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FAQs
From the questions we have received since we announced we intending to sail off into the wild blue yonder it has become obvious there is a need for this page. Here are some of the things we get asked most, along with the answers we'd like to give and the answers we do give. Q: When are you going? Soon, OK? Very soon. Everything takes four times as long as you imagine it would and the shore stuff (house sale, apartment rental) has been dragging on, but we are just finishing up the boat jobs and getting things sorted, so some time in January, we think. UPDATE: We've gone! We became full-time lazy-arse yachties mid-February! Yes! LATER UPDATE: We are now in Fiji - we did it! We broke the bonds of the marina! EVEN LATER UPDATE: Well, we're back, but only for summer. We love the cruising life and want to keep going next year. Q: Where are you going? A: Out of the harbour & turn left. No, seriously, that's the plan. Who knows where we'll end up? We intend to play things by ear and it depends on which places we like, the weather, officialdom & many other things. Probably Tonga first. UPDATE: Well the weather took care of that! So, next year it is back to New Cal & Vanuatu, the the Solomans, Philippines, Malaysia & towards Thailand. Q: How long are you going for? A: No idea. We may spend a few months and decide it isn't for us, or we may spend the rest of our lives as itinerant sailors. The world is a big place, and we travel at around 100 miles every 24 hours, so no, we won't be back in six months after we have circumnavigated. Q: Do you anchor & sleep every night while you are at sea? A: Yes, and then we spend all the next day pulling up several miles of anchor chain, having just enough time for a quick cuppa before we have to drop it again for the next night. We expect to be situated off the North Cape of NZ for some years to come. Actually, we are required by law to have someone on watch at all times, so we take it in shifts to be on deck while we sail through the night. If this means Jill becomes a foul harridan who has to be prodded awake from a distance with a boat hook to avoid any outbursts of physical violence, so be it. Q: Have you done any sailing before? A: Naaah! We saw the Azul picture on the WIndows desktop wallpaper & decided that was for us! Actually, we both have heaps of blue water experience, both have our Ocean Yachtmaster & Advanced Survival qualifications and have read just about everything written on the subject. We've both been out in winds of 60+ knots, so don't have any expectations of endless sunny days with 15 knot breezes. Q: That's not a very big boat is it? A: No, but it is a lot of boat for 32 feet, and she is very solid & sea worthy. For those of you who saw The Perfect Storm movie, or who read the book, there was a Westsail in that. For the real story, check this website http://world.std.com/%7Ekent/satori/ . Q: What do you do all day? A: Work on our boat in exotic surroundings. Bruce can't believe we ever had time to go to work before. And I never want a job where I can't have an afternoon nap. All domestic chores take ages longer on a boat, for instance, you don't just turn on the hot tap to do the dishes. Oh no, much more complicated than that! First you ensure you have enough water (if not, go into a wharf to fill up or lug jerrycans to the boat), then vigorously pump the footpump to get some water for the kettle. Turn on the gas, light the stove & heat the water. Pump more cold. Do dishes. Don't even think about the clothes washing! Shopping involves taking the dinghy ashore, going on the long march/sussing out local public transport to the supermarket/produce market/village store/market gardeners, working out products and prices in foreign languages, changing money, buying your requirements & loading up & lugging it all back to the dinghy and taking it back to the boat (after having cleaned off fruit and veges and checking for unwanted buggy things) and stowing it. That can take the better part of the day, and you need a lie-down afterwards. Then of course there is the socialising.....
If you have any other questions, drop us a line, and we'll try to answer them. |
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Last updated April 08, 2010
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