The definition of “doldrums” is “a spell of listlessness or despondency.” Yup, listlessness captures it nicely, except it missed the constant rumble of the diesel, the distinctly un-rhythmic weee/waaaw of the auto-pilot, and those damned space pirates!!!
Continue reading “Sweat, Diesel Fumes, and Space Pirates”
Our departure from St Helena marked several transitions. We left behind a crew member, the remaining crew was far more familiar and comfortable with Wild Rumpus, and the temperature gradually transitioned from chilly to biting-into-a-freshly-microwaved-hot-pocket, noon-on-a-sunny-day-inside-a-roadside-porta-potty HOT.
Oh, and one of the crew decided we had too many damned stanchions.
Continue reading “Stanchions? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Stanchions”
On an ocean passage, the sea’s boundless indifference stretches beyond the horizon, the sunset’s reflection is unbroken as far as the eye can see, and the wildlife cheerfully reminds you that you are in an alien world. The days and hours, however, are brought into narrow focus by the ceaseless changing of the watch schedule, the dwindling food supplies, the water maker’s reassuring whirring, and the nausea-inducing ritual of sticking your head down into the bilges looking for leaks.
So, join me as I share the joy in this, the first of the blog posts about the passage from South Africa to Grenada.
Continue reading “Waxing Poetic (and other stuff)”
We did it. Wild Rumpus and her crew sailed from Cape Town to Grenada with stops in St Helena and Fernando de Noronha. We survived without physical injury, some bruises to our ego, some broken boat parts, one stabbed dinghy, and an excess of Ostrich sausage that nobody could bring themselves to eat, and we all remained friends (or the crew was about to mutiny and we landed just in time for my safety). This is the super brief recap.
Continue reading “4 Months, 5800+ Miles, 2 Remote Islands, 2 Beers, Some Tattoos, and Lots of Memories”
My last food-related entry focused on the how-to of planning for an offshore passage. According to one reader, all I did was recommend an app. She found that unsatisfying and, although she would say she is not bossy, she demanded a more detailed look at meals. Since I am here to fulfill the needs of the readers (and she scares me a bit), this blog entry will focus more on the ingredients and meals themselves.
Continue reading “Eating Simply Does Not Mean Eating Badly”
This post will focus on the “where of it all.” Wild Rumpus will cover a lot of territory between the shakedown cruise and the passage itself, so I’ll focus on those distances, destinations, and make an effort to put it all in perspective. And, the passage plan changed a bit since the earlier planning post, which I’ll cover as well.
Continue reading “Passage Planning Part 3”
My last passage planning post was an admittedly premature textual discharge. Since then, I’ve taken some advice from Frankie Goes to Hollywood – – relaxed — slowed down — and just didn’t “do it” –again. (A dated joke for those old enough to remember the song.)
But now that the plans for the delivery of Wild Rumpus are firmed up, and we have estimated dates for the manufacturer-provided training, the shakedown cruise, and the passage itself, it is time to return to the topic. The adventure will begin just 14 months from now and the number of details to plan for is astonishing. So come on in, join my manic preparedness, and educate me with your comments.
Continue reading “Passage Planning Part 1”
Quarantine got you down? Social distancing a drag? Family togetherness a bit too together? Why not mentally check out, and plan that 2022 voyage from the South Africa to Grenada with me? Well, that, or you can have another deep and meaningful chat about feelings, express your gratitude for quarantine togetherness through improvisational dance, or your love of life by learning the oboe.
Me, I’ll plan that passage (ocean crossing).
Continue reading “Premature Passage Planning”