Essential Ship's Library - pt. 2

Yes, we still have lots of hard copy books aboard. We've had several comments about it like “Haven't you guys heard about Kindles and e-books?” and “No wonder Nine of Cups is so heavy … it's all books!” Well, yes we've heard of Kindles … we have one although we tend to use our iPads with Kindle and iBook reader applications instead of the Kindle nowadays, instead of investing in backlit Kindles.

There are two reasons for maintaining the hard copy versions of the books we have aboard. First, to replace them all in the Kindle version would be quite costly and second, sometimes we like to be able to open a book to a specific page for easy reference, rather than have a Kindle or iPad in the galley when I'm cooking or the engine room making a repair or the cockpit when we're trying to identify a certain dolphin, for instance.

David maintains the technical and how-to books aboard, of which there are many. My side of the book collection generally includes cookbooks and reference books and a few all-time favorite novels and short story collections. You'll be happy to know, all the regular paperbacks are now gone … donated to yacht club libraries and other cruisers.

I didn't narrow down my list to the top 10. Rather, I listed what I thought are the types of books required with my favorites in each particular category … whether digital or hard copy is your choice.

Cookbooks

Having a general reference cookbook aboard is important, especially one that offers “from scratch” recipes. My three favorite cookbooks of all times are The Cruising K.I.S.S. Cookbook by Corinne Kanter, The Cruising Chef Cookbook by Michael Greenwald and Ball's Complete Book of Home Preserving .

KISS (Keep It Simple System) is a general cookbook with lots of great recipes, handy references, hints and conversions as well as “scratch” and substitution ideas. I've used it for years and continue to refer to it regularly.

Greenwald's The Cruising Chef was the first cookbook I ever bought for the boat. It provides info on the care and handling of veggies and fruits, the preparation of fish and shellfish, sauce ideas and in general, some easy, tasty recipes that I use frequently. It's a gem.

Ball's Complete Book of Home Preserving is my ultimate resource for canning/jarring/ preserving fruits, veggies or meats/poultry.

I have a few others aboard like Martha's Vineyard Cookbook containing good Yankee recipes for this New England girl. I admit to having purchased several cookbooks en route when a particular cuisine, like Ecuadorian, for instance, seemed to offer lots of recipes that we liked. I could probably live without several of them, but I enjoy having them around.

Wildlife

We love to identify the birds, marine life and animals we see and thus have several books aboard. If you have a similar itch to name what you see and learn more about them, then having wildlife reference books are important. We have a few general books like National Audubon Society's Guide to Marine Mammals of the World and Illustrated Encyclopedia of Butterflies and Compendium of Seashells. For birds, I prefer having books more specific to the areas we visit like the Simpson Day Birds of Australia. We sometimes pick up plastic guides to local salt water fish to identify what's good for eating and what's not.

Language

Depending upon where we're heading, I usually have a language book aboard. Spanish for Central and South America, French for French Polynesia, New Caledonia, etc. It always helps to be able to speak at least a few words of the local language. I like having a general dictionary aboard, especially one that provides verb tenses, pronouns, etc. and a general phrase book. Kathy Parsons' Spanish for Cruisers and French for Cruisers are invaluable.

Medical

There are lots of general medical references out there. We picked up Merck Manual of Medical Information and Gill's Onboard Medical Handbook when we first started cruising and still refer to them from time to time, especially for common sailor's ailments like rashes, itchy ears, insect bites, etc.

I'm not sure these are the best references, but every boat should have at least one good reference aboard and the appropriate medical kit to go with it. Getting more information from the locals is always wise, e.g. cigueratera, jellyfish, etc.

Travel

I love Lonely Planet and pick one up for every place we visit. I find them essential when planning our inland travel and sightseeing once we arrive in port. These travel guides also provide all the basics for visiting such as currency, holidays, time zones, customs, as well as history, climate and geography.

I also like the free iPad app, Maps With Me, which allows me to download maps of every country in the world and subsequently use them without internet access.

General Reference

Hoyles Rules of Games is indispensable for settling rule arguments at sea, as is a Scrabble dictionary.

A general dictionary and thesaurus are handy references especially for writers and though many are available on-line, it's important to have ones that are available for off-line use while you're at sea. Artha is pretty good, but nothing beats a Websters or an Oxford.

If you're into hobbies or special interests, it makes sense to include them in your library. Especially if you're living aboard, the boat is your home and as such should have room for pleasure books, as well as general reference. Because I sew, I have Jim Grant's Complete Canvasworker's Guide aboard and a book on flags. I also have a book on sketching and watercolors, some photography books and David has one on scrimshaw. Are these books essential? Probably not. Could I live without most of them? Probably. Do I want to live without them aboard? Absolutely not.

Be sure to read David's blog post on his Essential Ship's Library.

This post has affiliate links. If you buy these books or shop for anything on Amazon through these links, it will be no extra cost to you and we will get a small percentage back. Thanks!

