Life aboard

Let’s start with the very basics, if you have never been on a sailboat. Note that a sailboat is fundamentally different from one of the very massive cruising monsters or a short ferry ride:

There are fundamental differences between differences between your house and a boat:

• • There is no unlimited supply of water. Do not use half a tank of water to wash the salad and the other to take a long shower. At that point we have to turn back to fill up the tanks. Trust me, I have seen that.
  • There is no unlimited supply of electricity. We create electricity from various ways:
    • A wind vane (but we need at least 20 knots of wind)
    • Solar panels (they produce electricity during the DAY but you need it during the NIGHT)
    • A diesel generator (that requires diesel and makes noise)
    • A diesel engine fitted with an alternator (that requires diesel and makes noise)
  • We store the electricity in batteries. The water pressure at the sink or when you take a shower requires electric pumps. That grey water needs to be pumped out of the bilge with electrical pumps. Try hoisting the heavy anchor and 350 feet of chain without the electric windlass. Electric fans, navigation instruments, radar, VHF, Satellite phone they all need electricity. Cold beers? The fridge runs with an electric compressor…

You got the point. Don’t waste water and electricity. Unless we are hooked up in a marina. But the whole purpose to go sailing is to escape the marina.

Inform the skipper immediately of any potential health issues (heart, pulmonary, allergies, seizures) and provide the contact information of the person to call in case of an emergency.

We will ask you to sign a waiver of liability. No exception.

Bring your medical insurance card and make sure you are covered for travel in foreign countries. It is advisable (especially if you coming from the US, a country with the worst medical coverage in the world) to get a good travel insurance policy, including repatriation.

Insulin or other: bring injection pens that don’t need refrigeration.

We will supply you with the information required to reach us via satellite phone (voice and text). Note that communication via satellite phone is available worldwide but the bandwidth is very limited. There is no cable, no DSL, no fiber on the boat. Do not send photos, jokes, videos and big files, Texts are limited to 120 characters. If a friend or a family member needs to reach you instruct them before. We don’t want to be on the distribution list of your friends whereabouts, jokes, cat videos or anything like that. 

Remember that a sailboat = {sun, wind and water} minus {cable TV, internet}. Here is what you want to bring:

