Cruising should be this much fun (Hans took this incredibly fake picture at Grabber's)!
So here we sit in our slip at Marsh Harbor, and our marina is right beside a Moorings Marina. And just in case you didn't know it; 'Moorings' is a Charter company for folks who don't own boats, yet want to experience the wonderful world of sailing.
Yeah, right.
It's about 5:30 PM, and as I sit here worrying about why the hell I can smell lighter fluid when I'm pretty sure everyone has propane grills, I'm already toasted because:
We endured yet one more horrible docking.
My camera just gave up the ghost, its lens won't close, and its now giving me an accusatory fish eye, most likely due to sand build up.
Wilbur missed his potty patch and I had to chase him down with Clorox wipes.
Again.
We just spent a horrendous amount of money on 2 cases of beer which will probably last about a nano-second and we still have over a month remaining to be here.
Our sheets are full of dog hair and sand, and I would really like to dry off with a clean towel for a change.
We can't figure out what kind of bug bites we have all over our legs, and since I'm geographically challenged I'm praying we don't end up with West Nile Disease.
My sink is full of filthy dishes and my hair is a greasy mess.
We have encountered very few affordable laundry facilities so I wear the same thing every day, and have finally decided to quit wearing underwear except for when when I wear a sun-dress, since sliding down a rock wall to your dinghy, at low tide in a dress sans undies, is not recommended let me tell you, unless you wish to entertain the natives.
So while I sit here (with my greasy hair) in our windy cockpit and watch all the 'Moorings' people as they jauntily trip down the dock, jogging behind their carts loaded with fresh supplies and donned in their non-ripped, freshly ironed and creased jeans, colorful golf shirts, spanking clean docksiders, hair that's actually seen a hair dryer in the last year, and just busting to brag to all their co-workers about their thrilling sailing adventures, I just have to laugh and say, "You think you're a cruiser? C'mon over here and let me tell you about cruising. Better yet, go on out there for a few months and then let me see how creased and clean you are at the end of the day!
Oh Dear God, it kills me to admit that a few years ago I was once one of those 'Mooring' people!!!
Yeah, I have seen this many times before. Bloggers are all gung(?)-ho about getting to the carribean (I know that's not you but), once they get there they get board and/or dissatisfied within a month or two. Perpetual vacation sounds great but in reality it just doesn't work for most. They usually start blogging alot less. Many quit altogether. Then comes the announcment that they are back in the states and the boat is for sale or already sold.
ReplyDeleteYou will have a nice break coming as you will be coming back to the US shortly for a nice break. Enjoy it and try to recharge, Hans is clearly not ready to quit yet.
Regarding your hair, many cruisers cut short. Don't the marinas have showers? If not you may not want to deck shower in the middle of the marina but I have used a sun shower(you should have fresh water but salt water should be fine) on top of a cooler that is ontop of the counter by my sink to allow me to wash in the sink. My hair is much shorter than yours but maybe Hans could help. I think you both would be surprised the change in mood that could make.
Even as a man I feel like crap when my hair is greasy. It is about three inches long and straight layered blond. It gets greasy overnight and I can't stand that.
Having said that, 100 years ago women used to wash their hair once a month. I've even seen a woman who does this today. She said in the transition she had to get over this hump of greasyness but that goes away. I don't know how long that took her.
If you are going to wear the same thing, why not bucket wash it every day?
Ghost
Actually not all the marinas have showers (and we stay at one once a week) and I do have a solar shower which seems to work great but I don't think I'm getting all the shampoo rinsed out. I need to get over worrying about using too much water since we've found it to be pretty reasonable. And I don't want to cut my hair because I look like a skinned rat with it short! I do change my clothes when we go ashore other wise I just wear the same tank top and shorts while cruising.
ReplyDeleteI've used tap water that makes me feel as though the soap has not rinsed out but it does anyway. But then I don't have half the hair you do.
ReplyDeleteMy wife was initially afraid to use salt water as she felt it would leave salt in her hair that would make her feel itchy. It did not and after the first time she agreed it was fine.
Since you have a solar shower, fill it up and rinse to your hearts content. If you need a faster flow you could remove the sprayer on the end of the solar shower tube. My wife prefers when I can just dump buckets of water over her head. Get this solved, little comforts mean alot.
If I were in your position given the laundry issues, I'd live in a bathing suit on board. That'll keep the laundry down...and Hans...no I won't say it!
Ghost
I'm sure we'll be wearing the same clothes when we're cruising and I was sayin just the other day that I just may have to have dreadlocks cause I'm not cuttin my hair! Ken informed me that dreadlocks as well as cutting my hair are not allowed! So, dirty clothes, dirty hair and a dirty body will not be uncommon I guess! =)
ReplyDeleteCheryl, I think you could get away with dreadlocks, and anyway I do tend to exaggerate! However, when we're sailing I do wear the same thing because why would I want to get something new dirty?
ReplyDelete