Tag: love

Diary Of A Sailor With A Dirty Galley

Moving onto a 43’ sailboat has made one thing painfully clear: I have a procrastination problem. Looking back, I’ve had this problem my whole life. Even when I was a little kid, I can remember waiting to clean my room until my mom got mad at me and I absolutely HAD to. In middle school I would spend my recess frantically trying to finish my homework before class started. I even convinced myself that I work best under pressure, so waiting until the last minute to start a project would benefit me.

It hadn’t been a big issue before moving onto SVZV because I’ve always managed to get everything done. And that’s all that matters, right? Wrong. Two people and a cat living in a small space requires almost constant upkeep, plus the regular maintenance that a boat requires. I found that after a while, Austin and I were stuck. We weren’t accomplishing anything, the boat was always a mess inside and out, and it was an ongoing struggle even though we were doing the bare minimum. It finally got to a point where I had to take a step back and really figure out what was going wrong. This is what I found:

When I’m not on top of my day-to-day responsibilities, they pile up. A mountain of tasks is overwhelming. When I am overwhelmed nothing gets done. When nothing gets done, I get stressed out. Being stressed out drains my energy so I do something fun to replenish it. Repeat.

That’s when it hit me- I’m not stressed out because there is all that much to get done, I’m stressed out because I’m not doing it. Procrastinating worked when I lived on land, but it just wasn’t conducive to living on a boat. No one said life on a boat would be easy. In fact, they said the opposite.

The most important thing I began working on was changing my mindset.

Instead of being upset that it requires so much upkeep and maintenance to live on a sailboat, I think of how lucky I am to call SVZV my home and keep her clean and running well. Instead of getting frustrated I have to do the dishes, I think of how grateful I am that we have food and fresh water to wash our plates. In one small task I can show this boat and the people in it I’m grateful for them.

Now that I had the will to stop procrastinating, I had to put my newfound motivation to good use.

My new motto is: “Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today”

In general, I take care of the interior, make sure the cockpit is tidy, make the grocery lists/do the cooking, handle paperwork, and help with various boat tasks when needed (ex: cleaning the bottom). Now, any time I say to myself, or out loud, “I’ll do it later” I get up and do it. Even if it requires taking a quick break from work. Even if I’m tired, even if I don’t feel like it, I do it (ok like, 75% of the time). Holy smokes. It has worked wonders.

I’m obviously late to this party, but, who knew how much easier it is to keep a home clean when you’re working at it constantly?! No mounting piles of tasks to overwhelm me. Just small, quick ones. We are getting more accomplished around the boat and we are able to focus on longterm goals.

It hasn’t just helped with life on SVZV, I am overall transforming into a more productive person. When I receive a text or a call, I respond asap. If I realize I need to pay a bill, I go online and get it done. If I remember I needed something at the store, I stop and grab it on my way to the boat ramp. All of these small things add up and after a few weeks I am already feeling the benefits.

Now that I actually use our galley, Austin and I are eating healthier and not spending as much money eating out. Now that the boat is usually tidy, it’s always a joy to come back to. These small details help SVZV feel more like our home, not just a floating house.

Overcoming the urge to procrastinate has also given me the time to start (and actually finish!) way more projects than ever before. I bought a handheld sewing machine and began making covers for our wenches and the dingy motor. I started a new writing project. I have had more time to catch up with friends and family. I started doing yoga in the morning.

Here’s to finally becoming an adult!

November Update

After starting off blogging with a bang, it’s been a while since I’ve written anything. It’s not that I have lost any of my passion or drive to do it, I just haven’t had much down time. Recently, there has been a lot of changes to life aboard SVZV. As things are starting to open up in Hawaii, and the quarantine restrictions have been lifted for visitors, our magical dream world where we were making money, not having to work, and enjoying life on our own schedule quickly started coming to an end.

