Crockham Hill June 2025 Newsletter - Flipbook - Page 35
Secondly, washing on the boat: water is always short. Never waste that
8twice a week9 shower. Each one has a 3 second limit; one for wetting the
hair, one for rinsing and one for everywhere else. Dirty clothes in the tray
to be washed by stamping. Bed linen goes into the 8multi-purpose bucket9
with minimal water. On the advice of an Australian 8Sheila9, the best tool
for washing in a bucket is a toilet plunger (retired from normal duties,
mind).
Provisioning and cooking are a logistical nightmare. Buying in a strange
market, getting it on board, stowing it safely away. Cooking on a rolling
cooker can be far too 8interesting9. A good friend cooked a lobster in a Force
8 gale on a flat cooker for a £10 bet. For us, the multi-purpose saucepan on
the gimbal is essential.
Cruising is often described as 8boat maintenance in exotic places.9 If 1001
things can go wrong, 1002 will. Sailing widows discuss 8where to get the
provisions, where9s the launderette.9 For blokes it9s war stories about
impossible pieces of equipment that need mending tomorrow. This year,
in a brisk wind, relaxed but never complacent, we glanced up to see the
anchor light atop of the mast dangling by a wire. Checked and tightly fixed
on departure, how was this possible? Mention 8toilets9 to sailors and they
groan. Their intricacies are known at first hand, literally. Along with the
trunks and flip-flops, the most constant articles of clothing are marigolds;
inevitably, they come into use on a Sunday afternoon after a long lunch.
The second most frequent breakdown is the fridge or freezer, the usual
reason for a BBQ with all your mates.
Every sailor knows the 8starfish9 position for sleeping, when the wind
comes from one direction and the swell from another. Inevitably, this is at
3am when the bed is rolling like a fairground ride. You have the choice of
wedging yourself between pillows on the hard floor or lying on your
stomach and extending arms and legs into the 8starfish position9.
Sailing is difficult, uncomfortable, and can be dangerous. Why do we do it?
Because waking in the morning at anchor off an empty idyllic beach is
breath taking. Surfing down an Atlantic wave watching zillions of flying fish
is amazing. Whales and dolphins alongside are awesome. Swimming with
turtles in warm gin-clear water cannot be described. Meeting other like
souls from all around the world is so educational. But as for that advert?
Don9t believe a word of it.
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