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Why washing dishes in saltwater is WORTH IT

Lanea Riley — Sat, 18 May 2013 12:30:54 +0000

“What did we sign up for?!” I thought after our first day at anchor in the Sea of Cortez. We had spent the prior night and wee morning hours fighting through a 30 knot coromuel to get to the anchorage. Both us and the boat were covered with salt.

Alone at anchor in Puerto Don Juan

We took a pitiful shower in the cockpit with the already partially broken Solar Shower but without a watermaker we didn’t have enough water to clean the boat. Instead we walked around the deck spraying the hardware with a water bottle in hopes of preventing corrosion.

We had barely slept the night before and were expecting another sleepless night due to a repeat performance of coromuel winds.

After dinner I leaned over the side of the boat to scoop salt water in to a 5 gallon bucket. The very bucket that I planned to use for the summer to wash the dishes in salt water before a fresh water rinse.

I don’t like doing dishes in the first place, and now I am doing dishes in a salty bucket? Looking out on the uninhabited island of Isla Espiritu Santo, my husband and I asked each other, is this seriously going to be our life for the whole summer? Is this really what we signed up for?!

I don’t know if I can do this all summer, I confided that evening.

The next day we took a hike, walked the beach, and had the most magical sunset at anchor. It was as if all the wildlife in the area choreographed a magnificent performance while we sat on the deck eating dinner. I kept waiting for Ariel to jump out of the water with flying fish and manta rays as back up dancers and belt out “Under the Sea.”

From that moment on, we were undeniably hooked.

We would sit on the foredeck with a good book and maybe a glass of wine and wait for the wildlife dance that took place every night before sunset to begin.

Waiting for the evening wildlife “show” to start

Away from the comforts of the marina which offers free-flowing water, electricity, and the ability to sleep through the night, we settled in for a summer of exploration, living off the sea, and self sustainability. After our first 18 days in the Sea of Cortez we picked up a mooring ball at Puerto Escondido for a couple of nights to refill our water tanks, wash the boat, change the oil, and refuel before we headed out for the islands again.

Fresh boatmade fish tacos

That was the longest we had gone without visiting a restaurant since we each started college. In fact, before we went cruising I cooked an average of one meal a year for my husband. Obviously things had changed since our land life.

Six months in the Sea of Cortez led to lasting friendships, fabulous meals on board, learning how to wash clothes by hand, and becoming intimately aware of how to use our anchor, the tides, the moon cycle, and weather. Not to mention a slight addiction with the game Baja Rummy. Most importantly we learned about each other and ourselves.

“If you would enjoy a weekend alone with your partner locked in your apartment without power and water, then you will love voyaging together.”
— THE VOYAGER’S HANDBOOK by Beth A.Leonard

A ‘land friend’ asked what it was like to spend so many uninterrupted days together. “Like we were on an extended couples retreat.” I answered. We had nothing but time to laugh, play, explore, and talk.

Happy couple

By comparison, life is pretty easy in a marina. But we love the adventure that comes with being at anchor in the Sea.

This article was published on July 3, 2012 in Lanea Riley’s blog The Voyage of Moondance.

About Lanea Riley

Lanea Riley and her husband Conor bought an Islander 36, in April 2011 and within 15 days they decided to prepare Sausalito-based MOONDANCE for a southbound trip to Mexico. Six short months later, they left under the Golden Gate Bridge.

They have been enjoying Mexico ever since and spent 6 glorious months in the Sea of Cortez in the summer of 2012.

Lanea maintains a sailing blog at www.svmoondance.wordpress.com

Lipstick Sailor

Lanea Riley — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 16:32:23 +0000

What are little girls made of? Sugar and spice and everything nice.

Well if everything nice means a fresh coat of makeup, painted nails, pretty hair, and a good pair of heels, then I am in trouble.

Being a lady at sea is a constant uphill battle.

Looking sexy at sea is harder than it sounds.

It is a harsh environment in which I am exposed to the elements every single day. But I have found that there isn’t anything a little lipstick can’t cure.

When I left the comforts of my shore based life I knew that I would have to go long stretches without a hairdryer. I knew that I might break a couple of nails and there are no floating salons in the sea where I can get my eyebrows waxed.