A month or so after the additional $600/week in unemployment aid had run out, my card got denied for a $9 dollar purchase at the gas station. After the shame wore off from embarrassing myself in front of a line full of people, a crushing realization hit me like a tidal wave. I could no longer deny it. There was no more “waiting to see what’s going to happen”. I had to get a job. ASAP.

This was incredibly stressful for me for many reasons. But three things in particular made finding a job far more difficult than usual.

**Before I start, I should clarify that I am so grateful to be in a position where I’m able to be picky about what jobs I apply for. To have job opportunities available at all. Im grateful that I am healthy enough to get a job. Although I complain about it, working is a part of life and I accepted that a long time ago. I am very aware that these are what would be considered “first world problems”. But nonetheless. I was distressed and I can’t pretend I wasn’t.

Firstly, I am not someone who has a career I am passionate about. Not one of my hobbies involve skills that I can use in the workplace. Nor am I good enough to sell any of the things I make. I am a person who works so I can enjoy my life. I do not enjoy working. I have had plenty of jobs I liked, but not one I liked more than spending 8 hours at home doing whatever I pleased. So obviously, the lockdown was a dream for me.

I had all day, everyday, for 7 months to do what I pleased. Work on myself, work on the boat, garden, write a blog post, whatever. The beaches were empty. The streets were empty. There was no traffic going anywhere. For me, this was a paradise I didn’t think I would get to experience until I retired in 30+ years. I got a taste of the good life and I wasn’t ready to let go.

Second: I absolutely loved the job I had before the pandemic shut everything down. I was incredibly lucky to have got the position. I had just started working for this company in November 2019 and my last day was March 13, 2020. At first we were all hopeful things would return to normal and we would all be hired back, but things didn’t turn out that way. So it was disheartening to start the search for something new.

Lastly, there were not many places hiring. With Austin’s job picking up, us sharing a dingy and a car, and my lack of confidence of driving the dingy in the dark (I’m afraid of hitting things, ex: a whale) this made my options even more limited. It would be overwhelmingly difficult if I had a job where I got off at 10pm, had to have Austin dingy in to get me, dingy him back to shore at 5am for work, then start my day. There are plenty other of scenarios I could give you, but you get it. The logistics were difficult.

Then, like everything else in my life since moving to Maui, the solution fell into my lap.

Whilst applying for jobs, I sent out two applications for remote positions. Usually those types of job offerings are too good to be true and there is some sort of catch, but what the heck? I usually have office jobs where I work on a computer all day anyways, might as well do it from home. A remote job would solve our scheduling problem. It would alleviate our anxiety about leaving the boat unattended if unfavorable wind or swell came in. It would also provide us with a reliable source of income that could be earned anywhere we traveled in the world. So with all that in mind, I took the time to apply to what I assumed was most likely a scam.

Three weeks had passed and I hadn’t heard back from anyone. I had just accepted a part time position as a coach for little league soccer. The day after accepting the position, I got a voicemail in response to an application I had submitted, asking if I was still interested. Long story short, I now have a full time position that is %100 online. It is absolutely perfect for me. I accepted the position the day I got the offer and agreed to start training the following Monday.

This was all exciting and wonderful but I had one big problem. We do not have working power outlets on the boat and we had no access to WiFi. Immediately, Austin and I came up with a plan.

Over the next week of training/ my first few days of work I was bouncing around place to place and town to town, borrowing amenities from my friends and family. During this time I was able to research and order everything we needed. Once we had everything, I would be able to work from SVZV wherever we find ourselves in the world. In the end, we decided on two things to get the job done.

1. SkyRoam

Skyroam is a global hotspot that connects to mobile WiFi in over 130 countries. The hotspot itself is a small orange disk and comes in different sizes. I chose the basic one and it cost us $119 before delivery. It offers unlimited internet in the US for $49/month and globally for $100/month. It works far better than expected! Not only has it allowed me to do my job with no problem, I can stream movies with no issues, and it connects to multiple devices so both Austin and I can use it at at the same time. It also stays charged for 8+ hours without needing to be plugged in!

