I’ve just made the “shlep” again – I flew to the US for Christmas to visit family and just flew back to the boat in the Bahamas yesterday loaded down with boat parts. Over time, I’ve found three little things that help.
1. Luggage Scale
A simple luggage scale makes it easy to weigh each bag and make sure you don’t exceed the airlines’ baggage weight limits.
I realized my Mom truly understood my vagabond lifestyle when she gave me a luggage scale for Christmas one year. She bought it from a travel gear catalog but now some WalMarts even carry luggage scales for about $10. They can weigh bags up to 75 pounds and even have a built-in tape measure for checking bag dimensions.
I always pack the scale with me now so that I can weigh my bags before flying. Many airlines now charge an extra $75 to $100 per bag if your bag exceeds their weight limits (commonly 50 pounds). Small regional airlines often limit you further. …Read more
‘Twas the week before Christmas, and we cruisers are getting in the spirit of the season. This year we have been enjoying the Christmas season in the Abacos.
We attended the 11th annual Lighting of the Tree on Green Turtle Cay. The Christmas carols were the best part. Choirs from each of the island’s five churches sang, as well as kids from Tiny Turtles Pre-School. The island was decked in Christmas lights, a Nativity scene was set up at the end of a dock, and as we peeked in doors we could see Junkanoo costumes being assembled.
Unfortunately, I can’t hide that I have a Seashell Problem.
Friends get worried when they see me walking the beach. Why keeping the eyes on the ground instead of contemplating waves and horizon as is the custom? “Have you lost something?”
Fishermen watch too. They wonder what profitable business the foreign woman is in. Crab hunting?
Our anchorage neighbours would like to ask what we are bringing back to the boat in that mysterious netbag every morning. Lobsters maybe. (Is that legal?)
All need to know what exactly I am doing on the beach.
“Gathering shells? But what is so exciting about shells, it’s for kids!”
I am new to the cruising lifestyle and would appreciate your advice. I will be going to the Bahamas with my boyfriend soon and we plan to shower in saltwater in the cockpit then rinse in fresh water.
What soap works best for body washing in salt water?
What shampoo do you recommend for color treated blonde hair?
Pam Wall
Response from Pam Wall:
I have spent a lot of time out cruising where fresh water was at a premium, and especially in the Bahamas! You lucky girl to be going there!
I always washed body and hair in Johnson’s Baby Shampoo. It is the best thing to use for sensitive skin as it will not give you any bad reactions if a little is left on.
I would wash and shampoo on a lovely beach, or from the boat in the water, and then thoroughly rinse in sea water, especially your hair. …Read more
If by chance you are in Grenada as you read this, you can meet Kath and attend a presentation on Kath and David’s seabird survey on December 2. Details below.
Land Meets Sea
I’m not sure that my experience of cruising is altogether normal… I dumped my maiden name, Land and its beguiling earthly forms, abandoned my job surveying wildlife and plunged into an alien world of motion and water.
David and I bowled off from the shores of Devon, England, in our ancient sailing boat who, in her heyday, had been much more contented transporting a couple of tonnes of fish about than two fresh-faced explorers and their fellow friends.
The thing was that we wanted to work overseas in ecology.…Read more
Throughout the month of November both Blue Water Sailing Magazine and The Cruising Compass is focusing on Fitting Out For World Cruising.
The Cruising Compass interviewed Pam Wall, Outfitting Manager for West Marine. Pam is an accomplished sailor who has sailed around the world with her husband, Andy of Andrew Wall Rigging, and their young children. Pam and Andy have become Fort Lauderdale’s resident expert for all cruisers, motor or sail.
When my husband, Evans Starzinger, suggested sailing around the world, I had almost no sailing experience and reacted much the same way I would have if he had suggested flying a rocket to the moon.
It took him two years to convince me to sail away with him, and he never would have done it if I hadn’t decided there was something in it for me – besides being with him! That something was writing. …Read more
Bev Feiges wrote the following for us after reading Galley Advice from 18 Cruising Women on the Women and Cruising website. In that article, we asked 18 cruising women to describe their galley for us, and tell us what they considered essential aboard. Although several of the 18 women participating in our article have generators aboard, and a number have some electrical appliances, none have a truly “electrical galley” as Bev does aboard her power boat. Thanks, Bev, for sharing your experience with us. – Kathy Parsons
I just read most of the interviews of the 18 women and their galleys, and I was so surprised not to hear one person, including the woman on the 68 foot motor boat, speak up for an electric galley, or having a generator. You may not want to hear the other side of the story, but I feel someone should make the case.
We had a great time at the Women and Cruising Seminar Sunday October 11, 2009 at the Annapolis Boat Show. For the first time ever, Beth Leonard, circumnavigator and author of the Voyager’s Handbook joined us. And Pam Wall and I LOVED having her – she was a great member of the Women and Cruising team and we hope she can join us again.
We had quite a few other Women and Cruising contributors in the audience sharing their experiences: …Read more
While you’re at the 2009 Annapolis Sailboat Show, be sure to stop by the Author’s Corner (Booth M5) and talk cruising.
Another reason that I love the Annapolis Boat Show is that I get to hang out with two of my favorite cruising authors, Jimmy Cornell and John Otterbacher (author of Sailing Grace).
Jimmy Cornell is the author of the best-selling World Cruising Routes as well as founder of Noonsite, and the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers. I’ve carried Jimmy’s books aboard my boat for decades, but I’d never met him until two years ago at the Annapolis Boat Show.
I just got news today that you can now read the Caribbean Compass FREE online every month.
If you’ve cruised the Caribbean, you certainly know about the Caribbean Compass. It’s a free waterfront news magazine, started by former cruiser Sally Erdle. Sally and her husband Tom circumnavigated from 1989-1994 aboard their Rhodes 41 sloop So Long. In 1995 they settled in Bequia and started the Caribbean Compass.
… That’s the subtitle of Janna Cawrse Esarey’s new book The Motion of the Ocean, that we mentioned a while back on the blog. I haven’t had a chance to read it yet (though I like her subtitle) and such lines as:
“Choosing a mate is like picking a house paint from one of those tiny color squares … You never know how it will look across a large expanse, or how it will change in a different light.”
Gwen Hamlin, however IS reading it now, and she is really enjoying the book and Janna’s perspective. She has promised to write a review for Women and Cruising when she finishes.
So for fun, here’s Janna’s You Tube video book trailer for the book. Enjoy!
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1. Luggage Scale
, that we mentioned a while back on the blog. I haven’t had a chance to read it yet (though I like her subtitle) and such lines as: