The first week can be summed up in two sentences:
Two days of getting Ester ready to go into the water, and the famous saying of sailors all over the world: "Cruising is fixing you boat in exotic places". A long cruise is basically repairing the boat in exotic places…. No matter what type or age of boat, how experienced you are. Boat mishaps are part of sea life, take it or leave it! We have learned this in all our previous cruises. I remember a moment of Udi's breaking on Ester A., on a six-month journey, when we arrived in Corfu and found that the refrigerator had broken down. And this was not the first glitch on that journey. There were quite a few, as expected, but then we did not fully internalize the cruising facts of life. Before our half year cruise the cruises were relatively short (up to a month) and with less time less glitches. Makes sense, doesn't it? When Udi reacted nervously, I already internalized, sailing = faults. If you are not willing to accept it with love, it is not for you ... a moment of enlightenment, and since then we practice containing and curiosity, psychologists are supposed to be experts at it 😉. Hopefully you learn fast and the number of glitches is final ... nice that we both also enjoy the technical issues (some would say a kind of masochism): we think together, try to get insights, sometimes right, many times not… sometimes manage to handle alone, important !, quite a few times need Professionals, parts, etc. These are not ubiquitous, and sometimes are difficult to obtain. The technicians are either busy towards the sailing season, or the end of the sailing season, or it's August, the peak of the sailing season, Europe is closed, everyone is on vacation. So make do with who you are, not always the most professional. Parts is also a story. The standard ones (ropes, etc.) can be found within a reasonable radius. Others, more specific to the boat / engine or any system that is not common in all boats, have to wait until it is ordered and arrives. There are critical glitches, so there is no choice but to wait. Others, either fixing and improvising, or finding in catalogs, and ordering so that it reaches the next destination. The fact that we are not limited in time is critical. In general, being on a time frame while sailing, is a recipe for stress and much less fun. Pressure could result from destinations that must be reached at a certain time to pick up / unload joiners, or weather that allows for a long cruise in a set time window. Right now the only pressure we have is crossing from Gibraltar to the Canary Islands, whose recommended window ends around mid-September, or you wait a year for the next opportunity. This means that we are not under pressure, so as to sail in bad weather or with a breakdown, on the other hand we pretty much run the Mediterranean, the pond we have been sailing around for the last 18 years, and getting to know the coastline including significant walks or car rides. We also hope, that after the voyage out of the Mediterranean will end in ??? Years, we will return to it and continue to enjoy it for a few more ??? Years.
Two days of getting Ester ready to go into the water, and the famous saying of sailors all over the world: "Cruising is fixing you boat in exotic places". A long cruise is basically repairing the boat in exotic places…. No matter what type or age of boat, how experienced you are. Boat mishaps are part of sea life, take it or leave it! We have learned this in all our previous cruises. I remember a moment of Udi's breaking on Ester A., on a six-month journey, when we arrived in Corfu and found that the refrigerator had broken down. And this was not the first glitch on that journey. There were quite a few, as expected, but then we did not fully internalize the cruising facts of life. Before our half year cruise the cruises were relatively short (up to a month) and with less time less glitches. Makes sense, doesn't it? When Udi reacted nervously, I already internalized, sailing = faults. If you are not willing to accept it with love, it is not for you ... a moment of enlightenment, and since then we practice containing and curiosity, psychologists are supposed to be experts at it 😉. Hopefully you learn fast and the number of glitches is final ... nice that we both also enjoy the technical issues (some would say a kind of masochism): we think together, try to get insights, sometimes right, many times not… sometimes manage to handle alone, important !, quite a few times need Professionals, parts, etc. These are not ubiquitous, and sometimes are difficult to obtain. The technicians are either busy towards the sailing season, or the end of the sailing season, or it's August, the peak of the sailing season, Europe is closed, everyone is on vacation. So make do with who you are, not always the most professional. Parts is also a story. The standard ones (ropes, etc.) can be found within a reasonable radius. Others, more specific to the boat / engine or any system that is not common in all boats, have to wait until it is ordered and arrives. There are critical glitches, so there is no choice but to wait. Others, either fixing and improvising, or finding in catalogs, and ordering so that it reaches the next destination. The fact that we are not limited in time is critical. In general, being on a time frame while sailing, is a recipe for stress and much less fun. Pressure could result from destinations that must be reached at a certain time to pick up / unload joiners, or weather that allows for a long cruise in a set time window. Right now the only pressure we have is crossing from Gibraltar to the Canary Islands, whose recommended window ends around mid-September, or you wait a year for the next opportunity. This means that we are not under pressure, so as to sail in bad weather or with a breakdown, on the other hand we pretty much run the Mediterranean, the pond we have been sailing around for the last 18 years, and getting to know the coastline including significant walks or car rides. We also hope, that after the voyage out of the Mediterranean will end in ??? Years, we will return to it and continue to enjoy it for a few more ??? Years.
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| Udi replaces a column for a water desalinator |
In the next post, however, we promise to share our experiences beyond faults 😍
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