SkyRoam disk and power cord

2. A generator

I can’t take credit for this one. This was all Austin’s idea. I was originally looking at power banks. They usually run $75- $200 and store quite a bit of power in them. The biggest issue with this idea was, they have to be charged once their drained. That means I would have to find a place to recharge the power bank daily. Kind of defeats the purpose, right? That’s when Austin suggested a generator.

Since I don’t know anything about generators I let him pick one out. He found a small 1600-watt portable generator that we could have shipped to Home Depo for $375. I’m told that’s a really good price!

A-iPower 1600-Watt Gasoline Powered Portable Generator

At first I was incredibly concerned about the noise. After watching a video of the same generator online, I thought the roar would be so loud I wouldn’t be able to relax or focus on my job. Turns out it’s actually pretty quiet! Where we have it set up outside I can barely hear it over the fan while sitting below deck in the lounge. I was also worried it would be difficult learning how to use it. Surprise: it’s super easy!! Far easier to start than the motor on the dingy. Just turn the nob to “run”, give the cord a slight tug, turn the switch to “eco mode”, and you’re good to go!

Excuse the mess: we are doing some maintenance on our hatches. To the starboard site you can see where we have the generator placed. We run the power cord through whichever hatch is closest to where we need power.

With Austin adjusting to being back at work and me starting a new job, we haven’t been out sailing much for the past couple weeks. We have been focusing on maintenance rather than starting new projects. We also spent a week in the harbor (more on that story later). Here’s to hoping we find our groove soon and my next update will be filled with adventure, fun stories, and beautiful scenery!

Views from the harbor: early morning the day we left the slip

Sharing Is Caring

As Austin and I first started sailing, I got use to doing it just the two of us. I felt comfortable asking questions and making mistakes. I absolutely loved having company on the boat and getting to share our lives, but we would rarely take people out sailing. We had a few things we needed to fine tune before cruising. It seemed like every time we crossed one essential task off the list, we found another to add. As days turned into weeks and weeks into months, we finally started to make a dent on our seemingly never ending list of projects. It took us longer than expected, but I was excited by our progress and thrilled we would have the opportunity to sail more often.

My stepfather and 11 year old sister were the first guests to sail SVZV. Unfortunately, my sister found the whole experience to be painfully slow and boring. She considers a day shes near the water but doesn’t get to swim a day wasted. As expected, the rest of us had an incredible time.

Holland’s favorite part of the trip

Anticipation had been building in the hours before we left. We had tied a small anchor to our dingy so we didn’t have to tow him behind the boat, and it was our first time using the new system. After testing the new anchor set up, securing the boat, and getting everything ready to sail, we had been sitting in the sun for a little over an hour. I could feel the excitement vibrating through the air as we pulled the anchor up and motored our of the mooring field. When we finally hoisted the sails and shut the engine off the sound of the wind and waves casted a tranquil haze over SVZV and all aboard. It’s moments like this where it’s hard to believe this is truly my life.

After that experience, I wanted to take every opportunity possible to take people out sailing with us. Don’t get me wrong, I have an incredible time sailing with just us two as well, but it’s a special feeling to share something new and exciting that I’m beginning to love with others. We are finally getting to the point where we can take of and sail as we please, which has been such a relief for both of us. It is an unbelievably difficult test of ones willpower and self discipline to have a boat and not be able to use it often.

I’m setting a goal for myself to accomplish by the time travel restrictions return to normal in Hawaii (who knows when that will be): I want to have enough sailing experience and confidence to take my friends and family out when they visit, but this time I will be the captain and Austin will be my first mate.

