Perry Style

When we signed up for "Find a crew" and "ocean crew link", we were thinking it would be a good idea to try an ocean passage on a. Graham and I will be ready to purchase our next boat in the summer of 2020 and we thought before we completely scratch Cats from the list we should actually sail on one. We had plenty of experience partying on catamarans but zero sailing experience.

Our new floating home is a Lagoon 450F. Basically 45 feet of all the creature comforts I remember craving and envying as we sailed the oceans on our 1976 ketch.

I packed my bags for "roughing" it sailing though having no clue. I planned for no showers and no clothes washing. 20 pairs of underwear and only a few quick dry tanks and tees and a couple of shorts and Columbia fast dry pants. I brought my handkerchiefs for my hair and baby wipes for my showers. Some baby powder to get rid of any stickiness and I was ready to sail "Perry style".

Well turns out my wardrobe was not yacht club appropriate for our week at dock before departure. Invitations to cocktails titled "formal attire" scared the heck out of me. I was confused. Where are my croc wearing, shirtless, hippy sailors?

Everything feels very much like you are living in a very modern small apartment. If you are as addicted to tiny houses as I am this seems to be just that. Everything you need to live comfortably just in a smaller amount of space than a home.

The outdoor cockpit space is massive and keeping the boat tidy seems easier. The washing machine and dishwasher are really efficient and super easy. The hard top fly bridge where you sail from is fully enclosed and has a huge long cushioned seating area making navigating super comfortable. The fact that the boat doesn't heal is the nicest thing on my list of likes. This means life on board can continue normally. Things stay in place. Appliances are out on counters and glass dishes are in the cupboards. The fear that I get when we heal way over in a monohull is gone on a cat. This cat also has a huge amount of space to put solar panels and battery banks. The generator is built into the boat as well so power doesn't seem to be an issue at all with three different sources: engine, generator and solar. There are huge water tanks and the water maker has no problem keeping up with our use.

There are plenty of areas to hang out in as well so if you want alone time it's no issue in finding space.

I'm pretty sure the AC in the tropics would probably also hit my top five things I love about this boat. Right now it's not that hot but we do turn it on occasionally to dry out the boat a bit.

The other nice thing on Mareas is that there are a few head sails to choose from in different conditions. We sail so fast downwind with the "Win" eker (similar to a spinnaker) and the Code Zero sail is also great in light winds and it's really easy to furl if winds come up. I am constantly shocked how fast we are going while still feeling so comfortable. The other day we had the big beautiful Win-eker up, going about 7 knots and we were all sitting up front having a drink on the outdoor couch and the Captain even had a cigar in hand. Felt like a Lagoon commercial ;-).

So long story short...this Cat is friggin awesome but for some reason I still miss "Perry Style". I liked the "camping" or "roughing it" feel of life. Nuts right?

As much as it scared the shit out of me being so close to the ocean, healed over with water running along side of us, I understood it. I got the mechanics of monohull sailing and deep down I knew that our boat could handle way more than I could and could keep me safe regardless of any of my poor decisions. I liked life being a little hard so that sweet tasted just a bit sweeter. I liked working hard for perfect moments. As I get older I do find I want things to be less hard but I think we can find a nice line between luxury Cat and our 1976 Ketch. And if I was to be totally honest I couldn't afford to purchase and maintain this beautiful boat ;-). It would need to be a smaller or older cat.

So for this voyage we soak in as much knowledge as we can from our captain and crew mates and savour all of the wonderful perks. We surrender ourselves to showers, sit down dinners and plenty of rest. Lol.

And we dream and talk of our next boat! Top of the list currently are Amels, Oysters, and Hallberg Rassey's. Probably something about 15 years old. Who knows though how the rest of this voyage will impact our thoughts. One thing is for sure though, we can't wait to call the ocean our home again.

Wipe the stardust from your eyes

The morning of departure there was so much electricity in the air it was exhilarating. The moment of casting the lines came easily and quickly. Berry (the captain) of my new floating home gave us all a quick debrief of how leaving the dock would go down and what we each would be responsible for. We then all took our positions and you could here a collective "ready" from each corner. On queue we each cast off our lines and Berry drove slowly forward and just like that land slipped away.

As we made our way through the marina and to the exit we could begin to hear horns and dance music and a loud speaker. There were flags and people lined up all along the exit and on top of a building waving and cheering. The guy on the mic was moderating the race and wishing each boat well as they past the gate, "here comes Mareas looking beautiful"! I couldn't resist waving back madly to the crowd and beginning to sway with the music. My face was full smile! This was the departure I always wanted on Salty Ginger ;-). Imagine the arrival! Perhaps even the ticker tape welcoming I wanted on all our previous arrivals. Ok I'm getting ahead of myself.

Once we were in the harbour we needed to basically drive around with 200 other boats and wait for the starting call. I have never been in this close proximity of so many boats. It was remarkably calm and fairly stress free. At about 20 minutes to start we got our main sail up and set off towards the start line. Booming from the radio was the count down from 10 and then finally the sound of a canon signalling the start! We were officially off. It's was actually quite funny because it was light wind and this was the slowest race I have ever been a part of ;-).

