Monday, August 6, 2012

Cruising: The Bad

It's really hard to find a picture of the not-so-nice parts of cruising.
 
The heat or the humidity. I knew it was bad when Vlad started mentioning how much he'd like to see penguins. I told him there were penguins on the equator. Next, he said, "You know, we should really stay away from polar bears." I said, "Okay...." Then, he said, "You know where the farthest place away from polar bears is?" "Where," I asked. "Antarctica." He's also stated that it's ok if we want to turn back now - "we can make it to Connecticut in a couple of months." So, it's hot. But what does that mean exactly? Lots of sweating, for one. The kind that just doesn't go away, the kind that makes you want to take a shower every 30 minutes, the kind that makes Vlad sweat through three shirts in a day and the kind that gives you heat rash. From the heat and subsequent sweating, Vlad and I both have gotten skin rashes that I try to get all Florence Nightengale on with the witch hazel and tea tree oil. It works sort of, but it's a constant battle. Sometimes, we go stand in air-conditioned ATM boxes just for some relief. Paradoxically, since we've moved south, the heat has dissipated substantially, but the super wet Panamanian climate will no doubt bring new delights. Leprosy, perhaps?

The ocean. Ok, so this one is a bit tongue and cheek, but we were surprised at just how uncomfortable it is sailing on the big wide blue. Those nice protected sailing waters like Galveston Bay are not the norm, and conditions in the open ocean are rarely optimum. The waves are large and often on our beam, making for a very unpleasant motion. The winds are often too high or from the wrong direction or nonexistent. Romantic notions of ocean travel abound, and, yes, there is beauty in every direction out there. But it's also a harsh and unforgiving landscape, one that bashes you about, covers you in bruises and makes it impossible to boil water in a regular pot.

Mold and mildew. I have now cleaned mildew off of our shoes. I've cleaned mildew off of my wooden cooking spoons. I've cleaned mildew off of our cooler and washed it out of my clothes. And this stuff is not shoved in some drawer somewhere (well, some of the clothes were). It's out in the open, getting plenty of air, and still the stuff spreads like crazy. As I mentioned in a previous post, leather is the worst. Vlad has lost two pairs of shoes and a wallet. Another cruiser we know lost a watchband. I have a bad feeling this particular battle will never end and that we will lose. Badly.

Things breaking. Things break on a boat. Even brand new things that you've only used a few times. If you're not ready for this fact, then boat life might not be right for you. Yet, things don't just break on a boat. They break. Then, Vlad fixes them, and then the same stuff breaks again right after he fixes it. Example: The outboard's impeller shattered. Vlad replaced it, and then the pull cord apparatus chose that moment to also break. I don't know why I find this so infuriating, since Vlad does all the work (stoically and without complaint, I might add), but it drives me nuts. I'm blaming imps.

Naysayers. Negative people are everywhere, but sailing seems to have a very vocal contingent of folks who say, "You can't do that." In fact, we've been told variations on that sentiment enough that it's almost kind of comical. And if it's not "you can't do that," it's some iteration of "you should be afraid." Very, very afraid. Then, we go off and do whatever it is that you can't do and find it not only doable but not scary in the least. My personal favorite has been the hurricane discussion. We would meet someone who asked us about our hurricane plans. We would tell them, and they would then proceed to lecture us on how our plan of heading south until we got out of the hurricane belt was very risky and not a smart move. But here's the kicker. I would then ask them where they were going for hurricane season, and they would reply, Florida. Or Texas. Two of the most hurricane prone places in the U.S. See how at this point we just want to laugh? Here's an insightful post on the whole fear mongering thing from The Excellent Adventure, and if you are planning on going on an excellent adventure of your own, absolutely ask questions and be prepared and get advice, but do not listen to the naysayers.

Not having enough energy. Energy usage on a boat is a balance of charge and draw, and we seem to tilt the scales on the power out side. We use computers, a fridge/freezer and the radio, run a wireless router so that we get the internet on the boat and turn on fans at night so that we don't sweat ourselves into dehydration in the dead calm Panamanian heat. We have three solar panels that should provide most of our power, but unfortunately Panama has a lot of cloud cover, rendering our panels pretty much useless. We have acquired a broken wind generator that Vlad may be able to fix, but there's also not a ton of wind in Bocas. We are now considering buying a small gasoline generator so that we don't have to run the engine, something we should have done before we left the U.S. We attempt to conserve, but there's only so much that can be done if we want to keep such luxuries as fans and leftovers.