• Everything has to fit in strong zippered bags. No carry on, no wheels, no hard case suitcase (we’ll ask you to leave them in the trunk of your car as there is no room in the small lockers on board). No open bags (you will drop your car keys or your cell phone as you board the boat), no supermarket paper bags.
• There is no need to buy fancy deck shoes. Bring at least a pair of snickers and get the non-marking non skid.
• When we sail you will get some spray. Bring spare dry clothes, socks, tea shirts. Store them in a bag. NEVER bring a suitcase, it won’t fit in any locker.
• Spray top or smock for keeping dry during inflatable dinghy rides to shore.
• Other musts: a fleece, a hat (add a lanyard to tie your hat to your shirt collar), a windbreaker, swimsuit, flip flops, and sunglasses (polarized is better, it is OK to bring two pairs, and buy also a lanyard so they won’t fall overboard as you watch the dolphins playing at the bow) .
• Wear rash guards / UV protectant long-sleeved shirts, even when you swim or snorkle. Don’t get second degree burns, stay in the shade as much as possible.
• Reef -safe sunscreen: check the label. Use only zinc or Titanium. Absolutely NO avobenzone and other deadly chemicals. Read a little bit online about the damage those chemicals created to reefs worldwide. nothing with bronzer or self-tanners in it (It stains everything). Be informed, and review the EWG site.
• Snorkeling gear of your size.
• Water shoes to walk on rocks when we explore coves.
• Beach towel
• Motion sickness pills. You may have your preferred brand. If you forgot, we have supplies on board.
• Toiletries: please bring biodegradable shampoo and soap.
• Feminine products such as pads and tampons: they clog the toilets every time. NEVER throw ANYTHING in the toilet bowl. The pipes are too small and it takes hours to recover them. I guarantee that you will get seasick quickly cleaning up the mess.  Bring plastic bags and dispose of those items in the trash we take onshore on a regular basis.
• Cell phone/camera: they don’t float. Don’t carry your cellphone in your shirt pocket. Keep it in a zipped bag or even better in a waterproof pouch. Same with your wallet.
• You may bring your drone only if you are an experienced operator. We are surrounded by water and they don’t float very well. We are a ketch (two masts) with dozens of shrouds, halyards and lines hanging from the mast. We have a wind vane, a radar, GPS antennas
• A life jacket for your child (we don’t have that size on the boat) and make sure it fits well. Until they are 10 year old, children are required to wear a life jacket on deck. Toddlers MUST wear a life jacket at all times when on deck or in the dinghy.
• Your own reusable water bottle. Absolutely no plastic bottle on the boat. We serve filtered water.
• ID and passport. As an American Flagged yacht we are frequently boarded by customs officials.
• Ziplock bags for your wallet et other valuables.
• Snacks: if you must have power bars, that’s OK. Chocolate does not like warm weather.
• Flags: we fly all kind of flags! Bring your yacht club burgee or your country flag. There is special halyard for them.
•  A cheap swatch is a better choice than your fancy Apple watch.
• Contact solution (preferably individual doses), extra contact lenses and a regular pair of glasses just in case.
• Sailing gloves. Do not touch any sailing or mooring line without gloves.
• Cash in Euros, US $ are accepted in 5* hotels.
• Food: let’s discuss that before. We love home-baked cakes and cookies. The freezer may not be big enough for ice cream. If you are vegetarian let us know before. If you have peanuts allergy (or any condition that could be severe), understand that we have or may have had peanuts in the boat at some point. When you do a full cleaning (hum, I can’t remember when we did the last one) we find aspirin, various drugs, peanuts, candies, ants, cockroaches.

What not to bring / not to do:

• • Cigarettes: this is a non smoking boat.. 
  • Drugs. DO NOT BRING ANY, NO EXCEPTIONS. Not even medical marijuana. This is not California and you will end up in jail if any drugs is found on the boat. And you will probably get all of us in jail as well. Please!
  • High heels, shoes with black soles, a very large hat (it will fly away within minutes and will sink before we turn back to pick it up).
  • “Nautical gifts”. We have plenty of cork openers, cheese plates, etc. We have limited space and everything has to be secure when we are under way.
  • Life jackets (we have adult sizes).
  • Expensive jewelry and sunglasses, they sink very quickly.
  • Lots of make up. Salty air, sun and hot weather do not mix well with makeup.
  • No hair dryer either. Remember what we said electricity? And 220v on a boat is deadly. Same with flat iron or curling irons.
  • Work. The boat is big enough if you need privacy but we don’t want to hear your sales pitch all day long. If you must absolutely make some calls do not turn on the speakerphone.
  • A laptop. Electronic components don’t handle salty air very well (it will take weeks before you notice that your laptop acts in a different way) and laptops don’t like to be dropped. Don’t forget that a sailboat is rarely flat, when we sail we heel 30%, sometimes more in gusts. 
  • Video games for you or Junior. This is the time to cut the cord.
  • Anything of value.
  • Ladies, do not overpack. No need to bring cocktail gowns 🙂
  • One of those massive inflatable toys (pink flamingos or the likes). They always fly away, get punctured and end up as plastic trash on a nice beack.
  • American Express Travelers’ checks. Yes my friends you can use your Amex or VISA cards just about anywhere.
  • Hair pins (do not bring anything small and metallic that will rust and will create all kind of problems in the lockers, in the bilge and clog the pumps).
  • Fishing gear. Let’s discuss that before, we may not have room for fishing poles and don’t want to find lines tangled in the propeller. We need our engine to get back to the marina. No spearfishing either 🙂