Happiness washed over me with open ocean in front of us. Nostalgia mixed with excitement and even a bit of salt water soul calming mixed in the blend. Deep breath in and out. This is what I'd been missing. "Hello Mother Ocean. Did you miss me?"

Even though we started out in such calm that first day, night brought very challenging conditions. In my head I was thinking this is Mother Oceans welcome home message to me, "Wipe the star dust from your eyes and get your game face on". Seas and wind began to build throughout the day and of course reached their peak in the darkness of night. The first couple days are also the worst for sea sickness. Everyone just feels a bit off and lethargic adding to the anxiety.

I'll write another blog about the sailing differences I'm noticing between Cat and Monohull but the primary difference thus far is motion. This coupled with sail changes and deck work caused my iron stomach hubby to make an offering to the sea.

He amazes me though. After his offering, moments later he is still crawling across the deck in darkness and fastening the preventor on the other side of boat after we gibed in big seas.

That evening we even had a big enough wave to bring water into the cockpit and get the captains feet wet as he grabbed a few minutes sleep. I would be lying if I didn't tell you that I had a few moments thoughts of "what the hell have I signed up for".

We persevered though and all five of us worked well as a team. We have set up our watch schedules with the four of us doing 3 hour rotations. The captain Berry is on call at all times. This works well so that we can wake him without guilt ;-) and he can route plan and weather watch. That first night he was up for most of it with us.

Sunrise and morning brought calmer seas and wind and has given us time to nurture our sea legs back to life.

Life on board is slowly falling into the routine I craved. Dolphin sighting, eating, star gazing and getting lost in thought looking out on that big beautiful mesmerizing ocean.

Test post from an email

This is just a test to ensure I can post a blog by sending an email from our satellite phone. Fingers crossed. Tomorrow we leave!!! So much activity today. Excitement is building.

Sent from my iPhone

How did I end up in a Viking costume?

The week leading up to our departure has been happy hours and get togethers galore. Funnily enough I can handle an ocean passage but put me in a crowded loud room with a ton of new people and I am ready to run to a safe harbour. 

Back to the Viking costume....On the night of the cruiser “Once Upon a Time” costume party I remember thinking that I would fight my social anxiety by drinking a lot. What could go

wrong, right? I put my pink rubber gloves on and my do-rag on my head and called myself “Cinder Crew”. Graham dressed up as a light version of Popeye. We were ready. 

We all had pre party drinks around the table on our catamaran. A few bottles of wine later and we were off for the party. I was the perfect amount of tipsy at this point. All the edges were just sanded off nicely. Conversation flowed easily and laughter came often. If only I hadn’t had a drink at the party. Lol

Two sangrias later and I found myself stepping into the middle of a group of men dressed as Vikings. As I started to dance amongst them one of them started putting an extra costume/burlap sack on me and then another was tying the belt around my waist and then another put the horns

on my head and the dancing continued. In the morning as I awoke and hazy, cringe worthy memories began to come back to me and I said to Graham, “I wonder how I ended up in the Viking costume?”. He replied, “let me show you the video!” Oiy. Video evidence. All in good fun.

Aside from a ton of parties we have also been completing a long list of prep:

• grocery shop for 5 adults for 20+ days: dry goods, meat, fruit/veg, drinks, hygiene supplies, cleaning, alcohol and of course cheese and an Iberico leg of ham
• Find room in the boat for everything and stow safely and remember where you put everything 
• Safety check and repair of all rigging and lines - up the mast
• Defrost fridges 
• Clean boat
• Do laundry - loving the washing machine on board!
• Make and put on a preventer on the main sail to limit the boom’s ability to swing unexpectedly 
• Get all fishing gear and lures ready
• Prepare meals for first few days
• Check the weather and route recommendations constantly and discuss it with everyone 
• Walk through all systems and equipment on the boat together
• Ensure the beacons inside our life jackets work correctly and will be picked up by the Automatic Identification System on board 
• Overview all potential emergencies together and our plan as a team to address each 
• And a ton of other little things

Lucky for us we have 5 adults to divvy up the work. This has been a great way to get to know each other before we set off together. As each day passes the excitement builds. We are looking forward to casting the lines on Sunday, Nov 24 at noon! If you are interested in tracking our progress you can do this via either method below:

Method 1: Use the following link https://forecast.predictwind.com/tracking/display/Mareas  and you will see only our boat and you will also see the boat speed and wind speed and direction. You can see our path and such. 

Method 2: You need to download the app called YB Races. This app will allow you to see all boats in the 2019 Atlantic Rally for Cruisers. You will need to add this race and then search for our boat called “Mareas” to see our progress and position in the fleet. 

Currently all boats are pretty much at dock unless they are out for a sea trial. The departure date is this Sunday November 24th! Please follow along.