Money. It's been way more expensive that we had originally thought, but not in the ways we had figured. Now there are reasons for that, which I will get to in a later post, but basically we had assumed that Central America would be cheap, cheap, cheap. But prices for things that cruisers use have doubled, from what we can tell, in the past five years. Checking in to Providencia, for example, used to be a few bucks not that long ago. Now, it's $120. We thought that stopping at a marina would be really cheap in these places. Not so. Nor is diesel. Nor is food always less than in the U.S. Here in Bocas, food prices are on par with the U.S., except for vegetables. Hence, our new found love of red cabbage. Last month, we spent nearly $800 on diesel and checking in to Panama and Providencia - $320 on diesel and $424 on check in fees. That is close to what I had budgeted for the month all on two items and doesn't include food, the occasional sightseeing adventure, transportation, boat parts and water.

In conclusion, sailing has not been what we've expected. It has exceeded our wildest imaginings. We've seen a waterspout dip from the sky and phosphorescence dance on the water. We've met wonderful people along the way who have enhanced our lives and have been given the freedom of movement, if only for a couple of years. Yet, we have also been unpleasantly surprised. Cruising can be frustrating. Sometimes there are no simple solutions. Occasionally, the people we have met have been less than friendly. Though we would never, ever, ever take back this incredible experience, we would have been able to deal with some of these items a bit better had we planned for them. Things such as buying a small Honda gas generator or choosing a route with less expensive check-in fees or researching the best way to deal with mold and mildew before it started growing between our toes (just joking, I swear!). Some things you can only understand by experiencing them - like, in true masochistic fashion, learning to enjoy the ocean kicking the crap out of you - and some things it's good to hear about beforehand - like the fact that cruising is expensive in ways we hadn't planned on.

Perhaps some people out there have some thoughts on the positives and negatives of cruising. If so, I'd like to hear them. 

19 comments:

  1. Ah yes the naysayers. We have heard plenty of them. Of course most use the word "kids" before or after their statement. (I'm pushing 40 years old!) One guy that was only 3 years older than I am insisted on using the term kids when he addressed us.

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    1. I totally feel you on this! I get this alot at work. I'll be 30 next year and still I feel somepeople think I'm not old enough to be doing what i'm doing. Yet I do a good job.

      If I remember correctly ages ago 30 and 40 were at the peak of your accomplishments!

      Tell me slightly older naysayers, what age is old enough to deserve respect? 50, 60, 80? Probably only when I'm older than you, which will never happen.

      I try to take remember annoyances and always treat people my age or younger (or older) with respect given on their actions.

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    2. It is funny to be 31 years old and be thought of as a whipper-snapper. Most of the people we have met out here are retired and around 60, and almost all of them are very nice, just like any other age group. But you get a lot of questions and curious looks. We've had the naysayers from every age demographic, so I think it's equal opportunity hating. And some of the forums especially can be rough.

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    3. I totally know what you mean. The other day I was sitting under the "tree of knowledge" here in Marathon. A guy swore up and down that nothing loses weight under water. He still refuses to listen to me when I tell him concrete has a negative bouyancy that takes away 50% of it's weight and must be accounted for when determining how much wind a mooring can handle.

      I hate it when I'm ignored just because I am younger than them. Funny thing is, just two days before I was sitting in the cockpit wondering if I'm letting time slip away too fast as I feel I'm getting old (44).

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  2. Love the honesty here! I have often wondered how really hot it is down there. Tate suffers with the summertime here and I'm hopefully for the most part it isn't as bad??

    Seasickness for me is the worst thing about sailing..or one of the worst. I take medicine but that makes me feel crummy too. I hope one day I will get these "sea legs" and be fine on the boat. The motion of the ocean is more than a little awful!

    You are making me fear mildew...

    Oh yes the naysayers. We encounter them also, especially since we haven't left yet I can always see the disbelief in people's eyes when we tell them what we are doing. "just dreaming I see". I haven't listened much to people throughout my life saying I can't do this or that. If I had I'd have married my first boyfriend, had kids and been in the same town. No way. Just do it, like Nike.

    One day they'll see it different. You and Vlad are inspirational to me to be out there doing it, "defying the odds!". It's awesome. It was Spring and you said ok let's go. And you did, just the two of you.

    It's a major accomplishment in my opinion.

    The energy thing is also great info. We only have solar and were planning to get a wind generator but not sure if a gas generator would be better seeing your condition.

    And the cost. Thanks for letting us in on those details. This is a big one as Tate and would like to only spend $1,500/month if possible. It's nice however that you can work in Panama and refill the kitty.

    Keep the honesty coming as it is so valuable to hear it from two people who aren't all "plastic fantastic" and sugar coating it.

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    1. Dani, thanks so much for all the kind words. I find tons of inspiration from you guys too. As for your questions, here goes.

