Sailing Vessels and their Captains!

Backpacking on boats is an amazing adventure if you can handle small spaces and people in your own personal space!  Now I'm not that kind of person really.  I am a social animal, however I love my time and my space at the best of times and this was something that sorely lacked.  For me personally, each journey is a journey, no doubt about it.  I am always being taught a life lesson and if I am stubborn as a Taurian usually is, then the lessons are painful and take a while to sink in.

The lessons learnt in the last 10 months are many but the one I am going to focus on today is patience and tolerance.  Phew, two big words those and the lessons have been gigantic for me.  You may just laugh and think it's all so crazy.  Well yes this has all been pretty crazy :-)

You sitting back, you have a cuppa something to sip on?  ....  here we go.

Boats are incredible things, they have such character, they usually have a lifetime of history which they sail with and they usually out live their Captains if they don't sink with their Captain.  On our travels we have seen, 'met' and spent time on some of the most incredible vessels of all types, sizes, ages and colours.  Each vessel has it's name and it's 'birth date'.  Each vessel has a Captain.  And let me tell you a truth, any person can be a Captain!  Sad but fascinatingly true!  The age old saying 'the owner looks like it's dog?' well let me tell you, that applies to boat and Captains too.

We have stayed on 5 boats during our 9 months in the Caribbean.  Each boat completely different to the other!  The only common attribute is that they all float!  Nothing else in common!

The SV Dixi Rollar is a pirate like boat!  Just like the ones you see in the movies.  The Dixi Rollar is the exact replica of the first boat that circumnavigated the globe single handed, Captain - Joshua Slocum.  It's a 36ft, mono-hull.  A Bruce Robert's Spray. Black steel boat, gaf rig with brown sails and old school character.  A steel boat creeks and groan under one's foot steps so there was no chance of being totally quiet on this boat.  Of course with a 4 year old in tow, the Dixi Rollar didn't know what had hit her.  We spent 8 weeks on the Dixi Rollar, we quickly realized that sailing from Grenada to South Africa on a 36ft mono-hull with absolutely no privacy and very little space was not an option.  Besides, we were not ready to sail to South Africa only a few weeks after leaving.  So we had to find another boat and fast as we had been given little notice to leave the boat.

We then found ourselves on SV Inanna!  Now she was a beauty.  We had our own cabin, privacy at last.  A place where we thought we would have time to reconnect and re-look our plan.  The Inanna is a 49ft Bavaria.  Also a mono-hull.  Beautiful finishes inside of teak and leather.  Enough space for the 1 Captain, 3 crew, 2 children and 2 chihauhaua's!  Plenty of physical space yes but not nearly enough space for the extra hot and large personality of the Captain!  With Joshua in mind constantly we new right away we had to find our own little boat, with our own space to ensure we remain sane as a family!

Four weeks later and we were moving onto the Raggamuffin!  A very sweet but old fibreglass boat.  Only 29ft.  No cabins, so we slept on the fold out couches in the saloon.  The wood was old and the boat was horribly dirty and unkept. No fridge on board, a small ice box but with the price of ice it wasn't worth our while.  The other issue was that the fibreglass was old, so in addition to the mosquito and sand fly bites, our heat rashes, Joshua and I were also suffering with the itches from raw fibreglass.  I can't say we were very happy,  itching can drive a person in sane!  Anyhow, the deal with the Captain was that we could stay on the Raggamuffin while we fix up the boat next door, Delfine, and once she was good to live on we could move onto her.  Which is exactly what we did!

Delfine was disgustingly dirty.  Old oil on the floor in the galley, pots of old food that had been left by the last 'tennants' FOUR YEARS AGO!  The toilet was not working and everything had that horrible mildew smell which meant the boat had mildew too.  So we spent 2 weeks cleaning Delfine and fixing her up to a liveable standard.  Finally we could move our backpacks and Joshua onto the boat.  It felt like she was ours.  We were totally comfortable.  We put up rain catchers, reconnected the solar panels, installed a brand new toilet, cleaned and filled the water tanks along with our solar shower.  This was the first time in 16 weeks that we were able to take a warm shower with our own water, every day!  What a pleasure!  We spent an enjoyable 4 weeks on Delfine and then it was time to go sailing!

