Table of Contents

1. Thanks
2. Introspection
3. Roadtrip
4. What’s next?

Thanks

In the previous post, Reality, Check! we arrived at a decisive cross-road in our journey. Along with hard decisions came a very stressful period, which I can summarize as emotional chaos. Doubts, fears and uncertainty are a few of the contributing elements, while underneath it all, a worry of what the future holds gave way to a much needed pause for introspection. As the great Lao Tzu reminds us:

Do you have the patience to wait till your mud settles and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving till the right action arises by itself? (Tao Te Ching)

I want to take a moment to say Thank You to the amazing people that have been following our adventure so far. It’s an overdue thank you triggered by the overwhelming response to our previous post. In reality, the encouragement has been ever present since our little blog debut. In our recent activity downtime, we reminded ourselves of how lucky we are. We are grateful to all of you.

Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity…it makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. (Melody Beattie)

Introspection

For the past two weeks, Denise and I took some time to reset on a number of fronts. We realized how draining the past eight months have been and the dangers of maintaining our unsustainable pace. The goal has been to look inwards and appreciate all that we acomplished for the past several months, and especially for the five weeks living aboard Rachel J Slocum. I believe the missing ingredient has been Perspective.

The only journey is the one within. (Rainer Maria Rilke)

To achieve our goal and gain perspective, a change in scenery was also very important. We flew to California to stay with family. The COVID quarantine became more of a soul searching exploration. Certainly not boring.

To truly know the world, look deeply within your own being; to truly know yourself, take real interest in the world (Rudolf Steiner)

While sitting in a quiet, suburban southern California home (with a real shower, toilet and no musical shrimp), we didn’t break a sweat once. We didn’t lift heavy objects or trace unknown hoses. I did replace a toilet water supply valve, but that’s my only lapse. Instead, we used our safe haven and limited responsibilities to focus on us. To remember the great work we did in restoring our boat’s interior to a clean, cozy and enjoyable space. To marvel at how we managed to sprint for eight whole months and not fatigue our relationship - only our bodies and minds :) Finally, to account for all that we managed to learn in the short five weeks of adjusting to a tiny home where we are surrounded by things to learn.

Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes. (C.G. Jung)

We are now that much closer to feeling comfortable not knowing what’s next, but being enthusiastically open to finding out. With these two weeks behind us, we will be making our way back to Florida.

Roadtrip

With renewed appreciation for our present and much of our self-confidence regained, we will be taking a roadtrip back to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Our 3,000 mile journey in our Mini Cooper will double as a little vacation. We will treat ourselves a bit with new vistas and local cuisine. Denise will get a chance to spend some time behind the camera, which I know she missed. Most importantly, we will be back in adventure mode and, as a couple, stronger than ever.

We welcome your suggestions for sites and good eats along the way. Despite the COVID restrictions, we feel optimistic about the adventure ahead.

What’s next?

As hinted above, the answer we’re striving for is: I don’t know, but I can wait for it to reveal itself. It’s a tough fight when you spend a couple of decades under the impression of controlling your life.

For now, our decision to sell the boat remains. Feel free to look at the listing if you’re curious or interested. More details on this will surface once we are back in Florida.

Table of Contents

1. Announcement
2. History
3. Reality
4. Next Steps

Announcement

In this rare occasion where I find myself at the keyboard putting this post together, I’m reminded of the following quote:

We must guard against disrespectful, disparaging, and criticizing thoughts. We must try to practice reverence and devotion in our thinking at all times.

Despite my frequent failure to live by this wisdom, these days I resonate with the singular word: try.

My goal here is to provide an important update for the few of you that read our blog and have been following our journey. For those who know me, my tendencies in writing mirror those of my verbal expression. For the rest, it suffices to say that a tl;dr section is inevitable:

As of this week, we have decided to sell our s/v Rachel J Slocum and take a much needed break to recharge our weary selves. We are looking to enact this decision immediately.

History

For the past two years, we have planned and embarked on a radical life change. In the last three months, our life was entirely focused on the following:

• Getting rid of over 90% of our things
• Deciding on and packing the remaining 10%
• Securing the sailing vessel that was to be our new home
• Moving across the country aboard our sailboat.

Specifically, in the past 5 weeks, while living in an approximate 350 sq ft of space we spent every day:

• Cleaning
• Provisioning
• Fixing broken systems
• Cooking
• Managing the heat
• Managing the bugs
• Learning as much about the main systems on board as possible

In the same timeframe we didn’t do the following:

• Smile much
• Explore our surroundings
• Enjoy fresh meals
• Have fun
• Feel increasingly confident
• Move the boat: day sails, motoring of any kind.

The goal remained simple:

“By mid-december 2020, get the boat ready, haul out for bottom paint, and leave on a 1600 mile journey to the Caribbean”

Our above activities were now nicely contained on a self-imposed deadline and the new goal definition became:

“Live full-time on the boat while preparing it to make way and be ready to go in 8 weeks”

In the abstract, not such a difficult goal to achieve, but we added a few additional challenges for good measure, such as not having a car, cooking every day without the use of a refrigerator, pooping in a bag and avoiding most forms of fun for the fear of not making our deadline.

Reality

Like most endeavors, there is a rhythm to consider that might look something like: plan, execute, observe, learn. I’m also reminded that meaningful endeavors have a higher chance of success when there is a balance between the work and progress made towards achievement. Maybe more simply summarized as: Taking one step at a time

Our reality was far removed from the goal of world travel on a live aboard sailing vessel. We lived on a tiny boat at a dock in Florida tucked away from the dangers of hurricanes. The body of water surrounding us required hydrogen peroxide if it came into contact with bare skin. Due to traffic and heavy currents, our wishes to practice docking and un-docking maneuvers were heavily discouraged. We felt trapped.

