cockpit, where we spend most of our time when sailing.

This is our galley area.  The stove is on a gimble so the stove stays level, even if the boats is leaning.

 

Swabbing the deck

Jobs continue on land.  The bottom needs anti-foul paint every few years to prevent barnacles from growing on the bottom.

When on land, everything has to be hand carried to the boat.

  

The original mattress needed replacing

 

Before we actually sailed, I dreamed it might be all about enjoying beautiful sunsets, swimming, watching wildlife, relaxing, reading, and exploring new places and meeting new people. Plenty of topics to write about, right?  Well, sailing DOES include all of that, maybe I will eventually write up some of those stories.

The battery on my laptop died before we set sail, so all writing is now being done on my IPad.  I switched phones before we crossed the Atlantic, so early photos are saved on a hard drive with only a few put on Facebook. Newer photos are on an Android, which makes getting them on this Ipad, then onto this blog challenging for my (lack of) techy skills.  Definitely that is a contributing factor.

Other big reasons for not writing- FEAR, VULNERABILITY, and UNCERTAINTY.  Working overseas, living an expat lifestyle, traveling by plane to exotic locations was MY dream.  This much more physically demanding, one-with-nature lifestyle of sailing the world, definitely Gary’s dream.  I was quite certain we would DIE before we got to the Caribbean. The Med was NOT an easy place to learn to sail.  The wind was generally either too much, or too little.  It swirled and changed directions quickly.  I will probably write a post about wind ( but don’t hold your breath.).  

 The other challenge in the Med was finding any sense of community.  In the Med, most people are on charter boats, with friends and family, and no interest in meeting new people.  Cassandra and Blake were with us until late June. After they left, I didn’t find another English-speaking woman until mid-August. It was a very lonely time.  I love my husband, but let’s be real- a woman needs to talk to other women.  

Early on, we didn’t know how to use our instruments, we didn’t know how to determine distances, just how fast is a “knot”, what is a nautical mile, and how far could our boat sail in an hour. There was so much uncertainty about literally everything!  We had to meet our son and his wife in Barcelona September 1.  We had planned a month in Croatia to gain us some time out of the Schengen- just how long would it take us to get there?  Were we in this way over our head?  How do you write about all of these things?  

We have been back in the USA for a year now.  It has taken me a long time to process all we have experienced and learned.  We spent last summer on land. We have been living on anchor all winter.  We are currently motor-sailing in the Atlantic Ocean, along the coast of Florida.  It is my first sail since last June.  It is a beautiful day, 12-15 knots of wind.  I can honestly say I was really looking forward to sailing today and am ready to start writing about some of our adventures, the good and bad.

If you’re reading this, leave me a comment.  I’d like to know what kinds of information you are looking for and what kinds of questions you might have. Shorter, more frequent blogs, or more photos?  A blog about the worst experience we had?  Places and people or the nitty-gritty of everyday life aboard?  Looking forward to hearing from you.