Backpacks and all, we then boarded Moonjoos!  It felt like pure luxury!  Clean, new, spacious and just perfect continue our Caribbean experience.  Moonjoos is a 36ft Catamaran.  A South African catamaran with a South African Captain!  Finally a like minded person who wasn't only our Captain, he fast became Joshua's best buddy and a good friend to Barry and myself.  We were able to shower indoors, cook a healthy meal once a day.  There is a fridge and freezer on board so for the first time in 10 months we had access to ice cold water, beer and ice!  Total luxury on the seas!  We set sail on Moonjoos on the 18 August, crewing on a magical adventure from Grenada to Colombia via Venezuela.

 

We are still on Moonjoos.  Our final day on board is Thursday, 18 January!  20 weeks on board!  It has been so totally amazing in between my bouts of homesickness!  We crossed big waters, experienced some intimate moments with pods of dolphins, snorkeled some of the most breath-taking spots in the Archipielago, we cooked some of the tastiest meals and drank the most delicious rum!  Memories which will remain in our souls forever!

During our time on boats we have also met some of the most amazing families and single handed sailors along with their beautiful vessels!  One of our favourites was a Tug Boat called the Flying Buzzard,  Anchored in Grenada.  On board this mega steel structure were the most welcoming people,  Captain Mike, Julie, Angie, James and toby the dog.  Captain Mike took the time to give Joshua lessons on Tenders.  Julie always served the most delicious toast, coffee, soup or biscuits at the exact time our tummies were rumbling!

We were also honoured to spend time on the Stormvogel a 60ft mono-hull.  Now she is just a beauty.  We met Captain Ian and Darria in Curacao.  Darria and Ian fell totally in love with Joshua.  This meant he got to spend some special time with very special people on this magnificent 70 year old vessel! The Stormvogel is a famous vessel and known as the fastest sailing yacht of her time, winning many races and regatta's.  She is fully restored, the woodwork is immaculate! Lucky boy our Joshua :-)

The sailing families we have met and spent time with are all on catamarans.  It makes good sense!  A catamaran has space, space for children, space to cook and eat together, space to play and space to sit down and do their school work.  Each family has 2 or 3 children.  Most of them are are home schooled and under the age of 15 years.  Field Trip, Dafne, Day Dreamer and What If, are some of the most beautiful and comfortable Catamarans we have seen and been on.  The families of these vessels are amazing and their stories keep you captivated and wanting to experience their adventures for yourself!

Leaving some of our good friends behind in Grenada was pretty hard.  Goodbyes are never easy, especially for Joshua who made friends with all the children and the adults along the way.  We were however surprised to see SV Marlin in the anchorage of Los Roques.  Another warm and loving family!  Natalie, Mike, Lena and Maya.  Joshua is always the first to spot the boats we know so he was super excited to have friends to play with again.

In Cartagena, Colombia, we are sharing the anchorage with Dafne, Field Trip and Sea Shell.  More familiar faces and good friends whom we never thought we would see again.  What a nice surprise!

And so this chapter of our sailing adventure is drawing to a close.  We have only 7 days left on water and then our adventure takes to land.  From Colombia to Venezuela.  Backpacks are packed and we are ready!

Fears, Tears and Kayaking!

Please let me clarify before continuing any further.  When we departed South Africa, destination - the Caribbean, I was totally afraid of water, big expanses of water, like the sea for example.  I never went close to water, never offered to climb into water for any reason, not even to take a look at my reflection.

I was totally aware of my fear of water when departing so by the time we arrived I was overly aware of the fact that we had just crossed over large expanses of water, via aeroplane and ferry.  Both being pretty okay.  The ferry ride was my first experience climbing onto a large vessel and setting off into the wide blue yonder.  I felt a little better as it was a pretty large vessel in my books.  The weather was perfect so the 3 hour journey was great.

We were on the island Grenada, surrounded by water.  I am backpacking on water! I never for one moment thought how I was going to get from land to boat, boat to boat, boat to island and boat to land.  On land we rely on 2 wheels, 3 wheels and 4 wheels for your general getting about.  So when living on water, your mode of transport changes dramatically and ta-da, you now have dingy's, kayaks, paddle boards, sailing dingy's.  mmmmm.... fear of water, now I am having to live on and in and around water!.  'I must be crazy", I say to myself quietly.