If I meet other people and criticize their weaknesses, I rob myself of higher cognitive power. But if I try to enter deeply and lovingly into another person’s good qualities, I gather in that force.

As you’ve read in previous posts, we met some extraordinary people that shared freely their experience and knowledge. We sponged up all they had to say and made dutiful notes. The result, was an ever growing list of things to check, things to replace and items to buy. We felt trapped.

We will not find the inner strength to evolve to a higher level if we do not inwardly develop this profound feeling that there is something higher than ourselves.

Ok, so our living in Fort Lauderdale may not be about spiritual evolution. However, as the quote suggests, perspective is a helpful contributor to success. We didn’t have perspective. Our “cruising life” began and ended at the dock. We felt trapped.

Next Steps

Even for the handful of folks that were aware of our decision, some obvious questions came up. If you made it this far into my ramble, you may formulate questions of your own and I encourage you to share.

The answer to most questions in the category of next steps, is currently: We don’t know. We made one decision: Sell the boat. Feel free to reach out for a great deal. I’m sure you can tell we’re motivated sellers.

What’s certain is that we plan to spend a couple of weeks being nicer to ourselves. Dare I say, even spoiling ourselves. We will then be in full boat sale mode and I’ll have a separate post on that topic.

Writing continues to be a healthy outlet in our lives and, since it’s just a blog, even I qualify to “write.” Stay tuned for updates.

Table of Contents

1. No Turkey? No Problem
2. Sausage Shepherd’s Pie
   1. Directions
   2. Galley notes

No Turkey? No Problem

Thanksgiving ranks among my favorite holidays celebrated in the US primarily because it’s a celebration of food and family versus most other holidays that seem to focus on obligatory gift-giving.

Over the years, my celebration of this holiday has adapted to varying circumstances. If away from home, I celebrated with friends or at a casino. If the numbers were too few, I would roast a chicken instead of a turkey.

This year will be another example of adapting the celebration to our current circumstances. As you know, I’m well versed in the many incarnations of turkey however since Andrew is not a fan of any fowl, we opted instead to have…

Sausage Shepherd’s Pie

Shepherd’s pie is comfort food at its best. If you can’t already tell, I don’t have much of a sweet tooth. I’m a savory girl. Years ago when I was learning to sail, I brought this dish from Epicurious to a dock party with my friends from the California Sailing Coop.

It is rather elaborate with three different starches, and so I decided to simplify the recipe, use pantry-friendly ingredients, switch the prep order to minimize pots and pans used, and reduce the cooking time to better suit liveaboards.

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, combine

• 1 can (8.25 oz) of peas and carrots including brine
• 1/3 cup of whipping cream
• 2 tbs AP flour
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 1/2 tsps curry powder
• 1 tsp ground sage

In a 4 quart sauce pan over medium-high heat, sauté

• 1 pound Italian sweet sausage

until sausage is brown and cooked through, breaking up with back of spoon. Cool and then transfer sausage to large mixing bowl.

In the same sauce pan, sauté

• 1 small onion, diced
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

until tender and golden. Add onion mixture to sausage. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cool and then transfer to large mixing bowl.

Peel and cut into 2-inch pieces,

• 1 sweet potato
• 1 russet potato

Combined, the potatoes should be about 2 pounds. Cook in the same saucepan of boiling salted water until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and return potatoes to saucepan and mash. Stir over medium heat until excess moisture evaporates, about 5 minutes.

Add

• 2 tbs butter
• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• 2 tbs turbinado sugar

Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mash mixture until smooth.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter 7 x 11 x 2-inch glass baking dish or other 4-cup equivalent baking dish. Transfer sausage mixture to prepared baking dish. Spoon mashed potato mixture over; smooth top to create a seal around the edges and prevent bubbling up.

Place on a parchment lined half sheet pan to catch spills.

Bake until heated through and potatoes begin to brown around edges, about 35 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Galley notes

• Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bake for extra 15 minutes.
• Since we had it on hand, I seasoned the mashed potatoes with truffle salt to give the dish a more earthy flavor.
• Substitute turkey sausage to keep with the theme of Thanksgiving or hot Italian sausage if you want a little spice.
• I have a 7 x 11 x 2-inch glass baking dish since it’s the only thing that will fit in my Force 10 oven. Typical 4-cup Pyrex dishes include 8 x 8 x 2-inch or feel free to use any other 4-cup equivalent you happen to have.
• To make a gratinee style, feel free to garnish with gruyere cheese in the last 10 minutes of baking.

Table of Contents

1. Tide Watch
2. Current Watch
3. Bumper Boats

Tide Watch

Late summer during our second look trip, we were astounded at the change in water levels due to the tides. At high tide, s/v Rachel J Slocum’s dock was flooded by half a foot and one needs to step up at least one meter to board the boat, making transport of goods and individuals perilous.

As a result, we had learned to check for tidal information from US Harbors on a daily basis and then plan our departure from the boat accordingly. In time, I hope this information would come intuitively as I calculate the lunar day (24 hours and 50 minutes) versus a solar day (24 hours) and adjust my perception of high tide and low tide accordingly.

The reason that a lunar day is longer than a normal 24-hour day is because the moon rotates around the Earth in the same direction that the Earth is spinning. It takes the Earth an extra 50 minutes to “catch up” to the moon.

If you’re interested in learning more about tidal information, check out NOAA’s tidal tutorial as well as other articles describing what other factors can affect the tide and the frequency and shape of tides.

Current Watch

On the day of our sea trial, we also became painfully aware of the strong currents flowing along New River.

When our new neighbor Randy moved his 55’ trawler Brandy into the space next to us, he circled for about an hour waiting for slack tide. That day, low tide was 1439 and slack tide would begin an hour or so afterward. We had errands to run and wasn’t around to see him dock, but according to his account, the flood current was still quite strong when he backed into the slip.