Slowly getting the hang of this sailing thing

Smooth Sailing

I knew when we got SVZV, she would come with her own set of challenges. The physical labor I already knew would be an adjustment. I’m lazy by nature and a even chore as simple as scrubbing the bottom of the boat every 2-3 weeks was daunting. I had mentally prepared for the loss of air conditioning, WiFi, and almost all other luxuries I held as constants in my life. Although I knew it would be an uncomfortable adjustment at first, and poor Austin would have to suffer through my attitude at times, there was never a doubt that the payoff would be worth it. Owning a boat was by far the most responsibility I had ever taken on and I fully understood the effort that I would need to put in to maintain it. Only, for me, I’ve found the biggest challenges aren’t related to the maintenance of the boat.

Becoming the owner of a new sailboat was a lot like becoming a new parent (I would imagine). Since we were on anchor at first, we couldn’t leave her unattended for a long period of time. We couldn’t come back past sunset as it was a long dingy ride to and from the boat ramp. We couldn’t go out sailing past sunset either, as it’s ill advised to drop anchor with no light out. There were no more spontaneous drives or nights out. Everything was planned and we ran on a schedule. We took shifts watching her if the other had to go out for the day. Even when I did go out, I found I had to alter what I did in my free time.

I enjoy eating out, happy hours, decorating my home, bargain shopping, trying new Pinterest crafts, and other things that cost money. Now when I get paid, I first think about what we need to get done on the boat and how I can put each dollar to better use. Having something I am monetarily responsible for has had a wonderful effect on my life. Although it does cause me some stress and heartache at times, I found I am more creative and innovative than ever. I’m in the water constantly and get regular exercise. I was recently dive certified and on the road to becoming a dive master. Getting dive certified was a necessary decision for us to maintain our mooring and take care of SVZV. A practical skill set introduced me to one of the few things I can truly say I’m passionate about. It wasn’t easy to transition into an (extremely) more frugal person but the reward surpassed what I expected. It’s easy to only focus on how this move has effected me but it has proved challenging for both of us.

Austin and I never fight. We don’t bicker. I don’t have to nag him.. that much. We rarely snap at each other. Austin has one of the best dispositions of any person I’ve ever met, and if you knew him you’d understand that it’s easy not to fight with him. The first few months as we were adjusting it was fun and exciting. Besides some heated moments while I was learning to drive the dingy or we were dropping anchor, no disagreements really came up. As weeks rolled by and turned into months we spent a lot of time on the boat. 1. We have been locked down for a long time due to the pandemic, so there really aren’t many places to go 2. We were on anchor and didn’t want to leave her unattended for too long and we didn’t want to dingy back at night. Sometime during those months we started bickering.

Who knows about what. It was rarely important enough to remember the subject matter. I’d imagine being quarantined for months with your partner would cause any couple to bicker. Especially being confined to a 43’ sailboat, I cut myself some slack. Although not monumentally impactful on our day to day life, it was an unexpected adjustment. The shift from everything feeling perfect all of the time to the real world is a tough one. Overall I have learned so much about being a better partner and being a better roommate through this experience. It’s made us so much stronger and more understanding of each other. It’s just… if I have to clean up one more wet wad of paper towels from the sink I might go to prison for homicide, ya know?

After writing this whole thing out it’s clear to me that I have it pretty good. If what I’ve described above are some of the bigger challenges I’m facing, I’m doing well. That’s the thing about SVZV, the amazing life she provides me makes it all worth it.

The Ugly Truth

This one is hard for me to write because it’s not a lesson I’m proud I needed to learn. When we first got Squid (our dinghy), ZV was on anchor at the outer edge of the mooring field, roughly a 15 minute ride from shore. I, having incredibly little experience, had only been in a boat with an outboard motor on a few other occasions in my lifetime. The first few times I watched the motor being started it looked easy enough. That being said, I had never even started a lawnmower before. So how could I really know? Well turns out I didn’t know. On my first attempt I sat there for 10 minutes yanking that cord, growing increasingly frustrated until I threw in the towel. Dramatically, I threw my hands in the air and exclaimed that I would “NEVER” get this stupid thing to work. And so it began.

