Nesting

 

Awhile ago, David mentioned “nesting” when he was discussing Refits in Exotic Places. I thought I'd add some to that topic. Though the highlights of my life aboard are travel-oriented, after we've been traveling for a few months, I have an intrinsic need to settle down for awhile. I need to be in a place where I can catch up on my life, settle in, get to know a place and its people. Sometimes just a few days is fine; other times it's longer. We've come to call it “nesting”.

I think it's essential to realize that in order to maintain harmony in a household or on a boat, it's important that individual needs are understood and dealt with. David and I have often discussed my need to nest over the years. It's as real as needing food or sleep and it's a longing that I can't explain; perhaps it's instinctive. But it's there and I recognize it. This need to nest actually works out well because just about the time I feel the urge to take a break from travel, David has the urge to start a big boat project.

So how does this nesting thing work? Well, it's not as if we have to stop what we're doing immediately so I can start collecting twigs and grass. Having lived aboard for 13 years and lived together for ~30 years, we've kind gotten used to certain things about each other. I'm not subtle about it. I say “We need to stop for awhile”. He says “Sure, where did you have in mind?” and we go from there.

Once we've decided where and when we'll stop, things seem to brighten up for me. I make lists of what I'll do, where we'll go and how I'll spend my time. David does the same, but it's usually boat-related projects he has in mind. We arrive and it's a whole new world to explore.

I try to get involved with the community depending on our length of stay. I've tutored students in Trinidad, taught English to Ecuadorian hotel and dock workers, set up potlucks, cruiser get- togethers and organized Christmas parties in countless places. I've written port guides and travel guides to share with other yachties. I want to meet locals. I want to meet other yachties. I want to know where the best supermarkets are and what crafts are available. It's incredibly exciting.

I start my own boat projects as well. Sometimes it's sewing-intensive...a new bimini, dodger, sail cover. Other times it's varnishing or stainless polishing. I'm pretty handy as a helper when it's called for, but usually David prefers working alone. It's his “cave time”.

Yup, “cave time”. This is David's opportunity to mull things over, spend some time in his own private Idaho and not worry necessarily about entertaining me or my whims. He can get lost in a project and I certainly don't feel the least bit ignored. On the boat at sea, we're together 24x7. Being on land and stationary allows each of us to expand our space a bit and pursue individual interests. We get together in the evenings and share the woes and joys of the day … kind of like normal couples.

We think this is healthy. We enjoy the change and feel renewed and relaxed as we head back out to sea again.

So Much Easier on Land

We bought a new mattress for my mom's bed. I called and ordered it. They delivered it the next day, moved it in, set it up and hauled the old mattress away. How could it be that easy? I did have to open the door for them and put sheets on the bed, but hey...  

We didn't have to borrow a van and drive an hour each way to the mattress store. We didn't have to cram the mattress into the van and then wrestle that mattress down the dock worrying that on such a windy day, it would get away from us and fall into the water. We didn't have to wrestle the old mattress out of the aft cabin and bring it to the skip bin (dumpster) where it wouldn't fit. Nor did we have to dissect the new mattress on the dock and reconfigure it in order for us to get it down the companionway, into the aft cabin and fit it into its new, odd-shaped home. We didn't even worry about the possibility of rain. This exercise brought to light just how easy land folks have it!

We have mom's car at our disposal. It has a trunk. So we can go to any supermarket we'd like and buy more than we can fit into our backpacks. We can also go to any chandlery we'd like, but then, being away from Cups, we haven't needed much boat stuff lately.

There's a laundry room across the hall from my mom's apartment. It's closer than having a washer/dryer in your own basement and I find it much easier than hauling a dive bag full of dirty laundry to the closest laundromat which is usually anywhere from five blocks to five miles away. It's certainly easier than hand-washing everything and stringing clotheslines in the rigging. She has a dishwasher which we forget to use. She has a full size vacuum cleaner … and carpeting to use it on and furniture that moves. Her apartment, on the other hand, does not move. It doesn't rock or roll or pitch or yaw … even when it's really windy.

She cannot, however, pick up and clear out in an hour if she gets tired of the neighborhood or the neighbors.

So with all this talk of how easy it is to live on land, why don't we? Hmm … do you need really to ask?

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Happy Anniversary, Nine of Cups and Crew!

It's an anniversary for us and Nine of Cups. Thirteen years ago today, we arrived in Kemah, Texas and began our lives as liveaboards on Nine of Cups. We had “sold up” and now we planned to “sail off”. As we drove into the marina parking lot with our little U-Haul trailer full of everything that had survived the massive yard sales we'd had and began moving our belongings aboard, I couldn't help but wonder if this would be a grand mistake or a grand adventure.

Looking back, it was a time of excitement and angst. Talk about a major life changes. We two workaholics had just retired two weeks prior. We'd sold off virtually everything we owned except the U-Haul contents and the car we drove to Texas (that would be sold later on). No more house, furniture, closets of clothing, lawn equipment, patio chairs … stuff. We'd trimmed down to the bare bones, so we thought. Once we moved things aboard, we found we still had too much and had to pare down even more.

We spent another month in Kemah, getting used to the boat, adopting a kitten, getting used to living in a small space together, figuring out where to put this and how to operate that. We took Cups for a couple of trips out of the marina, had a couple of adrenaline moments when things didn't go quite as planned and then prepared to leave.

Before departure, we de-named and re-named Cups in a grand dockside ceremony, then got her ready for her first offshore trip … across the Gulf of Mexico. We had a fire in the engine room on that first passage. Another story for another time. Obviously, it worked out okay.

It all seems so long ago and yet, just like yesterday. It has indeed been 13 years of grand adventure … beyond our wildest dreams. As we start our 14th year aboard, we wonder how many more years we have left in us. The plan and philosophy remains the same. We'll sail till we're physically unable or until it's not fun any more. Right now, it's still fun.

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