The current was stronger when Rich maneuvered into another slip during ebb current at 1402 and slammed his sturdy aluminum boat into the pilings.

The two main components of current are speed and direction. To measure a current, toss an object into the water and time how long it takes to get to a certain point a known distance away. If you want to learn more about currents, check out NOAA’s current tutorial.

While we were waiting out the latest storm so we could begin another boat project, Andrew decided to research local information on the timing and speed of current ebbing and flooding New River. According to Tides Near Me, Randy was battling about -1.9 knots of current as he was docking compared to Rich’s 3.4 knots.

Bumper Boats

Andrew has been dabbling with the idea of pushing off and practicing docking and undocking exercises. I’m all in favor of gaining more experience, but not in New River playing “bumper boats” with our home under these conditions.

We only touched on one of the five forces involved in docking, which includes rudder, prop walk, prop wash and wind. If both these experienced sailors wait for favorable conditions before attempting these maneuvers, why wouldn’t I? I am more than happy to wait until we get into an area that is more forgiving.

In the meantime, I am battening down our leaky hatches as the latest minutecast weather for Ft Lauderdale predicts rain in the next 18 minutes.

Table of Contents

1. History Buffs
2. Boat Show
3. Safety First
4. Mis-mating
5. Lessons Learned

History Buffs

Not one week into living aboard s/v Rachel J Slocum, we received a few gifts from our boat neighbors, Rich and Lyn. A melon-sized avocado waited for us on our deck one afternoon when we returned from a walk around the neighborhood, and the next morning Rich held out a Christmas gift bag asking if we wanted to read some sailing magazines from the 1950’s.

Heck yeah.

Perhaps when you meet a new boat owner who has invested in a 30-year old boat, it screams history buff. Perhaps it doesn’t. But Rich had us pegged for sailors who are nostalgic for a simpler life and can find value in learning from the pages of history.

Roughly 15 magazines were in the stack, ranging from the earliest issue of April 1950 The Rudder priced at a staggering 40 cents per issue to the latest issue August 1972 Yachting Monthly priced at 25p.

Andrew has been good natured about taking on additional boat jobs based on the recommendations from Rich and Bill. This treasure trove compounded the list of things to fix and learn with reading material to ward off any threat of becoming bored while living on a boat.

As we have come to realize each day, we will never be bored.

Boat Show

The February 1972 Yachting Monthly issue happened to be on the top of the stack magazines and the mention of a boat show report caught my eye as it happened to coincide with the Ft Lauderdale International Boat Show held recently. We were not completely sold on going, given rising COVID-19 cases this fall and the questionable benefit we might gain from going. However in the spirit of the boat show season, it seemed fitting to review the latest and greatest from roughly 50 years ago.

• The Moody 44 caught my eye (top right corner, pictured above). Designed by Laurent Giles & Partners, she’s a fast cruiser which can be rigged either as a sloop or a ketch. I was also tickled pink to see the tight slacks and miniskirt fashions worn by visitors to the show back then.

• The Nauticat 33 motor-sailer was also pictured (below the Moody 44), showing complete wheelhouse, deckspace and accomodation below which feels like a 40-footer on the inside. She’s designed for extended cruises living in comfort and can be had for a low price of £10,000 (equivalent to £62,268 in 2020).

It’s fun to put myself in the platform shoes of would-be new boat owners at the time. How similar are their dreams with ours? What adventures have their future selves experienced? Did they pour over the same magazines as Yachting Monthly?

In 2020, we’re lucky to benefit from magazines both online and offline, personal accounts chronicled in books, blogs and vlogs to expand the cruising community. Ironically, it seems there may be fewer of us out there.

If the number of registered recreational boats in the U.S. is any indication, there’s been a decline since 2005, from a peak of 12.94 million boats to 11.88 in 2019. This is a dramatic down turn from the steady climb from 1980 that began with 8.58 million registered boats.

Has the sailing life gotten too expensive? Has the spirit of adventure waned? Have we now become overly-cautious?

Safety First

The editor’s notes from JD Sleightholme amused Andrew, who chuckled upon reading it over coffee one morning:

I believe that whoever coined the slogan ‘Safety First’ did a lot of harm to the cause, it has an over-cautious ring. It suggests a man in a lifejacket, flare in one hand, fire extinguisher in the other, sitting becalmed and waiting for something to happen.

Accident prevention doesn’t limit activity, it extends it.

I wish I could claim that my own boat is accident prevention perfect; she isn’t but I work on it. Meanwhile, if I have a spare fiver in my pocket do I gallop out to replenish an out-dated distress flare? I wish I could say that I always do. I work at it though.

One of the ways in which we can extend accident prevention is through sharing knowledge and making sure everyone in the crew is capable of handling the boat. Shrowding navigation in mysticism, for example, seems an antiquated point of view as we’ve come to realize when we reflected on the message in the next article.

Mis-mating

Assistant editor, Bill Beavis, wrote an article about mis-mating, the friction that may exist between captain and mate.

While the article began by characterizing the harmless tricks a mate may play on a skipper (e.g., drop a glass marble down the skipper’s ventilator’s shaft so it rolls to and from above his head all night, and he turns out for his watch in a highly nervous state), it also added the dynamics at play when the captain/husband interacts with his mate/wife.

Bill goes on to write about the wife who comes afloat and gets bullied and describes the following:

She may not normally be subservient, but on board a boat, she is at a disadvantage through her ignorance of nautical things. Then, far from encouraging her, the husband plays on this ignorance, ineptitude or whatever you care to call it.

He won’t for example show her how to navigate but surrounds the subject in mysticism; neither will he tell her about tides, winds and other secrets known only to him while important things like shipping forecasts to her might just as well be in code.

