One of the things that we like about sailing is the randomness of circumstances it provides.
In the world most of us grow up in there isn’t much randomness to be had.
From the time we start school and onwards our paths are clear.
Get a job, get married, buy a house, have kids (or dogs) and retire.
Each one of those steps can also be broken down into predictable patterns.
Not so for sailing. Especially when we’re talking about passage making.
We’ve done two 25hrs + sails on this journey with sailing catamaran Forever and even though everyone started the same, none of them even remotely compare to the other.
Here’s the thing. You can’t predict Mother Nature. You can only prepare for the adventure.
This includes the obvious boat safety checks, weather predictions and preparing to eat underway.
Before you get going you need to make grab and go snack meals.
Sailing makes you hungry but big seas or storms put you more in the realm of survival eating.
So you make sandwiches and have granola.
Chips are popular on Forever – probably something to do with the salt.
Believe it or not dumbed down charcuterie boards and veggies and dips are tupperwarized and always well received.
Pickles!!
Cannot have enough pickles on board.
The possibility that cooking on passage may be less than desirable is a reality.
And you gotta eat!
The people we’ve had join us didn’t know what they were going to get and neither did we.
That’s sailing. There’s the randomness.
One trip saw us start with no wind and end up with too much.
Also got to experience getting full on smacked in the face with a rogue wave.
Totally unpredictable.
The second long journey was a steady seas with rolly anchorages, coast guard call outs and an unplanned arrival to an island 2 islands up from where we thought we were going.
This is sailing.
The Virgin Islands is different in that it’s popularity as a sailing destination comes from its protected waters from straight on ocean wind.
That said, it pretty darn windy here right now in USVI.
Important thing is having a competent, knowledgeable Captain and a seaworthy vessel.
We are lucky to have both these things on this trip, thanks to Captain Stevo and S/V Forever.
Our guests aboard have torn off the band aid and jumped into this sailing adventure with both feet!
They pushed their limits.
They expanded their scope of life experiences.
They embraced the unknown, the unscheduled.
In return, they were rewarded with stories to tell and bragging rights for being kick ass crew while traveling up through the Caribbean island chains.
And so were we.
knot anchored 