So we get to Lower Woburn Bay in Grenada and it's time to move onto the boat.  First step is to get onto a tiny dingy with our backpacks and food shopping.  Never mind that, the water is NOT the magical blue you see in the travel magazines.  It's a dark green with a touch of brown from the Rum Factory in Woburn.  The water is choppy and the wind is up.  Immediately I am very aware of this uneasy feeling in my tummy and in my head.  Anyway, with Barry close and the smile on Joshua's face, I realised it was time to give that fear the middle finger!

Mode of transport number 1:  A single man river kayak.  Bright yellow.  It's time for us to go to the beach, we are unpacked and ready to go.  The 3 of us must get onto this kayak without falling into the water.  Let me again remind you that I had never done anything like this before.  First you have to hoist your leg over the railing, then step right down onto the kayak, get your balance and then sit quickly.  Barry of course has no issues with this exercise, Joshua just has no fears which I am so grateful for, then you have me, a short 'arse'.  Of course when I find something funny I giggle.  This was funny and so I giggled!!  Didn't land in the water, made it to the beach and back to the boat with no hassles.

Our second mode of transport was a wooden dingy.  Oh my hat!  It was like a nut shell in water.  If you sit wrong, or you stand up too soon or simply loose your balance you WILL end up in the water.  Still not any closer to getting into the water so I do everything it takes to ensure that I don't.  Sit correctly, stand when the time is right, don't overload etc etc.  We had a hilarious dingy accident at one of the little mariners, Barry landed in the water but boy oh boy did I make sure that I didn't!

Third mode of transport was a yellow sea kayak, two man.  It was like getting from your VW Beetle into a VB Bus!  We had space, two paddles and a seat for Joshua on the back.  This is when I started having fun.  I loved every minute of this kayak.  All I wanted to do was kayak, so we did, all over the place.  My technique improved immediately, I was more relaxed about the water and it was so awesome to have a kayak partner like Barry.  Just his patience allowed me to gain confidence.  It's a sport/hobby that all three of us enjoy and will continue to enjoy on our travels.

We move onto our own little boat and had to lend a kayak from friends of ours.  Now this kayak was a machine!  Bright orange, wide base and loads of space for our little family, our laundry and our weekly shopping.  I was ready to kayak from our boat all the way to the mainland.  What a fantastic achievement for me personally.  After a few days I could feel how strong I was and how confident I had become compared to that first day on the jetty.  Kayaking to the mainland had to be done first thing in the morning when the sea and wind is calm.  Kayaking in the afternoon is not always the way to go, kayaking through high swells is pretty frightening and the rain doesn't help much either.

I have only fallen into the water 3 times in the last 8 months.  All three times involved a kayak.  On two occasions I was fully clothed and ready to go to town.  Both occasions were just as hilarious as the first.  Both right next to the boat.  And both times I had visions of big ugly creatures in the water below me.  Sailing across the seas is an amazing adventure, but there have been times where I have told myself, "you must be a crazy lady to be doing this!".

I now jump off the boat into the sea, I snorkel and I swim and I enjoy it.  If this trip has taught me anything, it was how to be comfortable in and around water.  I have snorkeled the most beautiful places around the Caribbean.  I have snorkeled in some pretty deep water too.  The sea life took my breath away!  I have spent time with dolphins, star fish bigger that your largest frying pan, pipe fish, rays, schools of fish, my list is endless.

My fear of big and deep water remains.  I have not 'conquered' my fear.  I just have confidence to be around water and in water.  It's all a head thing, which I can control as it is my head after all.  I do have one rule though, if I don't want to get in the water I simply wont. That way I will always be fine.

After all of the fun and laughter, sometimes tears of frustration, we will now be leaving the waters for a while.  It's time to get back onto land for me.  I am craving some time on solid ground.  On a bed that actually has fresh, clean sheets.  I want to cook a meal without moving from side to side and I want a good night's sleep, without worrying about a thing....

Thalassophobia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thalassophobia (Greek: thalassa, "sea" and φόβος, phobos, "fear")^[1] is an intense and persistent fear of the
sea. Thalassophobia is a clinical phobia generally classified underspecific phobias, fear of a single specific
panic trigger. Symptoms for thalassophobia are the same as for most specific phobias.

Although many people are nervous when on a ship, this phobia is not one of the most common. People with
Thalassophobia fear being in the large bodys of water. A common case of fear of the ocean is sometimes
 triggered by fearing the thought or sight of any creature under the depth of any body of water, not just
 directed toward oceans.

Many people with this phobia fear what lies beneath them, mostly sea creatures