Scott's First Sailing Adventure | Cruising From Majorca To Portimao

The postcard Scott wrote to me from Cabo de Gata. Notice how he didn't address it? Rather than post it, he handed it to me when he got back.

Did you ever find something when you were tidying up that brought back a flood of memories? Well, Scott found an old postcard that he had written to me from Cabo de Gata in Spain when he was on his very first sailing trip back in 2005. The trip that got him hooked on sailing and led to us eventually buying our first boat in New Zealand in 2012.

I thought some of you might be interested in hearing more about Scott's very first sailing adventure, so I decided to share a little interview I did with him. Well, it was actually less of an interview and more of the two of us lying in bed trying to decide what to watch on TV. I peppered him with questions while he tried to convince me that watching a WWII documentary would be a good choice.

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1 - How did you get into sailing?

Back in 2005 when I was living in Glasgow, I had contacted a friend to see if wanted to go to an archaeology conference. He wasn't able to because he had plans to help bring a friend's boat back to Scotland from Majorca (aka Mallorca). I told him to let me know if his friend ever needed extra crew as I'd like to try sailing one day.

Little did I know that "one day" would turn out to be sooner than I thought. The fourth crew member had just dropped out and they had a plane ticket from Glasgow to Majorca if I was interested. I was working in Edinburgh at the time and had to make arrangements to take time off, but once that was sorted I packed my bags and left a couple of days later.

Port Andratx in Majorca - the start of Scott's sailing adventure.

 
2 - Where did you go on that first sailing trip?

We sailed from Majorca (one of the Spanish Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea) to Portimao in Portugal where the boat (a Westerly Oceanlord 41 named Dragonfly) was laid up for the winter. The trip took over two weeks, we covered around 800 nautical miles, and by the end I was hooked on sailing. Actually, I was hooked on sailing on day one.

The sailboat Scott sailed on - s/v Dragonfly, a Westerly Oceanlord 41

3 - What was your first overnight sail like?

My first overnight sail took place when we left Majorca and sailed 180 nautical miles to Mar Menor, a salt-water lagoon on the Iberian Peninsula near Cartagena. We had a great sail, averaging 7-9 knots. I thought it would be like this all the time - always under sail going along at a good clip. I later learned that's hardly ever the case.

My second overnight sail was quite different with gale force winds and thunderstorms. We inched close to the shore to try to avoid being struck by lightening.

Going through the drawbridge at Mar Menor

4 - What was the food like?

When I first got to Majorca, we didn't arrive at the marina until after ten that night. We met the captain at a restaurant that had just stopped serving food so we headed back to the boat to find something to eat. The choice was limited to out-of-date canned food. We opted for a can of salmon which we washed down with plenty of San Miguel beer. The beer definitely helped.

The food on board got better after that and we also had some great meals on shore with a lot of seafood and local wines.

Sailing along the Algarve

5 - What are some of your favorite memories from this trip?

I really enjoyed anchoring in the Guadianna river between Spain and Portgual. It was a calm evening with a full moon and we all enjoyed having drinks in the cockpit and taking in the views. That was when I decided cruising full-time was something I really wanted to do with Ellen.

A view of the Guadianna river from the boat.

Another favorite memory is when we were going around Punta de Tarifa, which is the southernmost point on the Iberian Peninsula. We had been motoring most of the time and we had finally got a bit of wind so that we could put out the headsail. By the time we got to the point, we had 55 knots sustained. Being a novice, I didn't realize it was that big of a deal and I really enjoyed helming through it.

When we finally got to the marina, it was completely full (everyone else seemed to have known about the storm and sought out shelter) so we had to tie up to the visitor's dock. We certainly got a lot of questions from folks about what it had been like to sail in those conditions.

Sailing past Gibraltar Rock was pretty amazing, as was seeing the old Phoenician city, Cadiz, from a distance. One thing I wished we could have seen was Morocco, which you can see on a clear day. Sadly, the weather didn't cooperate.