Online Dating

Here we sit on-board a 45 foot catamaran preparing to cross the Atlantic Ocean. How in the heck did we get here? Well, all good things start with online dating....

Graham and I signed up on websites called "Find a Crew" and another site called "Ocean Crew Link" which felt like what we imagined online dating is like. We crafted a shiny profile introduction and picked a few photos, we selected our preferences such as "not looking for romance", "prefer boats where drinking is allowed", "non-smokers", "no diet restrictions", "looking for ocean passages", "available for Nov/Dec" and then we waited…..

"My husband and I have sailed across the Pacific and Atlantic with our 2 children. The first sailing adventure began in 2008 on our 1976 Ketch we named Artemo, which we purchased in Antigua and sailed to New Zealand. We arrived in NZ in 2010 and sold the boat in Jan of 2011. The next trip began in Les Sables Delone France where we purchased a brand new Jeanneau 44i in 2012 and sailed across the Atlantic. We enjoyed this boat for a number of years and sold in 2015. We love our family, our adventures, morning coffee, cooking, hikes, snorkeling, diving, free diving, kayaking, happy hour in the cockpit with the setting sun, wide open ocean passages, great food, laughing and friendships. In our work life we both own our own businesses and are consultants. I am a project manager and business analyst just having finished a successful 3 year project and my husband is a software engineer and aircraft maintenance engineer and can basically fix anything. I love travel and adventures and even though I am usually more nervous than Graham for new things, I welcome that feeling."

Soon the fun began, with notifications of potential matches and emails from potential suitors...I mean captains ;-). We could then review their profiles, read about their boat, the crew and sail plans and see if we could be a match! We did video interviews with the boats where the dates and sailing intentions seemed to mesh with ours. It did seem a bit crazy that based on a bit of online stalking and a video chat that we would buy airfare and show up at one of these boats ready to cross an ocean but what is life if you don't take a few risks! The other fun aspect was that the boats were everywhere in the world. Our adventure for Nov and Dec had the potential to take place in so many different places. 

It was so interesting to talk with all the various captains and hear about their experiences and why they were looking for crew. We narrowed our choices down to two boats which would be two very different experiences. 

Option 1: The first boat was a Beneteau First Racing Yacht (mono-hull). There was a very experienced racing skipper on board and he would be bringing along 6 crew. Sleeping arrangements would be 3 in each of the two bedrooms. There was bunk beds and a double in each room. The skipper had his own berth near the nav station. They would be racing but the skipper said that given they would be participating in the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers which is more a rally than a race they would be doing a few things to make the passage a bit more cruising than racing such as putting the seats back in the cockpit but that he wasn't the kind of guy to ever say "oh well if it takes us another day…", lol.   I was very honest with him as well and let him know that I had reached out because I thought this might be a great way to build my skill and stomp on my fear. I let him know that I didn't have any racing experience but that I was usually capable of more than I realized. I told him I did tend to be nervous but I wouldn't want to let anyone down. He seemed really knowledgeable and confident and even in our short conversation we could tell he would be a great teacher and a steady calm influence on the trip. We asked for a couple days to really weigh the pros and cons and said goodbye. Graham and I were both very interested after hanging up but we did have concerns about having that many people on board, the sleeping arrangements and cooking/eating.

Option 2: The second boat was a 2018 Lagoon 450F Catamaran. Basically 45 feet of pure luxury. We would have our own cabin and our own bathroom with a shower. The boat had all the bells and whistles. Many things that we never thought a sailboat could have such as

dishwasher, washing machine, nespresso machine, bread maker, ice maker, air conditioner, upper helm cockpit separate from the 2 other cockpits!! for sitting, relaxing and eating. Hmmmm this is a tough choice…. We interviewed with the captain, his wife and their adult daughter and they were really nice and knowledgeable. We felt confident in their skill and felt that we could all be a good fit. Their dates and sail plans worked perfectly with the time off Graham was able to get. The only catch was that they had narrowed their pool of potential candidates down to us and 3 other individuals….uhoh…competition. After speaking with them we decided it would be really great to gain experience sailing on a catamaran to give it a fair shake before we decide on our next boat. We agreed that if they offered us the spot that we would take it.

Later that day we received the email that we were the successful candidates and I wish I had a video of me jumping like a nut around my bedroom alone ;-), unfortunately Graham was at work. So this is how we ended up on this amazing boat, with these amazing people and ready for a new adventure. The captains name is Berry and his first mate/wife is Mei. Their daughters name is Mara. They are all dutch but have lived for a very long time in New Zealand and more recently Australia. They are quick to smile, easy to talk with, really competent, fun loving and interesting. My gut is saying that we are going to have an awesome time together and that we made the right choice!

We are currently in Las Palmas, Gran Canary Islands. We arrived on November 17th and have been getting to know our new family. I am happy to say we chose right! They are all so nice and have set up a very comfortable way to live and sail. We are all working together as a team now to prepare to cast our lines and sail across the ocean departing on Sunday, November 24th. Gulp! We anticipate it will be 20 days at sea. Stay tuned for more updates.