It Seems I Have a Book

I had a very good time writing this last summer-delving back into the basics of sailing and rediscovering why I love the sport so much. My editor and all the staff at Penguin were fantastic to work with and I was fortunate to have Jamie and Behan from Totem act as technical editors--catching the details that slipped past after too many hours staring at the screen...

Seeking Balance

It’s funny—the word balance keeps popping into my head these days. I kept thinking about it as we worked through the weekend on boat projects: Ev rebedding a hatch he ‘temporarily’ put in several years ago. The hatch he had replaced was much smaller and the hole he cut was raw and ugly—and was right over my head in bed where I saw its raw ugliness at least twice a day. Maia and I sorting her clothes (my gosh she’s grown!), her shelves and all her lockers. We offloaded about eight big bags of clothes, books, and stuff.

Meanwhile the sun was shining and I was wondering if we were using our days right—we’d already had a busy week full of projects—didn’t the pursuit of balance mean that we earned time to play?

I have a friend who points out (mainly in response to my nagging) that a balanced diet is achieved over a week or more, not just in a day. Another insists that the marathon she ran at twenty means she’s still fit at forty. And as cruisers most of us feel that the years of extra work and effort we put in are more than balanced the day we cut the docklines.

The problem with all these equations is the perception that it’s either all or nothing. We’re either toiling to achieve something better or we’re spending down our efforts. And the point where the whole equation really falls apart is when you’re not out cruising—but not in countdown mode either.

Which brings me back to balance…

The past few years when we were out I kept feeling something was just a little off. I really liked our work/cruise combo (mainly because it keeps my brain active and it’s nice not going broke) but we didn’t come up with a smooth way to integrate them. It was either a marathon of work (typically because we were paying to be in a marina or somewhere with wifi access), or it a fête of sloth (usually with a bunch of snorkelling thrown in). It didn’t have a sense of rhythm to it. No matter how I tried to squeeze work into the play days, or play into the work days it just felt false.

But technically now we have the ability to balance things. We should be finding a rhythm that includes the perfect mix of work/leisure/friendship/learning/exploring/laughing/exercising/parenting. But instead I get caught up in one project and think about all the ways I’m letting everything else slide and end up feeling guilty.

So now I’m thinking maybe my effort to achieve balance is completely missing the point…

How Will She Cope in the Mall?

 People used to ask us if we thought cruising would make Maia weird.

Well, they didn’t ask in those exact words. But I could tell by the careful, “how will you educate her?” and “how will she manage to make friends?” and “will she fit in when she gets back?” that the real question was, “how can a child grow-up to be normal without regular visits to the mall?”

This never used to worry me.

Until we went to the mall.

 The mall visit actually had nothing to do with Maia other than we brought her along on the adventure. Yes, when you are visiting a strange town and going to the mall consists of dinghy driving down waterways in the hopes of travelling through a lock to a canal beside the mall where you will attach your boat to a ?? —it counts as an adventure. Especially because this was no ordinary trip to the mall. This was the ‘reintegrating back into society’ trip, which we were doing in company.

the lock seemed like a great idea until we realized we needed a pass card...

 When you cross the Pacific in some ways it is a solo effort but in other ways it is like summer camp. Almost every activity is done en masse. We troop to the shops together, eat in a crowd, climb mountains in groups and repair things in company. So when it’s time for a haircut, shoes, and (God forbid) a tie—it’s a party. Everyone takes part.

Micheal skipped the new duds but got an Aussie haircut in solidarity--thus the hat

 I’m not sure what the shopkeepers thought as we assembled (wives, kids, supportive friends, curious strangers) by the change rooms and helped Evan and Steve choose clothes—from knickers on out. The men themselves seemed a little bleak at their purchases and more than a little shocked that two-years in flip flops could have such a shocking affect on their shoe size.

The kids though were truly odd.

 They’ve learned to interact in the world differently and the mall was a curiosity more than anything—like archaeological ruins, or an unfamiliar village. It wasn’t a place to covet things they didn’t need but a place to sit on Santa’s knee (and not worry if they’d out grown it), and see how all the kiddie rides work, and admire the books in the book store and make note of ones they hope to find in an exchange somewhere... It was fun, Maia says, but not the sort of place you can go to over and over.

Not like a beach.

 It will take some time—this being back in society thing. It’ll take time for Evan to recover from his Aussie hair cut and time for his new shoes to stop pinching. It’ll take time for Maia to learn what ‘normal’ looks like and find a way to fit in. It’ll take time for our friends to stop waking to check the anchor and realize houses can’t drag. It’ll take time for the magic to fade to a memory and become again a siren song so alluring we can’t help but sail away.

Working and Cruising FAQ

I've received a bunch of questions lately about the fact that Evan and I are working while we cruise--I'm guessing because I've mentioned it a few times in blog posts and in our "About Us" section. I'm currently on deadline so doing a quick FAQ is a nice distraction from real work. If I miss question you have, or you want to know more about Ev's job (it always disappoints him that people ask about my job and not his...) let me know:

What do you do?
I'm a freelance writer and Evan's a naval architect. I write for a variety of national an international pubs and Evan does the occasional contract with his old employer. Most recently I’ve been working on a series of stories for Reader’s Digest Canada--like this and this, and Evan did a couple of reports for his old company.

 I want to be a travel writer, how did you do it? It seems like the perfect job for a cruiser...
I've worked as a freelance writer for about five years and the past three were spent expanding my travel markets. Becoming an employed writer was a goal I set when we went cruising last time. I took a few magazine writing classes and actually went through all the steps (developing a story, finding the right magazine to pitch, sending off a query and following up) over, and over until I had regular work coming in. There's no magic formula, just steady, hard work.
As far as being the perfect cruiser's job, it is and it isn't. It's still a job—which means I’m often at my desk when I’d like to be playing. But it does blend my natural curiosity with my need to write.

Do You Write For Sailing Magazines?
I do, but I couldn't make a living just writing for boating mags. I also write for a variety of websites and custom publications. Writing for a large number of different types of publications has helped me weather the economic downturn without too much difficulty.

How Do You Stay in Touch?
I've written a few times about communication--but the gist is this: We use an amplified wi-fi antenna for wi-fi when it's available, plus we have a 3G cell modem. When out of range for those I can get basic email through the SSB with Sailmail. Needing to have internet does place limits on our ability to disconnect for long periods, but we find the sacrifice works for us.

 Do You Earn Enough to Live On?
Yes. We don’t actually know how much we spend in a month—it can really vary… And working does add some significant additional costs (for example we recently upgraded our professional camera gear, we have higher than typical travel and communication expenses, and I need to maintain a decent work wardrobe…) But after the initial costs associated with getting out cruising were covered our bank balance stabilized. So we’re bringing in roughly the same amount that’s going out.

 How Much Do You Work?
I have kind of a feast or famine job. When we were in Vancouver, I worked about 20-hours a week, which is probably more or less the same as now. I just do it differently now—I squish all my work into the periods when we are in towns. So I’ll work non-stop (or what feels like non-stop) for a few weeks, then do very little for several weeks. Evan has worked less than me. Probably only about 100 hours or so this year.

What’s Your Opinion On Working and Cruising?
I actually enjoy it. Last time we cruised I felt like I wanted to be doing more—either volunteering or learning. Working lets me feel like I’m doing something meaningful and gives us an excuse to really explore each place. It does dictate some of what we do and where we go, but I like the structure.
Beyond the intrinsic value of work—we like having money. We have enough saved that if  we were really frugal we could go for a couple of years, but we don’t like being that frugal and I like having money in the bank.