And then of course, the sea life was fantastic - dolphins and whales including an orca with a floppy dorsal fin. One of the dolphins even spyhopped in front of our boat. Pretty cool.

Sunset at Portimao, Portugal

6 - What did you miss the most when you were away?

You, of course. {Editor's Note: That was the correct answer.}


Is there anything else you want to know about Scott, like what his favorite cookie is or how people survive the cold in North Dakota? Put your questions in the comments below and maybe we'll have another interview with him.

Wordless Wednesday | Nautically Themed Roman Mosaics

Wordless Wednesday is supposed to be about posting a photo(s) without any words. But, I'm a rule breaker, so here are a few words:


1 - We have tons of pictures of Roman mosaics. It was hard to pick just a few to share, so I went with those that had a nautical theme. I think my favorite is the one of the dude with crab claws coming out of his head.

2 - Would you ever have the patience to place a gazillion tiny tiles to make a picture? It's truly impressive.

3 - Scott took some of these pictures at the Bardo National Museum in Tunisia. I was amazed at all of the Roman mosaics they had in their collection.

What words does this picture(s) bring to your mind when you look at it?

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Wordless Wednesday | Norway

Wordless Wednesday is supposed to be about posting a photo(s) without any words. But, I'm a rule breaker, so here are a few words:

1 - We've been to Norway a few times, which is kind of cool because Scott is Norwegian-American (with a little Swede thrown in for good measure). 

2 - My big takeaway from my time in Norway - it's cold. Really, really cold. I can see why Norwegians who came to America felt right at home settling in Minnesota and North Dakota. It's cold there too.

3 - I love that big crying baby sculpture. We saw it at the Vigeland Park in Oslo, along with some other weird and wonderful sculptures.

What words does this picture(s) bring to your mind when you look at it?

For more Wordless Wednesday fun, click here. 

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Wordless Wednesday | Paris Honeymoon

Wordless Wednesday is supposed to be about posting a photo(s) without any words. But, I'm a rule breaker, so here are a few words:

1 - After getting married in Copenhagen, we honeymooned in Paris.

2 - That was a long, long time ago - 26 years.

3 - We didn't have a lot of money at the time (and we still don't) so we stayed in a really dodgy hotel. Thankfully, the views of Paris from the balcony made up for our room's shortcomings. 

4 - For some reason, looking at these pictures has left me with a distinct craving for a pain au chocolat.

What words does this picture(s) bring to your mind when you look at it?

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Wordless Wednesday | German Nuns

Wordless Wednesday is supposed to be about posting a photo(s) without any words. But, I'm a rule breaker, so here are a few words:

1 - One of these nuns is my great-great-aunt. She went on to become a mother superior at a convent in Germany.

2 - I like German food, especially sauerkraut and bratwurst. 

3 - It looks like a lot of ironing and starch must have been needed to get their wimples to stand up like that. 

4 - I can't remember the last time I used starch. Heck, I can't even remember the last time I ironed anything. We live on a small sailboat. Our iron didn't make the cut when we downsized. I can't say that I miss it.

What words does this picture(s) bring to your mind when you look at it?

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Wordless Wenesday | Lawn Bowling In Scotland

Wordless Wednesday is supposed to be about posting a photo(s) without any words. But, I'm a rule breaker, so here are a few words:

1 - I've never played lawn bowls. It's probably for the best. Someone would likely get hurt. Let's just say when it comes to tossing around balls, they never end up where they're supposed to be.

2 - I wish I had tried it though when we lived in Scotland.

3 - We did play in a curling league for a while, which is popular in Scotland. Again, probably not a good idea to let me loose with a really heavy curling stone and have me chuck it down the ice in the general vicinity of other people.


What words does this picture(s) bring to your mind when you look at it?

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Wordless Wednesday | Sailboats & A Ferris Wheel, Scarborough, England

Wordless Wednesday is supposed to be about posting a photo(s) without any words. But, I'm a rule breaker, so here are a few words:

1 - Scott took this photo when he was working outside of York. He took a drive to Scarborough on one of his days off. 