Not being physically able to start that damn motor frustrated me beyond belief. If no one was around I could usually get it started after a handful of attempts. If we were leaving the boat ramp, or in another public location, my frustration would turn into embarrassment overs others seeing my failure. The overwhelming feelings of frustration, embarrassment, and inadequacy often pushed me to the point of tears and I would shut down. Not only was I giving up on myself, I was giving up (and often times getting angry at) Austin, who was working hard to teach me the necessary skills involved in boating.

Logically, I understand there is no shame in being a beginner and learning as I go. Logic stopped mattering when faced with a seemingly impossible task. I felt attacked and put on the spot. I’d get defensive and rude. It took me a few weeks to really look at my behavior and realize the outboard motor wasn’t the problem.. I was. This attitude I had been developing towards difficult tasks was stopping me from absorbing the knowledge I needed to know. To defeat this attitude, I had to identify the root cause of my mental block and  let go of my ego.

There are still a lot of times where I get combative when learning something new. It’s something I struggle with and I’m constantly working on. At least it’s a behavior I recognize now. Being put in such a high pressure situation forces me to work on aspects of myself I don’t put much thought into regularly. For that I’m incredibly grateful. I’m incredibly proud of the hard work I am putting in, not only on the boat, but in myself as well.

As I’m sure you’ve already guessed- I can now start that motor up, no problem!

Captain Austin proudly displaying his newly caught fish from The Squid

And so it begins

ZV officially became ours on Valentine’s Day 2020. I couldn’t have asked for a better gift. We had a 50/50 chance of getting the boat, so it was a surge of surprise and relief when we found out she was ours. The first night I was overcome with emotion. Our sudden acquisition came with a lot of responsibility and required a lot of hard work. We still had to give our 30 day notice at our apartment, move out, downsize by at least 75%, and figure out logistics. I didn’t know how we would manage it all, but I did know we had taken a huge step towards making our dreams come true.

We had to wake up at 4:30am the next morning to move ZV out of the harbor and onto her anchor in the mooring field. Part of this process involved me being on the boat alone, while she was in motion, in the dark. I was terrified. It’s funny looking back on such a trivial moment and recognizing it sparked the beginning of my growth and development as a sailor.

That morning we dropped anchor for my first time. The day was spent settling into our new home. That night, however, was not so idyllic. Austin set an alarm to go off every other hour to check the anchor as it was windy and we didn’t trust our gear yet. Austin, however, hit “stop” instead of “snooze” by mistake.

I woke up to the sound of chain scraping and the boat being jolted to the side. I instantly woke Austin up. Our anchor had dragged and we drifted dangerously close to two other boats. At that point we had got all of the sleep we were going to get that night. We made sure to keep our boat safe and moved as soon as the sun came up. After that, you can bet your ass we got a lot better at dropping anchor!

Our Story

On March 3rd 2019, I moved to Maui to take care of my mother. The next day, March 4th, I went to Longs Drugstore to pick up her prescriptions. While in line I overheard the customer ahead of me give the cashier his phone number; it had a California area code. I seized the opportunity to introduce myself to a handsome guy. I thank my lucky stars every day I was feeling bold that day. I now share my life with one of the most incredible souls I know, Austin.

Austin moved to Maui a couple years before me for a job at a boating company. On our second date he invited me on a yacht for a sunset cruise. I was quickly enchanted with him and the boating lifestyle. I began to learn about boating simply through our relationship growing.

I always prioritized traveling and knew that I wanted to live my life in a way that allowed me to experience as much of the world as possible. Early on in the relationship when Austin shared that he has a goal to sail around the world by the time he reaches 30, a world of opportunity opened up. It had never occurred to me that I could travel the world, go on adventures, and bring my home along.

When we got the chance to buy a 1989 Beneteau Oceanis 430, we jumped on it. I owe a lot to Austin. If I hadn’t fallen in love with a sailor, I most likely never would have experienced the ocean in such a life changing way. Owning SVZV has been challenging and has tested me in ways I didn’t expect. 6 months in and I already know the payoff will be worth it.