To distant shores!
Like any other journey a sailing trip or adventure requires a certain amount of preparation. By preparation I mean various things: determining where to sail, of course, but also checking every electrical wire running through the boat because you just saw an electrical fire turn the neighboring boat in the marina into scrap in a matter of seconds which turned you completely paranoid, or even silly things like convincing your parents you really don’t need a third frying pan to sail across the Atlantic Ocean …
Prepping for a long trip consists of a series of practical chores, planning, routing and even administration. Boat papers, charts, insurance, passports and many more of those compulsory “have to’s”. Compulsory, but also, essential because without them the trip could end before it has even started. Imagine finally getting to your ultimate sailing goal. Seeing the beautiful distant shores, but not being able to leave the boat because when the customs officer asks you for your passport, all you can say is: “I must have it somewhere, I’m sure!”
Another, the more technical part of the preparation process, is just as crucial. Fixing up the boat and getting it ready to sail. Other liveaboards might agree with me on this one: Living on a sailboat in a port or living on a boat while sailing are two entirely different things. For me it feels like the boat has to undergo some kind of metamorphose before we can untie the ropes and leave offshore. Our floating home has to turn into a comfortable, yet at times demanding means of transportation because you want your boat to do what it is made for … sail. When you’re out in the open blue and the weather gets rough, you want it to work. You don’t want to have to worry about valves you didn’t check or ropes you didn’t change. Therefore getting ready for a trip also means getting the toolbox out and tackling that seemingly endless list of boat chores. It can be bad and it probably will get ugly, to the point where you wonder how the thing even floats, but keep going until you’ve ticked off the crucial repairs and upgrades. However, be aware, don’t lose yourself in the chore list, because that list will never end. There will always be unfinished chores and there will always be reasons not to leave.
That brings me to the last part of the trip preparation. Let’s have a look at you. Are you ready? And I mean really ready, not that you studied the complete tidal plan of the British Channel by heart, or ironed your favorite pair of underwear. No, are you mentally ready to leave the shore behind you? Or have the crazy monkey wrench yoga poses boat work forces on you finally broken you? Surely not, it’s time to just get your shenanigans together and you’re off, but don’t take too much or you’ll just be chucking it overboard a little bit down the road. Take what you need, which isn’t always the same as what you want. Anyway, if anything is missing, you’ll find it along the way. All you have to do now is hoist the sail!