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For Girls on Boats

Twenty-Six

My birthday this year was spent in a bubble. Made from the froth of the sea, lingering gently on a small strip of beach, shaded by green and red leaves. Far from phone calls and Facebook messages I spent the day basking in the warm embrace of Philippe, Dali and the Andaman Sea.

By this point in our trip our eyes and minds had begun to adjust slightly to our altered and privileged reality. So much so that we did not feel too intimidated to handpick a secluded corner of Chakra Jurum and claim it ours for the night.

Phil anchored the boat with fresh confidence and ease acquired from our recent crossing. Dali had never sat so close to the shore, and looked magnificently smug about ten meters from the reef, perched perfectly on a white sandy bottom surrounded by turquoise and azure.

Laying on the sand and looking at the sky while Phil fished for our dinner, I found it hard to reflect on my twenty six years of life. I felt too far removed to consider it all as a sequence of events or coherent ensemble. I saw Phil and I floating in a bubble, detached from our previous experiences, suspended temporarily in our fragile and pristine paradise. Even when two catamarans entered the channel to remind us of the outside world, our eyes quietly followed the movement of their sails until the intrusion was chased away and we were alone again.

In the early afternoon we made a fire on the beach and prepared for dinner. Our picnic was complete with white wine and a freshly baked cake. We toasted to us, to the boat, to the halfway mark in our journey and to our family and friends who were in our thoughts as night fell and the stars united everything under their guard.

Iva

Boat Life, Thus Far…

Difícil describir semejante cambio de estilo. De vida. Dormía en la casa de mis padres, en la ciudad donde pasé la mayor parte de mis veinte-y-cinco años. No había pasado mucho tiempo pero algo de rutina tenía, y todo lo familiar. Mis horarios parecían organizarse independientemente, según factores ajenos que me interesaban pero no me pertenecían.  Y aunque tengo padres jóvenes, que con su entusiasmo, energía e insistencia siempre nos acercaron a ella, nunca me sentí muy afín con la naturaleza.

And then you wake up. And though the sun has only been up an hour it’s enough to lure you out and into the water. My favourite thing about the boat is what it sits on. A sapphire blue, an electric, a pastel, a stunning, stunning blue, a turquoise, a cyan, a whole world of crystal hues where you can float suspended in a different reality.  The freedom to jump in whenever you want; however you want. With no one but the fish watching.

I have discovered mornings, which never seemed to last this long in the city and for the first time in my life my body deems breakfast a necessity as everything falls into a more natural routine. Mornings spent chasing fish hovering over coral reaching the beaches touching the trees.

Tiene otro ritmo el día que se pausa a la mitad cuando la tierra lleva como corona al sol. La hora de un almuerzo hecho con las manos, con lo que hay o con lo que queda. Un rato de descanso sin culpas con la tranquilidad de saber que todavía te queda toda la tarde por delante y toda la isla, todo el mar.

As with everything else, afternoons are also determined by the weather. Postcard perfect afternoons taking the dinghy to explore more and more beaches. Underwater afternoons swimming in our private aquarium. Afternoons when it’s too hot to move and we lay belly up reading and dozing. Productive, cloudy afternoons working on things here and there on the boat. Rainy afternoons graciously enjoying the temperature drop inside with a movie.

Of course it’s not always idyllic surroundings and fair weather. As of late, more often than not we are running around gathering materials and hoping for less rain so repairs can move forward. But even the hard work seems more rewarding when it’s physical, and it’s a nice feeling doing something for no one other than yourself, the other person and the boat.

El mejor momento de descanso viene teñido de violeta y nunca dura lo suficiente. Un juego de cartas, algo de música, las preparaciones para la cena y de repente termino el día.

Being on the boat has taught me a lot in these short months. I am braver than I was. Though braver is much too robust a word and it’s more accurate to say I am learning to prioritize my fears. It is a relief in a sense to be thrust into a squall and feel dwarfed by the power of the wind and the waves.

And everywhere is as impressive. Vegetation dripping off limestone walls disappearing into green water mirroring the clouds pass. The crystal water black under a sky with no moon but littered with stars. The same black water lighting up with bioluminescence with every drop that stirs. A jet stream of glittery bubbles behind the dinghy on our way back home.

De las comodidades urbanas extraño pocas, aunque seguramente eso cambie con el tiempo. Por ahora mis mayores preocupaciones están relacionadas con el higiene y el cuidado femenino que tan cuidado lo tenia. Lo peor hasta ahora ha sido tener que ir cortando principios de rastas, mientras mi pelo lucha contra la sal, el mar y el sol.

Thus, life on the boat has been a welcome change for me. I hope it will continue to give me opportunities to grow; learn more about myself, about my surroundings, about it all.

Iva

A Brief Introduction

What better way to start than to show you all around the boat!

As Phil mentioned some of the technical details, I won’t pretend to know them and instead aim to give you a better idea of how we live onboard.

Our Home

Overview

This is the layout of the boat, which you see as soon as you go in from the cockpit. On the immediate left is the kitchen sink, opposite that on the right (not within view) is the chart table. Further forward is the galley. On the left is a double bed where Phil and I sleep, which can also be changed into a table with U-shaped seats and on the far right is another bed/lounge area which is very comfortable for reading.

Behind the far wooden wall is another double cabin which we soon hope to use for guests and down the main corridor all the way at the front of the boat is the bathroom.

The Captain at his chart table

Here is the chart table, it’s on the right as soon as you descend from the cockpit and it’s function is more or less self-explanatory. A space for Phil to map our course and dump all his stuff.

Bathroom sink

This is a partial view of the bathroom – I will write a separate post soon regarding hygiene habits onboard but in the meantime you can see the cabinets (which I recently re-organised) as well as the cute soap holder!

My Beautiful Wardrobe

Believe it or not, this is the totality of what I brought with me. Thanks in part to my sisters’ aggressive editing, and mostly due to my superb packing abilities, I was able to bring my favourite boat-ready beach apparel. In the laundry bag are bikinis, behind that bras & undies, two rows of t-shirts and shorts and a little jewelry for special occasions!

Phil’s Clothes

After graciously giving up one of his cabinets, here is the state of Phil’s clothes. I hope to get my hands in there soon and do some much needed folding.

Chill Area

I like to call this the Lounge Area. It was Phil’s bed when he was alone and now we use it mostly to chill. I know you love the décor.

Some of the things I like most about the boat can be seen in these pictures. I’m happy to say I’ve been very warmly welcomed.

Iva