2 - I'm pretty sure he took the photo because of all the sailboats.

3 - I would have taken it because of the Ferris wheel. 

4 - Ferris wheels are fun. Especially when you can see sailboats from them.

What words does this picture(s) bring to your mind when you look at it?

For more Wordless Wednesday fun, click here. 

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Is It 2020 Yet? Our Cruising Plan

Tickety Boo happy at anchor in the Bahamas

My friends, Matt and Lucy from The Larks of Independence, and I had been joking that, given our respective boat issues and projects, we'd see each other in the Bahamas in 2020. Scott and I certainly haven't been feeling like we'll ever make it out of Indiantown Marina this year before hurricane season starts up again. 2020 was starting to seem like a sadly realistic target.

But at least we were in good company. Matt and Lucy were stuck here in Florida too.

Then I saw on their Facebook page that they had broken free from the Sunshine State and made it to Bimini.

My first thought was:

"Yay! Way to go Matt and Lucy!"

My second thought was:

"I hate you guys. Why are we stuck in Florida and you're in the Bahamas?"

My third thought was:

"Ellen, you're a terrible person for thinking such things. You should be happy for them." 

Then I punished myself by not eating any chocolate for a full 20 minutes. Yes, I went without chocolate for 20 whole minutes. I know, hard to believe. But I deserved it.

After I had some chocolate, I felt much better about things. After all, we've only been working on boat projects for less than seven weeks. We've got friends that have been stuck here at Indiantown Marina for way longer than that working on their boats.

And we've actually ticked a number of things off of the list. Like new hatches.

We've also dealt with a number of things that weren't on the list. Like hydrolocking our engine.

All in all, we're not doing too bad. {She says frantically stuffing chocolate in her mouth in an effort to feel better about the rate of progress.}

The whole situation got me thinking about cruising plans. There's a saying among cruisers that plans are written in sand at low tide. When the tide comes in, your plans just wash away as though they never existed.

It was all a good reminder not to have too firm of plans and to just go with the flow. Easy to say, sometimes it's hard to do.

So while we do have a cruising plan of a sort, we're trying to keep it kind of vague because life has a way of keeping you on your toes. Sometimes, it seems like life is just getting in your way. Usually though, it's just presenting you with new opportunities that are cleverly disguised as boat projects.

If you are curious what our vague cruising plan is, it's to go to the Bahamas for the rest of this season, then bring the boat back to Indiantown where we'll haul out and work on some major boat projects. We'll probably head off to the Western Caribbean next season (November 2017) and putter around over there for a couple of years. After that who knows - although we are toying with the idea of crossing the Atlantic in a few years. But we'll see what life brings us.

What about you? What are your plans for the next few years?

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Q&A Time | The Sunshine Blogger Award

 
Viki from Astrolabe Sailing nominated me for the Sunshine Blogger Award. The Sunshine Blogger Award is given from one blogger to others who are “positive, creative and inspiring." Once you have been nominated you are given a set of questions to answer and then you get to “pass it on” to other bloggers that you admire and find positive, creative and inspiring.

Viki is a really cool sailor from New Zealand who blogs about all things nautical, as well as travel in New Zealand and abroad (check out her Destinations page). Even though I lived in New Zealand for five years, I never got to meet her in person. I really hope our paths will cross on the water one day.

Here are my answers to Viki's questions.

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1 - What is the best part about traveling and/or sailing for you? 

Experiencing new stuff, meeting new people and learning about different ways of life.


2 - What are the most challenging aspects of your adventurous lifestyle? 

I'm not sure our lifestyle is really adventurous as much as it is different from how many people live.

The thing I find most challenging about living on a sailboat are things that scare the crap out of me.

Like when the boat is heeled over so much that I think we're going to tip over and drown even though I know that the laws of physics promise that we won't. Or sailing at night and panicking that we're going to hit something or run aground. Or bad weather. Or running out of chocolate chip cookies.

I've written a number of posts on my sailing fears such as holding my breath underwater, sailing in the dark and feeling tippy, not tipsy.