The poor girl doesn’t take this ‘Master Under God’ bit that he has somewhere read he is. She is used to the system in the home, and besides the pecking order getting upset, her loyalties might change as well.

I think for the good of all, we should take a long look at our ‘crew’ this season and ask ourselves this question: If I were about to make a frightful mistake does she know enough to correct me? And even if you are sure she could, ask yourself if she would.

Lessons Learned

As this topic relates to Andrew and I, we come to this experience with parity in knowledge. This means we both don’t know what we’re doing and so we need to figure it out together.

Luckily, we both have different approaches to learning (I tend to be text-focused; Andrew, experience-focused) and thus we complement each other. Sailing a schooner, navigation, boat systems, fishing, diving, customs procedures, and all aspects of our current lives are all areas we will undertake to learn together. With luck, we’ll do so while minimizing the extent that our egos get in the way.

Over the past couple weeks, we have had our share of emotionally charged exchanges and misunderstandings. Living in a 300 square foot sauna jammed to the gills with our stuff and spares, warding off mosquitoes, nimbly closing hatches to sudden torrential rain, and adapting to a new way of life is enough to test anyone’s patience. Tempers flare quickly and can only be stamped out when we take the time to address the issue head on. Andrew is usually first to broach the subject, and I reluctantly follow along until we find a resolution.

Egos have no room aboard our 300 square foot sauna. We have only each other to rely on. If we follow the advice of bluewater cruisers to “always have plenty of spares,” it seems prudent that we each level-up on the same skills so that we are spares to each other, so to speak. In an emergency, either one of us would be able to single-hand the boat, replace fuel injectors, or feed the crew. It makes no sense to short-change yourself of that element of safety.

Similarly, the Master Under God mentality has no room aboard our boat. However, I acknowledge that the vast majority of captains (and, by extension, community of cruisers) buy-in to this mentality. Among the new generation of cruisers, is it folly to reinvent the command-structure wheel?

In our chosen lifestyle, we are bucking a lot of conventions so why not this one, too. We’ll learn through trial and error what will work for us. Our saving grace is how openly we continue to communicate with each other.

Table of Contents

1. Expiration Optional
2. Foiled by Oven
3. Watch Your Step
4. Flame Thrower
5. Impossible Tuna Tartlets
   1. Directions
   2. Galley Notes
6. Repairs

Expiration Optional

When we moved aboard s/v Rachel J Slocum, the previous owners had left behind 10 cans of tuna from South Africa along with 2 cans of peas, honey, coconut oil, olive oil, marinara sauce, Snickers bars and some other items.

Virtually all had expiration dates in 2019 or years prior. If the cans were undamaged and the ingredients appealing, I kept them. After having volunteered at the LA Food Bank processing donations of canned, jarred, and boxed food, I had a rough guideline in my head about what food is still edible beyond expiration dates. This information is especially useful so we don’t let too much go to waste in the future.

Inspired by having tuna on hand and a few fresh ingredients, I decided to do a variation of the Impossible Pie recipes attempted over the summer. Rather than repeat the disasterous smoke-filled cabin episode of the Inaugural Dinner, baking our dinner seemed like a good option. Plus, it gave me a chance to test out the oven.

Foiled by Oven

I had assembled my ingredients and then decided to preheat the oven. This is a bit backwards to the instructions given below because I don’t like having the pressure of cooking knowing propane is being burned up at the same time. I would much rather cook at my own pace and then wait for the oven. However, if you have natural gas piped into your home, do what you want and preheat the oven for hours.

Preheating a Force 10 oven wasn’t as straight-forward as I would have liked. I turned on the knob and I heard the slight hiss of the gas, but there was no pilot light, there was no click, and there was no flame.

Hmm….

I searched online and found the instructions which was easier than to locate amongst the disorganized pile of manuals stowed aboard.

Press knob and hold for 20 seconds while turning to the desired temperature.

I executed those steps and nothing happened. I did it a few more times and was about to give up when I asked Andrew for help.

Watch Your Step

Andrew was on the topside trying to relax with a beer after a long and painful day. He took a misstep in the cockpit and fell into the lazarette scraping his back and possibly breaking a rib. At the time, I was down below cleaning the galley meticulously and heard a thump and a howl. Andrew scrambled out of the lazarette and hobbled down the companionway while I repeatedly ask helpless questions about what happened and what I could do for him.

He lifted his shirt and on the right side of his back was an angry, crescent-shaped rash, flushing in a deeper shade of crimson by the moment. I lifted the shirt a little higher, and there were two more scrapes.

After a few minutes, Andrew finally responded to my questions admitting that he had slipped. Then, he proceeded to walk out of the saloon and get back to work.

Hours later as we took a hydration break in the cockpit, Rich popped up and asked how Andrew was doing. He recommended Tiger Balm … best thing there is for this and came over and offered it to us. Rich said the worst thing about stepping into a lazarette is the embarassment. That the first thing he would do whenever it happened is to see if anyone saw him. And even after 40 years of this life, it would still happen to him.

We applied the Tiger Balm before and after dinner.

Flame Thrower

Before Andrew came down to help me with the oven, I had used the lighter and wanded the flame over every internal fixture in the oven to no avail. I had hoped to stumble upon where the gas was emitting, and at the same time, I was a little concerned about melting something I ought not to and blowing up the boat.

It seemed prudent to ask for help.

I talked Andrew through the steps to start the oven as per the directions, and when he wanded the flame, the oven fired up to life.

We’re in business now.

So without further ado, here is the recipe which had Andrew having seconds and thirds that evening.

Impossible Tuna Tartlets

This is a pantry-friendly meal as only two ingredients came from the refrigerator. It could be 100% pantry if we had powdered milk and canned cheese, but we didn’t.