Boat Chores - a never-ending saga

Yes, we're in exotic Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni in French Guiana, moored in the middle of a river and yes, most definitely, as David pointed out, we're doing boat chores. It's a fact of life for a liveaboard sailor that the boat always needs attention, especially after a long ocean passage. And so, midst our excitement about arriving in a new port, we're also allocating time to getting Cups back in shape. She looks great from a distance, but when you get close up … she needs work.

I removed all the dorades, polished them and sanded the insides to prepare them for painting. In the meantime, after removing the dorades, I found even more Luderitz sand clogging the dorade bases, so I cleaned out the sand before replacing the dorades. Once the dorades were painted. I got started on the stainless.

David has been working on scraping and sanding the port cap rails, eyebrow and deck boxes which are in desperate need of re-varnishing. It's hot and steamy during the days, so we've been trying to get up extra early and work when it's cooler. Varnishing and painting, unfortunately, have to wait till later as it's quite dewy first thing in the mornings.

There's a long list of little chores to do. David's been flitting from one tiny chore to another when he can't work on the sanding. A couple of snaps have pulled out of the dodger windscreen cover and he replaced them with twist-locks. Of course, nothing's ever as easy as it seems. Before replacing the snaps with twist-locks, I needed to sew in little reinforcement pads.

And then, the DC connector on his laptop was flaky and needed replacing. He added a fan to my side of the bunk in the aft cabin (thank you, thank you, thank you!). The watermaker got pickled (too silty in the river to make water) and he changed the water filter on the fresh water pressure system. He climbed the mast for a quick check and fixed the HF radio antenna at the same time. In the heat of the day, we've been trying to get some writing done.

In addition to boat maintenance and repairs, there was two month's worth of laundry that had accumulated since since we left Luderitz. Lots of heavy sweatpants and shirts and fleeces from the “cold days” had piled up, not easily washed by hand. Plus sheets, towels...oh, my...it was nearly overwhelming. Additionally, with the heat, we go through t-shirts and shorts at an alarming rate. There's one washer at the marina office, a super-duper industrial size that holds 15 kg, and I've filled it to capacity twice... and there's still more to do. With 10 boats on moorings here, you have to wait your turn to use the washer. The dryer doesn't work well and takes forever, so I bring the wet laundry back and hang it on the line to dry. With the heat and a light breeze, it dries in a snap. It's just a major time waster getting it ashore, waiting for it to cycle through, then bringing it back to hang on the line. It is, however, what it is.

David has been hauling water since we can't make water in the silty, brown river. We filled our tanks while still at sea, but we're consuming lots with cleaning, bathing and just drinking. He fills water jugs across the street from the marina, while I'm doing the laundry or disposing of the trash.

There's the usual clean-up after a long passage. I continue to sweep up Luderitz sand and the decks need scouring, but not until the sanding is done. Additionally, the locals burn wood fires and we regularly find ash and soot on the boat. There are lockers to be cleaned out and gear still to be stowed. Luckily, we haven't felt much like eating in all the heat, and we're content to subsist on salads and sandwiches and fruit, juices and water...and cold beer. Easy on the cook.

Of course, the incentives to completing the long list of tasks are that 1) Cups will look lovely again, and 2) we get to do some fun stuff which is all the more appreciated after the hard work is done... a visit to Cayenne in the near future seems likely. Then, we'll be ready to leave and start all over in some other exotic place...Suriname, maybe?

Sand, Sand, Sand

We left the desert, but the desert didn't leave us. It's interesting when the wind changes direction in Luderitz. If the wind blows from the south, from the Antarctic, the weather is usually clear and sunny, but windy and cold. If the wind comes from the north or west, the moist ocean air mixes with dry desert air and we get dense fog and higher humidity and lots of morning condensation. While we were gone, the wind blew from the east and with it, it brought hot, dry air (hooray!) and lots of desert sand (booo!). I found a satellite pic of a Namib Desert sandstorm as it blew over the Atlantic. It's pretty amazing just how far the sand can travel.

Poor Nine of Cups! She was absolutely filthy when we came back … and obviously ashamed. She's a proud girl. She had her stern towards us … wouldn't even face us. Her decks were covered in sand and grit and a few seagulls had found her all alone and let loose. So much for the parents taking off for a quick get-away without the kid.

It was too late in the day when we arrived to start washing her down. We consoled her as best we could, promising to give her a bath the next day. She pouted a bit, but in the end, I think she was glad to have us back aboard.

During the night, the wind changed to the north. By morning, the harbor was thick with fog and the sun was nowhere to be seen.

All that fog and condensation did wonders for the decks. Now, instead of dry sand, we had mud pies. Condensation ran down the portholes and ports and hatches, leaving a grimy, gritty trail behind. David started on the outside and I started on the inside, because, yes, the sand and grit had found its way below as well.

David scrubbed and rinsed and scrubbed and rinsed … first with salt water and then finally with fresh water. I swept and dusted and beat rugs and washed ports. Then the sun came out and Cups was looking clean and fine again.

Now … if we can only get the sand out of our underwear!