3 - How do you fund your sailing and travels, and what advice would you give to others wanting to do the same? 

This is probably the #1 question people who are considering becoming full-time cruisers want to know - how do you afford it? For us, it's a combination of having saved up and living frugally. I was lucky enough to have been made redundant from my job in New Zealand and was given a lovely parting gift in the form of a check. That chunk of change pushed us to go for it now, rather than wait until normal retirement age. We moved onto our 26' sailboat in New Zealand for a season and decided to make the cruising lifestyle a permanent one.

Both of us have worked on and off since then to top up the cruising kitty, but our plan is to try to cruise as long as we can off of our savings and meager investments.
 
When we went to buy our next sailboat (Tickety Boo), we looked for an older one that we could afford and try to do as much work on her ourselves to save money.

We document how much we spend each month and things we do to live cheaply on this page.

I wouldn't even try to give advice to others on how to fund their sailing and travels. There's no one right answer and no one answer that fits all. Everyone needs to look at their own financial situation, consider their appetite for risk (in terms of quitting the full-time rat race) and think about what their long-term priorities are.


4 - What is the one off-beaten path location you'd recommend that we visit? 

Ray, North Dakota. Or anyplace in North Dakota really. Scott is from North Dakota and, to be honest, I probably would have never visited the Peace Garden State if it wasn't for him. I joke that I would never move to North Dakota because it's too cold there. Okay, that's probably not a joke. But I have enjoyed visiting there.

When people think about visiting the States, they think of big cities (like New York, Las Vegas or LA) or well know tourist attractions (like the Grand Canyon or Disney World). They don't always visit the heartland of America - places like Ray, North Dakota (population 729), where Scott's family is from and where he spent his early years.

If you happen to find yourself in North Dakota, be sure to make your way to the Northern Unit of the Badlands. The first time I ever went camping in my life was there. It rained 5" in one night and this is a state that gets less than 15" a year. I saw my first rattlesnake up close. I woke one morning to a bison snorting outside of our tent. And we saw about six 10-12 point mule deer bucks one night, followed by a dozen of them the next.


5 - If you have a book you re-read often, what is it? If not, what's your favorite book? 

It's kind of impossible to narrow down to just one book. I do find that the books that I have re-read are those I originally read  when I was younger which really made an impact on me, such as Frank Herbert's Dune, Isaac Asimov's Foundation series and C.S. Lewis' Narnia series. I definitely read them differently as an adult and take away new things from them. I've also re-read all of Octavia Butler's books multiple times, as well as Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. Iain Banks - let's put him on the list too (both mainstream and sci-fi). Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers' mysteries are always fun to re-read too. Okay, that's probably enough.


6 - What is the strangest thing you've eaten or drunk while traveling? 

Dracula's Blood in a tiny bar in Berlin. I don't think it was actual blood, but since I don't speak any German, I can't be sure.


7 - What do you enjoy most about blogging?

I enjoy three things about blogging: (1) documenting our adventures so that we have something to look back at when we're older; (2) using it as a creative outlet; and (3) "meeting" people virtually. I would have never met wonderful people like Viki if it hadn't been for blogging.

I've written a number of posts about blogging on topics such as monetizing your blog, the mistakes I made when I first set up this blog, what makes blog posts popular etc., which you can find on this page.


8 - When did your passion for sailing/traveling start and how did you make it a reality? 

I've always had a passion for travel. I remember reading a book as a little girl about children who lived in other countries. I thought it would be so neat to go visit those far away lands when I grew up. I was always fascinated by different peoples and their cultures (which probably explains why I studied anthropology) and see travel as a way to learn more about the incredible diversity of the human race.

As for sailing, I'm still waiting to develop a passion for it. I see sailing more as a means of travel, kind of like an RV on the water. I do love being on boats, watching dolphins frolic along the bow and sitting at anchor sipping on tropical cocktails while watching the sun go down, but getting excited about the technicalities of sailing and the thrill of racing on a sailboat kind of escapes me.