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees (easier said than done). In a bowl of warm water, soak

• 12 dried porcini mushrooms

until softened, about 15 minutes. In a separate bowl, measure out

• 2/3 cup of Bisquick
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups of milk

Whisk to combine and remove any lumps. Then add

• 1/2 teaspoon Lawry’s season salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Caribee Jerk Season
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Stir and mix well then set aside.

Butter or line a muffin tin (e.g., baking cup liners are reusable and reduces waste on board). Then, take

• 1 can (12 oz) tuna (in water)

and drain excess water from can into Bisquick-egg-milk mixture. Stir well. Then, portion about a tablespoon of tuna into each cup. When mushrooms are softened, queeze out excess water and place individually into each cup. The final layer to add is

• 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Portion about 1 tablespoon into each cup. Then pour mixture into each muffin tin and bake for 25-35 minutes depending on your oven.

Let cool for 15 minutes before serving. Can be served warm or at room temperature.

Galley Notes

Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator or freezer. I would prefer to reheat this in a toaster oven, but I don’t have one. I opted to steam them to retain moisture at the expense of texture.

Repairs

One thing to point out about the the layout of this boat is the gimbaled stove/oven is athwartship, which means when the cook needs to take something out of the oven, there is less surprise or spillage when removing hot items. This is unual compared to virtually all boats which have their stoves in line with the hull. If the boat is heeled over, contents might spill to the leeside if you’re not careful.

To minimize the extent of the pitch so it doesn’t collide with the teak frame, Bill had affixed two lines to each side. One had been severed due to chafing over the years. I studied the knot (a clove hitch with a simple overhand stopper) and decided to replace both lines.

My next challenge was not knowing where the spare lines were kept. I went as far as the sea nav station which happened to have a length of rope with the same diameter. A few snips and knots later, I had new and improved stoppers for the oven.

I love quick boat jobs!

Table of Contents

1. Ready to go
2. 10:00
3. 11:00
4. 13:00
5. 15:00
6. Counting Chickens
7. Post Mortem
8. In other news…

Ready to go

As new boat owners, you want to believe that when a boat is described as ready to go that you could indeed cast off the bow lines and set sail after provisioning. The reality is the term “ready to go” is a relative statement. It depends on your use case, not the previous owner’s use case, who deemed the boat ready to go.

Our boat had a niggling issue with the compressor for the Sea Frost SA-111 refrigerator system, which was known at the time of the sale, and made it the seller’s responsiblity to fix. If we wanted to replace or upgrade the refrigeration, that would be on us as buyers. The night before we arrived in Florida, Bill had installed the compressor but it didn’t work. So we were left without the use of our refrigerator for a couple weeks while we dealt with the ordeal of moving.

Once we had a handle on that, Bill dropped by to help us pull out the compressor so that we could take it to Jeff of Hawthorne Marine (authorized Sea Frost distributor and servicer) to have it bench tested.

10:00

It was a balmy, sunny day with scarcely a whisper of wind. Andrew and I sat in our cockpit sipping our morning coffee and tea. Unbeknownst to us, Rich was messing with taking something apart on his boat, and he accidentally discharged bear spray. He was hacking quite a bit as well as Lyn. He looked around to see which way the wind was blowing and whether we would start coughing as well.

No disturbance on our boat, to his relief.

Bill arrived as scheduled and immediately got started on the project with Andrew. In a small space behind the oven, there’s a cabinet which houses the compressor and a vast number of cables, hoses and lines for electrical, water and gas in order to operate the Sea Frost refrigeration system.

I’m sure there’s an order of operations to pull out the unit, which Bill answered in vague disjointed parlance when prompted by questions from Andrew, but otherwise would remain a complete mystery to us (see post mortem.) At one point, Bill did mention to shut off water valves (in and out) before taking the next step.

Helpful.

When it seems everything was disconnected and a few items were labeled with tape so Bill knew to attach that particular hose first, Andrew got a couple 24” alpine slings from our climbing gear to fashion a reliable handhold on the compressor unit so it can be lifted and rocked out of its tight space. The trick though was needing to wedge objects underneath so that we could lift incrementally to reset the compressor’s path while not losing any progress.

As Bill cast his eyes around the cabin, he suggested using books and other small objects. I mentally inventoried the sailing, cooking, climbing, philosophy and other books we had and grimaced at the thought. Then, I suggested using two wooden bowls that they had left behind in the galley, and I detected a hesitation on his part,

“You don’t want to destroy that.”

It was a test. Naturally, he would place a higher value on items he knew than on those he didn’t. I had expressly set them aside for use on this project and that’s what we used.

11:00

Moments after a lot of grunting and pulling, the compressor was freed. Bill carried it to the companionway to an awaiting Andrew who hoisted it up and set it down in the cockpit. Bill called up Jeff who was currently working on a different boat and would need until 1 o’clock before he could take time away to do the bench test.

In the meantime, Bill wanted to test the unit, so we ran an extension chord and plugged the unit in. It clicked and buzzed to life.

Son of a gun.

The compressor worked after all. Something else was amiss in the wiring of the unit. Bill swore up and down he troubleshooted and tried everything when he dropped the compressor into place. Understandably it was a long day and into the night when he did this, so something was missed. Luckily, it was an opportunity for Andrew and I to learn and trouble shoot along side Bill.

The next two hours revealed some faulty wiring and connections. Through trial and error, two plugs were not working and luckily ample spare plugs were on the boat.

Dans les champs de l’observation le hasard ne favorise que les esprits préparés. ~ Louis Pasteur

…or to paraphrase, “Luck favors the prepared.” Since Andrew had taken the time to inventory various compartments of spares, the plugs, screws and any other necessary tools were quickly accessed and made available. I dutifully held the LED shop light while the two of them made repairs.

