SAILING SANE
Dear ladies,
If you are reading this, you have either sailed and can relate, have sailed and do not agree or haven’t sailed and are intrigued. Whatever your experience of this bizarre regime, I can assure you- there will be men. If you are new to this man’s world, and aim to learn how to sail, be patient, be determined and be persistent. But most of all, be kind your yourselves. This experience will challenge you physically and mentally. You may go a bit crazy and may need to embrace the otherwise unwelcome change in character. The journey is for those willing to adapt, the only option is to adapt.
1. Books
Pack a lot of books. Even if you’re not usually an avid reader, pack a lot of books. Remember you are away from your overstimulating job, your social life…your normal life. So, chances are you have more brain space for the stories held within those precious pages. The average speed at which I finished a book before my sailing circumstances was about six weeks. On a boat, I have read three approximately 300 page novels in four days. Need you more proof?
2. Lower your daily expectations
Take pride in small achievements. Something that seemed a mundane activity of daily living at home, is now a source of great satisfaction. Washed your undies today? High five! Had a birdy bath at the back of the boat? Be stoked on that. Cut your toe nails, do a face mask, cook a nice meal if you have ingredients and good balance. Your world has become small in a good way. Enjoy the simple pleasures you didn’t have time to appreciate before.
3. Find purpose
If you’ve had an ever growing jenga stack of mundane tasks threatening the back of your mind, a sailing passage is the perfect opportunity to shrink your pile. Back up all your files, reorganize your Itunes library, write that beautiful letter to an old friend. There are few distractions aboard and an energizing reset button can be pushed on your life if you allow it. Like a vacation (with added challenges), you may just want to read your book/s and do very little. However, if you require purpose to guide your days and maintain your self-esteem, take a deep breath, stretch it out and spring clean your life’s archives.
4. Exercise
If you were a runner, you must now forget it and find an activity kinder to your knees. Want more defined abs? a pronounced booty? visible guns? Come aboard the vessel of possibility and work it, twerk it girl, get your ass on the floor and pick it back up, over and over again. Shut your excuses up and bring your yoga mat with you because time is going cheap. If you’re partaking in night watches, your eyelids heavy, your attention wavering, flop your matt out and awake with some butt crunches. After employing the support of my bodies favoured remedy- pilates, I have noticed results after only five days. Even with the hindering consumption of five beers per day and binge eating. Never have I loved Joseph Pilates and Kylie Beeby (my pilates instructor) so much.
5. Take time for yourself
For any lengthy journey that these tips apply to, your sailing chariot could range from 30 to 100 feet. The latter, considered comfortable by most, in effect, requires more crew. So, picture yourself living in a share house you can’t leave. It’s imperative you find your happy place which will allow you to let all the irritating ‘little things’ wash over you. The boat is your new community. Your suburb. Split your new tiny world into sections and utilize each one as an escape. Finding somewhere to be alone without shutting your cabin door in hiding means getting creative. For me, the front of the boat is a welcoming oasis of solace. Provided it’s safe to do so, I scurry up there and pretend there is km’s between me and the stern. When my best friend worked on an 86-foot mono hull, she would put her head phones in, sneak to the bow and boogie while deep forest took her somewhere else for a moment enough to rejuvenate her soul and power her pleasantries further. Deluding oneself is not normally recommended, in this case, do what you need to.
6. Don’t take it personally
This was a steep and only recently engrained lesson for me. It is not uncommon for me to take it personally and I am not condemning such a reaction, fitting in certain instances. However, space and energy between people on a sailing boat is meager, so to do what one can to preserve a harmonious environment is in everyone’s best interests, especially your own. You may learn some stupid unnecessary idiosyncrasies about yourself if they hadn’t already been brought to your attention, which mine had been. I walk to heavily- not great on a sailing boat. My dad attempted to drum this into me when I was but a child and clearly, I ignored his warnings. Secondly, I do the dishes to hastily and not thoroughly enough to the liking of some. My sister sarcastically and painstakingly eluded to me that I am crap at washing dishes when I was still a child and was destined to dry until my parents hesitantly replaced our broken dish washer. Alas, these minor quirks are bothersome to some, however, they do not make you a bad person, nor should you let such complaints spoil your glorious days upon the sea. So, I strive to do the dishes better and walk like the fairy that I am.
Post by Lucy Ellen.
Interested in her blog? Get in touch with Lucy l.sandersondyer@gmail.com