I've written a number of posts about how I ended up leaving corporate la-la land, getting rid of all of our stuff, moving on to a sailboat and turning our dream of living an alternative lifestyle on the water into reality including 10 Steps to Becoming a Full-Time Cruiser and It's Official - We're Full-Time Cruisers!


9 - What is one item you can't live without when you are sailing/traveling? 

A way to make coffee. A morning without coffee on our boat is a very unpleasant place to be. I drink two cups in the morning. Scott drinks coffee all day long. I can't imagine our life without coffee.


10 - Where are you from and what are some fantastic things to see in that part of the world? 

I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. To be honest, I haven't been back there in a zillion years, so I can't really recommend what you should see now. I do have fond memories of the world-class arts and culture on offer, the Metroparks system which provides green spaces throughout the greater Cleveland area and the zoo.

If you're from Cleveland or have visited there, what would you recommend visitors see?


11 - What's the biggest lesson you've learned from your travels? 

 Have an open mind and expect the unexpected.

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Now the rules state that I'm supposed to nominate 11 other bloggers for The Sunshine Blogger award. I'm a rule breaker, so I'm not going to do that. The biggest reason why is how can I possibly choose just 11 bloggers? There are so many fabulous blogs I follow that I would never be able to narrow down the list.

So, if you want to play along and answer these questions on your own blog, please go for it and let me know so I can check your blog post out.

If you're a rule follower, here are the official rules:

1 - Thank the person who nominated you. {Thanks Viki!}

2 - Answer the questions set by the person who nominated you. {Go ahead and use the questions above, but feel free to tweak them if you like. For example, replace "sailing" and "traveling" with "writing" or whatever else you have a passion for.}

3 - Nominate 11 other people and given them 11 questions to answer. {Oops, broke that rule.}

4 - Notify your nominees. {If you decide to participate, consider yourself nominated.}

5 - List the rules and display the badge in your post. {It's a nice badge. Well done whoever designed it.}


What about you? Care to answer any of the questions above in the comments?

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Wordless Wednesday | Parade In Rhodes

 

Wordless Wednesday is supposed to be about posting a photo(s) without any words. But, I'm a rule breaker, so here are a few words:

1 - There's nothing more fun when you're traveling than to stumble across a parade, like this one when we were in Rhodes.

2 - I'm thinking about starting to wear flowers in my hair on a daily basis. They really jazz up an outfit.

3 - The costumes some of the kids wore during the parade were incredible. So much work must have gone into them.  

4 - I think my favorite group of kids were the ones with their pets. One even carried his bunny rabbit in a cage along the parade route. Not sure what the bunny thought, but it was adorable.

What words does this picture(s) bring to your mind when you look at it?

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Boat Pictures From Rhodes & Symi, For No Particular Reason

I've been busily working on a secret project for the past few days, so I don't have anything interesting to share with you on the blog today. If I manage to pull this project off, I'll tell you about it one of these days. In the meantime, here are some random pictures of boats from Rhodes and Symi for no particular reason. Maybe one of these days we'll take S/V Tickety Boo over there so that she can see it for herself.

Random pictures from when we traveled to Rhodes & Symi in 2007.

Going For A Walk: Glasgow, Scotland {Or, So That's What Scott's Been Getting Up To}

While I've been hanging out on our boat Tickety Boo at Indiantown Marina in southern Florida, Scott's been in Scotland for the past few months finishing up some work commitments and tending to some other matters. Most days, he sits in front of the computer working away, but occasionally he gets out and goes for a walk. Usually, his walks take him around the local neighborhood, but he has managed to make it into Glasgow a couple of times in search of curry.

I love curry. The last time I had curry was on Christmas Day and I had to make it myself (it's our traditional Christmas dinner). The curry Scott gets in Glasgow is a gazillion times better! I'd love to show you a picture of his meal, but he keeps forgetting to take one. I can't say that I blame him. If someone put a chicken chili dosa and lamb karahi in front of me, I'd forget my camera, the people I was with, pretty much everything and just snarf it down as fast as I could. You'll just have to take my word for it - delicious. If you ever find yourself in Glasgow, get yourself to Mother India Cafe. You won't regret it. Don't forget to take a picture.