13:00

After the last electrical connection was restored as well as hoses connected and sealed, we evacuated the system of air and charged the system with R-134a refrigerant. Since this process would take a couple hours, Andrew suggested we break for lunch and offer Bill a beer.

Bill called up Jeff to offer his mea culpa and status on the refrigeration. Then, Andrew and Bill settled into the cockpit with a couple beers, while I made rice (in one of our toys) and heated up the vegetarian curry I made the night before.

Given our limited refrigeration space, we had kept the curry at room temperature overnight. My initial inclination was to worry about spoilage despite having taken care to use only ingredients that were shelf-stable. My second thought was if each ingredient was originally shelf-stable before a heating process, then the sum of the parts ought to be shelf-stable afterwards.

Over lunch, we talked about diving gear, free diving, spear fishing, teak decks, and the unsolicited advice from Bill to get rid of 80% of the personal items we have on the boat. He called them toys. Andrew deflected this advice with a joke. Still, there was a palpable tension created simply by the original owner pushing his own agenda and his tendency to not let go of being a captain on a boat that is no longer his to command.

A lifetime of habit is hard to break.

As a counterbalance to this instinct is the message from Bill’s wife Raquel, who echoes that we will find our own way. I have also come to learn the same thoughts from talking to countless sailors, that there is no one way. Each sailor will have a way of doing things that suit him or her. Ultimately, the captain of the ship gets to dictate what will be done on his or her boat.

15:00

About two hours later, Bill and Andrew went back to work. I stayed aloof during this process and opted to spend time on deck tending to the laundry and chatting with Lyn. From time to time, I would pop down below to check on the status. Toward the end of the four-hour session, Andrew gave me a project, which was to fix the LED shop light which was tempermental at best. I got busy unfastening screws, tracing the wires, tightening connections and refastening the whole thing.

Counting Chickens

As the day was winding down, the refrigation system was mostly working. It’s hard to count your chickens before they hatch. There was too much refrigerant in the system, and periodically Andrew would have to release the excess amount until the refrigerator would continue to hum. We monitored this activity well into the evening and before we went to sleep.

Post Mortem

After a day of observation, it seems we’ll need to take a two-pronged approach to learn about the boat systems. This simple exercise of relying on Bill’s knowledge to deinstall, reinstall and trouble shoot a refrigeration system taught me that it wouldn’t be enough. We’ll need to be proactive and learn the manuals ourselves, perhaps sanity checking against Bill’s experience.

Less than a week later, the compressor failed. We spent a couple days looking for leaks and troubleshooting with the help of Seafrost to no avail. For the moment, we are making do using our well-insulated refrigerator and freezer simply as ice boxes. This is a short-term solution for dockside refrigeration.

The more important test is to ensure that the engine-powered refrigeration works, and we won’t test that until we take our maiden voyage.

So, we are counting down the days until then. In the meantime, I leave you with this video of Still Counting by Volbeat since the song was running through my head while writing this story.

In other news…

We’re braving through Tropical Storm Eta while on the dock. We have a spiderweb of docklines securing us to ward against the wind, strong currents, coastal flooding, and storm surge.

At one point, I spied captain Rich in his foulies looking at our boat, and I went topside to see what was going on. He saw a white canvas cushion with a nautical figure 8 rope design floating against our hull. He had a boat hook in hand and asked us if it was ours. I replied in the negative that I didn’t recognize it. Moments, later Andrew joined me on deck and upon closer examination, he saw some creepy crawlies on the pillow, including a cockroach. We sent the critter safe-haven downstream.

After attending to bowlines and sighting the rising tide and flooding, we went down below and hoped for the best.

The worst part of this experience was feeling cooped up. Andrew was desperate for fresh air. Each respite we had from the torrential rain, he would stand at the companion way drinking in the fresh air. As for captain Rich, he was staving off boredom by taking things apart just to fix them. In contrast to the others, I took a nap and did some reading and writing.

The rain has been pretty steady throughout the day and night. We roll around in our berth, but feel pretty secured with the docklines. We have a near full water tank, access to shorepower, and plenty of shelf-stable provisions for a couple of weeks.

I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning to sail my ship. ~ Louisa May Alcott

In the end, staying on the boat during these conditions has been a good learning experience for us. Andrew spent an hour yesterday on a videoconference showing our friends Subu and Bill (and their sons) a tour of the boat. When the topic of safety came up during the hurricane/tropical storm Eta, Andrew articulated that we both wanted to stay with the boat and that there was no where to go. In response, Bill suggested, “There’s a thing called a hotel…”

Where’s the fun in that?

We’re on an adventure! Just as we had experienced storms in Greece, we look forward to a broad range of conditions so we can get to know our boat better. In the process, we also get to know ourselves better as well as our resolve.

Table of Contents

1. Voyaging Life
2. Perspective
3. Empathy
4. Stories
5. Generosity

Voyaging Life

Despite the fact that we moved in during hurricane season, we are living in a fairly protected spot docked five miles up New River, Ft Lauderdale, FL. There are a few slips in this dockage, and we consider ourselves blessed to be neighbors with Captain Rich and Lyn.

One of the key selling points of the voyaging lifestyle is becoming a part of the community of sailors. We looked forward to getting to know like-minded individuals who through trial and error learned to become self-sufficient and bond over common tribulations and successes.

“There is an instant bond formed with the cruisers. Whether standing on a dock, getting into your dinghy, shopping at the local market, checking in at customs, or anchored in the harbor, friendships develop easily and are maintained. Sailing into a new harbor brings with it not only the excitement of discovering and learning about the island, but also the excitement of possibly seeing old friends.” ~ Jackie Cohen from s/v Feisty

So on our second look at s/v Rachel J Slocum, we first met Rich, a spry 83 year old sailor with a white bushy beard. He offered to help us with the bow lines on the day of our sea trial, and since then has been a great friend and fount of stories and information.

