Chronicles of Gr-ulie

 I am lovin’ this sailing for fun. The tiller, the open cockpit and the light boat let you feel the whole experience and I’m here for it. It is so nice after all these years to not be gripped by fear when the boat leans way over. Yesterday we all had hot cups of tea and coffee in our hands as we flew along on quite the angle. Graham had the tiller in the other hand. 

Our days have been filled with sailing, walking, eating, visiting and playing “Ticket to Ride”. lol.  Graham loves this game and we bought one for our friends and had them learn how to play before we joined them on board lol. Each night as too much whiskey and chocolate are consumed a very serious game of trains ensues. They are giving Graham a run for his money. 

I keep joking we are in “Mojo Boot Camp”.  Little walks tend to include a few uphill climbs. One walk came down a very very very steep mountain and brought us to a very busy nudist beach. Right there at the trail head were two fairly large very white naked men spread eagle basking in the sun.  Oh my! Then as we proceeded to walk along the beach we were joined in pace with a very nice looking naked man on his cell phone. He pretty much walked the length of the beach with us. I was not expecting this on our walk ;-). 

Our new couple nic name is Gr-ulie. I’m loving it. We usually doing something silly each day to add to the “Chronicles of Grulie” as Enya has coined them. Yesterday I had a full shampoo shower under the beach shower with a few tourists around. True cruiser style. 

I’m sleeping better than I have been in a long time. It’s such a pleasure to be cared for and I definitely feel that here. Today we are off to a new anchorage. Mojo is moving along. The guys are up top chatting away discussing all things boats. Ondene is making bread and Enya is having a second sleep. I think we found our Mojo. 

Salty Mojo

Well we moved onboard Mojo 3 yesterday. It’s a Pacific 38 sailboat from 1976. She is a beauty. Built the same year as our first sailboat Artemo. Our friends Ondene and Sven who we met when we sailed across the pacific in 2010 invite us for a week of sailing onboard. When we first met they had Mojo 1 which was 36 feet. I always admired how easy they made life on board look. They had two kids as well (Enya and Mia) who quickly became Amelia’s best friends. Their boat was always so neat and organized.  They had no refrigerator but ate better than all of us. They also had no Watermaker but had figured out all the tricks to use the minimum amount of water. I remember they hardly ever used their motor either. They are in my books the true definition of hard core and so extremely humble about their awesomeness. Well much hasn’t changed since our early sailing days together. Mojo 3 doesn’t have a fridge but they do have a little 12v cooler. And there is no Watermaker or shower onboard. Salt water baths is how it is done with a rinse from a camping shower bag. Their dinghy motor is a 2 horsepower. No generator on board or big battery bank. The objective is simple systems with less stuff to maintain or break. It’s pretty cool. 

There are no doors on board except to the bathroom. When we moved in they gave us their v-berth and they moved to the berth under the cockpit. So kind to give us a bit of privacy. Enya is also on board and she has a bunk in the salon. You’d think it would feel crowded or awkward to all be so close but it doesn’t. It feels so comfortable and cozy. I had the best sleep I’ve had in a very long time last night. Feels like home. 

Anyway back to yesterday. When we got on board they let us know we’d be leaving the dock and sailing to an anchorage. It wasn’t more than 10 minutes and the engine was on and we were departing. It was all very casual and even though the wind was blowing they made leaving the dock look so easy. Once we were out of the harbour I could see it was a very windy day. I knew it was going to be a brisk sail but I wasn’t quite prepared for the very exciting sail we had. We were on quite a heel for the 3 hour journey doing about 7 knots on our 38! It was exciting but funnily enough we were all talking away and catching up that we weren’t focusing to often on the fact that we were vertical and bracing ourselves and getting the sporadic splash of water to the face. I won’t lie to you though there were a few time I was happy to see them ease the main ;-). The guys had a beer during this sail and Ondene handed out sandwiches lol. I know many people would have been seasick on this journey but not the Salty Mojos lol. 

The anchorage is beautiful. I wasn’t expecting the clear water, the jagged cliffs and long sandy beaches. 

Today we went for what Mojo considered a flip flop walk which was more like a 10+ km hike up and down the large hills between the bays. The views were so worth it. Absolutely stunning. 

We feel very grateful for our time together and this amazing hospitality. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the week brings. I’m feeling very content as I type this from bed with the cool breeze coming through the hatch, the sound of the waves on the beach, the gurgle of the water against the hull, the soft sounds of sleeping behind us, and Graham turning pages of the first book he’s read in very long time. Life is good.