While I can't show you curry pictures, I can show you some snaps from what Scott got up to in Glasgow on his walks.

Before you can go for a walk though, you have to get to Glasgow. From where Scott's staying, it involves a bus and a train. This is the lower platform at Glasgow's Central Station. I remember this platform well from my working days. It's madness during rush hour - you have to make your way around prams, people with enormous umbrellas and dodgy kids who look like they had one too many pints of ale and might throw up all over your shoes at any minute.

This is the upper level of Central Station. I love train stations. I'm always curious where people are going to and where they're coming from. Like the two folks in the picture with big backpacks. Are they heading up to northern Scotland or maybe making their way down to London?

It looks like Scott made his way up from the train station to Buchanan Street. This is one of the main shopping districts in Glasgow. Scott's not really a big shopper so I'm pretty sure he didn't visit any of the stores I used to haunt when I lived there.

Glasgow has an underground subway, kind of like the Tube in London. Okay, it's really nothing like the Tube. Glasgow's underground is teeny-tiny (6.5 miles long) and runs in a circle around the city. It's sometimes known as Clockwork Orange because of its orange trains. I'm guessing Scott took the subway over to the West End of Glasgow in search of curry.

Scott visited one of his favorite pubs in the West End - The Doublet. He likes it because they don't play music. I don't know about you, but I hate it when I go to a pub or restaurant and they're blaring music and I can't hear myself or the folks I'm with. And it's usually really bad music. Do you know how to tell if you're getting old? You complain about loud music in public places and the oldies station on the radio plays tunes from when you were in high school.

One of the highlights of the West End is the Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum. We used to live in the West End and this was one of our favorite places to while away a rainy weekend afternoon.

The Kelvingrove has some amazing works of art. Scott likes this one - Raoul Dufy's The Jetties of Trouville-Deauville. I used to have a red coat like the lady in the painting. I wonder whatever happened to it?

There's another museum nearby at Glasgow University - the Hunterian. Scott swears that we've never been there. Personally, I think he's wrong, which is a bit strange as I usually remember nothing and he remembers every single place we've been, but I'm positive we've been there. One of us is mistaken. I'd prefer to think that it's Scott, but chances are it's probably me.

Here's what the university looks like. Can you imagine going to a place like this for college? I'd always be expecting Harry Potter to sit down next to me in class.

You're probably wondering why there hasn't been a picture of guys in kilts yet. Here you go. Looks like they're off to some sort of match.

Ashton Lane was also one of our hangouts back in our West End days. There's a well known restaurant there - the Ubiquitous Chip. We never ate in the restaurant (too pricey for us), but we would get lunch and a pint at the bar upstairs occasionally. Lots of other cute cafes, pubs and restaurants along the lane.

Scott likes to poke around grungy alleys and take pictures. Here's a couple which I think were taken near the Barras Market. A lot of stuff seems to "fall off lorries" and end up for sale at this market.

Halloween is coming. Well, actually it's almost two months away, but you can buy all of your Halloween candy and costumes at Walmart already. It's crazy how they build up to holidays in the States months ahead of time and try to persuade you to buy all sorts of useless stuff. You know what I like about Thanksgiving? It's one of the least commercialized holidays.

So how does this relate to Glasgow? The spooky pictures Scott took of the necropolis (aka the city of the dead) reminded me of Halloween. That and my sister sending me emails telling me that the pumpkin shaped Reese's candy is now on sale. See the smokestacks in the background of the second photo? That's the nearby crematorium. Creepy.

Scott must have been in a black and white kind of mood. Here's a shot of the Glasgow Cathedral. This is what I loved about living in Scotland and traveling around Europe - history smack dab everywhere you go, often right next to hideous modern buildings.

And one final shot of Glasgow Central Station as Scott made his way back home.

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