Perspective

When I reflect on each exchange with Rich, I am put at ease with how he conveys information. Especially as a neophite to this lifestyle, I am inclined to find comfort in knowing what the rules are and to follow them.

Rich doesn’t prescribe to rules. He describes actions and consequences, and then you get to choose what you want to do. He has over 40 years of perspective and experience gained from sailing all over the world. He has seen it all. He has done it all. He has lived through it all. While he could certainly prescribe with authority, he chooses not to and he offers up suggestions just as he did when we had clanging halyards or needed to clean out the bilge.

He offers up his knowledge with humility and humor.

Empathy

We also have the pleasure of knowing Lyn, Rich’s girlfriend. When we first moved in, Rich had been back from a delivery with Lyn. After a couple days trudging through unpacking, I introduced myself when I went up on deck and she was just getting some sun in the afternoon. We had a great chat about docking palpitations… apparently still a thing after a lifetime of sailing… to Andrew’s chagrin.

We also talked about sailing up and down New River and dealing with the strong currents. Rich advised watching the tides as well as waiting until after rush hour and hang out at Las Olas Marina or Lake Sylvia, which confirmed what I had researched weeks ago.

Stories

On the day we bid farewell to our car rental - and with that the mobility of getting around effortlessly beyond a 3 miles radius - Lyn asked us if we had any plans for dinner. We hadn’t. She invited us out, and we welcomed the opportunity to pause after 3 plus weeks of relentless cleaning and moving.

As the sun was setting, we walked along the docks and weaved our way toward Hardy Park Bistro, a local spot started by a galley cook on a megayacht. In its heyday, the place was packed, according to Rich, with lines of people in expensive cars waiting for coveted tables. After the COVID lockdown (and even now), the place is a shadow of its former self. As we sat at a communal high top in the covered patio, I took in the atmosphere. It’s more relaxed and quiet, and therefore more to our liking as social introverts.

The conversation at dinner meandered as we got to know each other. Some of the highlights include learning that Rich:

• crossed several oceans in a Westerly 24’ sloop
• has been a vegetarian for over 70 years
• is part owner in a boatyard in the Bahamas
• restored and flipped a brand new, hurricane-wrecked Lagoon 44 for $300K profit
• traversed the european canals several times (in a kayak, a sailboat and a houseboat), especially enjoying the wine, cheese and baguettes in France
• has hundreds of acres of land in Tasmania including forests of Huon pine
• delivered a new boat on a long passage that had many equipment failures including the watermaker which he fixed by disassembling a vaccum and using its parts to jury rig a fix
• for 8 grueling months, pulled up wrecks and recovered 21 fatalities following 1995 hurricanes Luis and Marilyn, which both caused catastrophic damage in the Leeward Islands and Virgin Islands and contributed to 182 fatalities and over USD $12 billion in damages

These are just a sample of the stories that we heard that night along with suggestions of what to look out for on our boat.

Generosity

Rich had spent some time aboard s/v Rachel J Slocum working on repairs with Bill in August. The repairs included fixing the heat exchanger as well as tracing and pulling hoses to replace them in order to pass the insurance requirements. In the short amount of time he has had to see the boat, he had some thoughts which we were keen to hear on what we can do to repair or upgrade our floating home.

Did I mention how blessed we feel living next to Rich?

Not only does he have an encyclopedic knowledge, he is also genenerous with his time and insights. He offered a small jar of Tiger Balm when he first learned Andrew had fallen into the lazarette. (He swears by both Tiger Balm, hydrogen peroxide and 3M blue tape… the three things you absolutely must have on board). He and Lyn gifted us an enormous avocado and offered to give us rides in Lyn’s jeep whenever we needed it.

I am reminded of the passage from Beth Leonard’s Voyager’s Handbook, where it took over 2 years before she and her husband felt they were finally part of the cruisers community. After years of taking from generous new friends and more experienced sailors, that moment happened when they could finally give and contribute back to the community.

It will be some time before we’re able to do the same for this community in person. However unlike the sailors of decades past, Andrew and I can help immediately by documenting our experience now and sharing it through Serenade Wind.

Table of Contents

1. Research Charter
2. Research vs Sailing?
3. More Information

Research Charter

Now that we’re living on our boat, we are pursuing ways to become ethical sailors and reducing our use of plastics. On board, we also have reduced streaming access.

So while enroute from California to Florida, I thought perhaps one way to still have access to relevant and timely content was to see what other podcasts I could access whenever we did have Wi-Fi.

Based on the recommendations from the Sailing and Cruising Facebook group, I decided to check out “On the Wind” presented by 59 North and in particular the episodes chronicling Matt Rutherford and Nicole Trenholm’s research activities. These fall into the following topics.

1. Microplastics - plastics that end up in the ocean are churned by the waves until they are ground into minute sizes that are eaten by fish. What are the implications to us as we also eat the fish that are ingesting these microplastics? According to an article from Ecowatch, it takes only 6 hours before billions of tiny particles spread through a scallops intestines, lodging in its kidneys, gills and muscles. This is enough knowledge to give pause the next time I place an order for scallops at a restaurant.

2. Citizen science - Sailing SV Delos also got into the action by participating in this research project tracking fish along the Atlantic Ocean to help scientists study migration patterns. I also came across another research project launching in 2021 in the Caribbean that we could participate in through Women Who Sail.

3. Climate change - cruising around the coasts of Greenland, ORP took measurements of warm water flows below the cooler waters. The data they are gathering will help scientists understand its impact on melting glaciers.

4. Glacier ocean mapping - one of the more intruiging expeditions will be undertaken in the next few years aboard their new vessel currently being refit in Annapolis. She happens to also be a schooner.