      The heat is as bad until you get down around Panama. Maybe it heats up here too later in the summer. I'm not sure, but now it's quite nice even on sunny days. The only issue is that you don't have AC or any way to escape the heat, except swimming. And we have to run a fan at night because there's not much breeze here and Vlad is like a space heater.

      We really didn't think we would have to get a generator, but I think a little Honda one would be less costly (at around $400) than running the engine in the end. I have no idea how that would compare to a wind generator. Just something to consider.

      We were planning on $1,000, but I think $1,500 is more realistic. You could easily make it on that budget without having to forgo tropical rum drinks on the beach and the occasional trip inland to see the sights, if you go slowly through each country. In some places it would be feasible to make it on less.

      And, yes, fear the mildew.

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    2. It hasn't been that hot here in southern Florida until the past two or three weeks. It really depends on how much wind, like today there isn't much so it's really hot at 92 degrees and 68% humidity, but yesterday we had a good breeze so it felt nice all day and it was cloudy a little. It's the sun that's the bad thing...gotta stay out of the sun.

      As for mildew, none here. I guess it just isn't raining as much there.

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    3. Sea sickness used to be very bad for me. It got so bad that just looking at a picture of bad weather would make me feel bad. That was last year. Since I left Texas, I haven't been sick. I've been on a 25' hunter rocking at night on anchor at a dive site that didn't get me sick which was almost a sure thing before.

      I think what did the trick for me was to learn to let the boat move under me instead of me holding onto the boat forcing me to move with it. So even though the boat is rocking, I am not.

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  3. Great post! As future cruisers (2013) we really like to get the truth .. the good and the bad!

    It seems that all good things eventually become expensive ... damn it! =)

    I guess as cruising becomes more popular ... the prices go higher.

    Thanks for the honesty, and the "good" that you speak of seems to make it all worthwhile!

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    1. It really has gotten more expensive, according to other cruisers who have been out here for years. I have some theories on why that I might post on later, but we were really surprised about it, especially down here in Central America.

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  4. As per usual, you are spot on. Thanks for the mention. And just remember to use more vinegar. =)

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    1. I have already started. Thank you so much for the suggestion! And for the great post on not being afraid.

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  5. Wonderful post!! Can't wait to write my own complaints as well :) Ahh living the life!

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    1. Trust me, you will have a couple. Though they in no way outweigh the good parts, they do exist!

      I'm so excited for you guys being almost ready to leave. Just a couple more weeks! And congrats again on the new baby!!

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  6. This is such a helpful post. It's very discouraging to hear about how much the costs are going up. I think we will definitely be looking at checking in to less costly places where cruisers are not taken advantage of. I realize that it seems like anyone who is traveling by small boat must be wealthy, but we all know that is not the case. I'm glad you have having a good experience in spite of this list of bad things. That first photo is a doozy!

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  7. I have a heat rash on both butt cheeks....sitting on the dinghy hurts lol

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  8. GREAT post! The ocean, the ocean - ah, the ocean. The ole be-atch, the temptress, amazing and tyrannical at the same time. We were STUNNED at how uncomfortable sailing is - it's so bad Pip dreads it. Part of it is our unconventional cockpit -- lovely at anchor and dreadful under way -- but part of it is just the fact that a small boat on a big ocean isn't a fun place to be most of the time. I emerge from most passages, even a short overnight trip, exhausted, bruised all over my body, and approx. 1 lb per day lighter, as we can't really cook and my form of seasickness is that I can't eat anything dry (I live off mandarin oranges, beef stew and ravioli from cans on passage, with an occasional spaghetti thrown in if it's calm enough to cook without risking severe burns). At least once on every long passage I end up covering myself and the entire galley area with a boiling hot cup of coffee/cocoa/tea.

    I think $1,500 is realistic - we haven't managed to stay under $1,800 a month on average yet, but have had massive additional boat refit costs we didn't expect (such as $1,300 for new anchor chain this summer) on a regular basis.

    Have you considered doing without the fridge when there's no sun? Ours died (of course) and we decided to do without, partly because of money, but partly because it's not a huge deal once you figure it all out and it means we can use our crappy solar panels that only give us 6-7 amps in the brightest sun to power everything else, including a horrific amount of computer use.

    Thanks for this post -- you've inspired me to think through one of my own!

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    1. LOL! Vlad and I couldn't stop laughing about your comment because that's exactly how we feel much of the time. In fact, I crave mandarin oranges, which I haven't been able to find since Mexico. And please write another post tackling this subject. I think we would have been a bit better prepared had we been more informed and had planned for some of these issues.

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  9. Keep up the good work on giving it to us crazies as it is.. You are doing great... If you ever need us to remind you of life back in the states to remind you of why you are out doing what you are doing just let me know.. lol Miss you girl.. tear

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