I even knew that I would have to learn how to take a shower using a black plastic bag full of water. They call it a Sun Shower. It sounds luscious. Shower in the sun. Oh, those clever marketing devils.

It’s been said (Staying pink in a Blue World article) that cruising makes men more manly and woman, well… less womanly.

My manly man

My dear husband is a very manly sailor. He gets scruffy during longer passages, he lifts heavy things, works on the engine, and constantly draws from one of three tool bags on board. Even the blood blisters he acquired under his fingernails from an anchoring mishap look manly.

Yes, cruising is good for a man.

For the ladies, cruising makes it easy to forget you are, well, a lady.

Almost every female creature comfort gets forgotten when sailing.

When you are dog tired trying to stay awake for your last watch before sunrise.
When you can barely heat up water for Cup o’Noodles because the boat is moving like you are on a wild seesaw ride with no OFF button.
When you beach the dinghy and become covered with salt water in the process (dried saltwater is not a flattering look on the skin).
When you are up the mast trying for what seems like the millionth time to fix those gosh darn mast lights and trying your hardest not to swear.
When you have epoxy in your hair.
When you are covered with diesel or engine oil and reaching for a bilge pad, praying that it isn’t the last on board.

Donning my Refit Duds. My hair is back because I got epoxy in it the day before.

Yes, it gets hard to remember to splash on a little perfume and slip on a cute black number so you can go out to…. Oh yeah… you’re in an anchorage and there are no places to go to in your cute black number. Which is why you don’t even have a little black number taking up precious space on the boat. Or a decent pair of heels. The absence of both is practically grounds for arrest in my girl handbook.

My newest eveningwear acquisition. I admired this scarf on a tourist in San Jose del Cabo and she gave it to me!

Not only is there no cute black dress or a decent pair of heels which both belong in every woman’s wardrobe, there is not much more jewelry than the basics to dress up a plain outfit. The lack of jewelry is not from a lack of desire, but more for practicality and necessity. Catching a necklace in the engine belt does not sound like fun. The lack of jewelry also prevents possible theft (I’m wearing nice jewelry and I must have more on board so please come to my boat and rob me in the middle of the night).

It gets hard to remember to be a lady but remember I must. Because I have realized that cruising is so much more fun when I brush my hair, put on a little lipstick and eye makeup to compliment my sun dress, and my husband looks over at you with adoring eyes and says, “You look really pretty, babe.” Yes, for this it is worth it.

And besides, I feel much more productive with a coat of lipstick on. Wonder Woman wears lipstick. And so does She-Ra. I think it makes them stronger. This I am sure of.

So after 2 months of working on the boat 10+ hours a day and 3 months of sailing, I decided to march in to town with Ann-Marie from SV Agua Azul in search of a salon.

Pampered at last!

We were on a mission. Determined to find a pedicure.

And somebody PLEASE look at my hair! I had recently tried to cut my own hair. Don’t laugh. To the untrained eye it was very passable. To the trained eye, well, “Tu cortaste muy mal!” said my hairdresser in between laughter. The type of laughter that made her throw her head back. The type of laughter that later in the week will make her chuckle when remembering that silly gringa who thought she could cut her hair. I politely laughed with her and decided to enjoy every single moment of pampering in her chair, closing my eyes and drinking it all in.

I walked out of there with an even haircut and painted toes for less than $20. Yes.

These salon visits will be included in the budget from now on.

This article was published on January 20, 2012 in Lanea Riley’s blog The Voyage of Moondance.

About Lanea Riley

Newlyweds Lanea Riley and her husband Conor bought an Islander 36, in April 2011 and within 15 days they decided to prepare Sausalito based Moondance for a southbound trip to Mexico. Six short months later, they left under the Golden Gate Bridge in October 2011.

Having more sailing knowledge than boat maintenance knowledge, Lanea has learned a lot on the way about electricity, tools, engines, cooking on a boat and how to enjoy ‘girl’ comforts and hasn’t looked back.

Lanea maintains a sailing blog at www.svmoondance.wordpress.com

More information (external links)

If you liked this post then you may also enjoy Lanea’s blog:
The Voyage of Moondance

How do you maintain your femininity aboard?

Email kathy@forcruisers.com or leave a comment below.

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Why washing dishes in saltwater is WORTH IT

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Lipstick Sailor

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