Research vs Sailing?

I am both intrigued and inspired by the work being done by ORP. The idea that cruisers can collect data and information for science to better understand climate change for example is kinda cool.

Sailing under these auspices has its drawbacks however. Sometimes, they have to slow down and sacrifice average daily miles in order to collect better data. Sometimes, it means motoring for days instead of sailing.

Still, it is worth noodling over to see if there is something we can do in this effort, after all s/v Rachel J Slocum is certainly capable of these voyages to uncharted waters, and the knowledge can be had for a fraction of the cost of typical research science expeditions.

More Information

If you have an opportunity, check out the Ocean Research Project website or the Cruising World article which goes further into the life and work of Matt Rutherford.

Table of Contents

1. Missing Intangible
2. Refrigeration Limits
3. Stormy Conditions
4. Chinese Jasmine Rice
   1. Directions
   2. Galley Notes
5. Boat Show

Missing Intangible

During the first week of living on s/v Rachel J Slocum, I was determined to cook our meals. I had spent the past 6 months documenting and preparing for this moment, and once we had most of our foodie gear stowed on the boat, I was itching to get cooking.

Andrew was cautious because he didn’t want me to over-extend myself. We both had spent long days cleaning, moving and unpacking that to him it didn’t seem realistic for me to also undertake cooking at the end of the day. So, we would go out to our favorite gastropub Tarpon River Brewery, which while delicious didn’t give me the joyous comfort of a home-cooked meal.

The other intangible quality of creating a home is having the smell of cooking wafting through the rooms. Thus far, we had cold cereal, toasted english muffins, and brewed coffee and tea in the mornings. These hardly evoked the intangible quality I wanted.

Refrigeration Limits

At the same time, our shore-powered refrigeration was on the mend. The repair had been made and the unit installed, however no dice. We prioritized getting our stuff moved in which meant putting this off and therefore going out to eat.

In the meantime, Bill had kindly supplied a portable 21 quart (20 liter) refrigerator so that we can stow a few perishable items. While I had planned for provisioning for passagemaking for weeks at a time, I had to exercise a different menu plan to have just-in-time provisions for each meal.

Besides space limits, the other variable I considered was clean-up and not wanting to create a pile of dishes or do a complicated meal given the rest of the boat was in disarray. I opted for a one-pot meal of Chinese sticky rice, however with a major substitution: jasmine rice for sweet glutinous rice.

Stormy Conditions

The variable that I did not consider was the stormy conditions. As you’ll see from the directions below, pan-searing the onions and garlic as well as beef generated plumes of smoke in the cabin.

We had been experiencing torrential rain, and so we couldn’t open up the hatches and portlights to airout the smoke. I was so focused on the cooking activity that I didn’t pay attention to what I had created until I heard Andrew exasperated at the dilemma - leaky hatches due to the storm, open boxes with half-emptied contents everywhere, and a thick palpable smoke to boot.

While the boat was rolling in the berth, he questioned my decision, and I quipped… Surely, lots of people cooked under these conditions at sea. He shook his head, No… they would choose to heat up a simpler meal like open up a can of stew.

Oh.

So, I may have missed that variable to consider. Still, I forged on and assembled the ingredients into my one pot and set it to steam for 20 minutes. Andrew continued to clean and put away spares and electronics. He set up the salon table with a monitor so we could watch a movie later, pulled out linens for our table setting, and opened up a bottle of wine.

By the time, the meal had come together, I had scraped the pan and cleaned the cooking utensils as well as cleared my work space to minimize clean-up after dinner.

Chinese Jasmine Rice

So without further ado, here is the recipe for the inaugural dinner we had aboard s/v Rachel J Slocum. The best thing about this meal (besides that it came with a story) is that it helped transform the boat into our home. No longer does it smell like a vacation rental occupied by strangers.

It’s our home.

Directions

Starting with,

• 8 Chinese dried shiitake mushrooms

soak in warm water for 30 minutes until softened. Then chop off stems and slice mushrooms (1/4”). Set aside.

Into a heated pan, add

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, mince

Stir-fry until softened and brown. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Once done, remove and set aside. In the same pan, add

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound ground beef

Sear for color and carmelization but do not cook through. The rest of the cooking will be done in the steamer. While it is still pink, turn off the heat and then focus on assembly.

In a rice cooker (we use a Cuchen), measure

• 2 cups jasmine rice
• sufficient water to cover with 1 knuckle above the rice

Layer onions & garlic, beef and mushrooms on top. Then drizzle,

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon of sesame oil

Steam as per directed for 2 cups of plain white rice. Using our pressure cooking setting, this would be for 15 minutes. After steam is discharged, mix well and let the dish come together. Serve with a drizzle of sesame oil and furikake.

Galley Notes

We stored our leftovers in a square silicone container. Given our space limitations on the boat and benefits of reusability to reduce single-use plastics, we invested in pop-up silicone containers and bags. Here are the ones we chose:

• Silicone Food Storage Containers
• Reusable Gallon Freezer Bags
• Reusable Sandwich and Storage Bags
• Baking Cup Liners
• Reusable Mesh Produce Bags

Note, these links are provided for your reference; there is no Amazon affiliate marketing.

There was enough to provide a meal for a second dinner which could be heated up in the same pressure cooker, on steam for 15 minutes. Take care not to reheat it too often.

Boat Show

In other news, the Ft Lauderdale International Boat Show is running from Oct 28 to Nov 1. The show is held over a variety of locations. We see the merits of attending to get a jump start on your sailing dreams, just as we did when we attended BOOT 2020, saw a lot of different types of boats and were able to narrow down our choices with minimal investment in time and money.

If you happen to be in the area, send us a DM and we can meet up with you in a socially-distanced appropriate way while you’re in town.