Posts Tagged :

introductions

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

Phil’s First Entry

Let’s BLOG then.

What more to say ? That I’m very lucky ? I’m grateful to admit that I live with my beautiful girlfriend on my beautiful boat…

The girlfriend is called Iva. She is 25 years old and from Mendoza in Argentina. She spent most her life living in Kuala Lumpur and Buenos Aires. We have been together for a year. I was giving my boat a nice refit in Phuket, 6 months out of the water, and Iva was working in KL. We have been living on the boat together since February.

The boat is called CHRIOD, soon to be renamed DALI. It was built in 1980 in France at the DUFOUR boatyard, designed by the architect Michel Dufour. It is 35 feet long. The Dufour 35 has become a classic over the years. It’s simple, it’s solid (in the early 80s the fiberglass boats were still strongly built) and for a cruising boat, it’s pretty fast.

We started in Langkawi, a large island NW of Malaysia. Iva already spent some time on the boat last year, but for very short periods of time. We are excited about this real test.
On a small sailboat like Dali you share all of your time. You are never apart, unless one person takes the dinghy alone to shore and leaves the other person on board.
Life on a boat is thrilling but most of the time it is not only pleasure. It’s always moving. There’s not much space. There’s a limited amount of energy and water that mainly depends on the elements : sun for power and rain for water. Things break. They need to be fixed. Most of the time nobody’s there to help. In this region, close to the equator, the weather is very unpredictable. Stuck in between the two tropics, it gets hot. Very hot. Most of the time there’s no wind. And then squalls out of nowhere brining 40 knots of wind followed by a incredible downpour of heavy drops.
And sometimes everything works. You are sailing on calm water with 15 knots of wind from the NE. You are going NW. All the sails are out. The scent of land not far away tickles your nose. And you breathe in. The boat is singing in the waves and you can even share the moment with another smiling individual…it’s almost hard to believe things can get that perfect. Over the years I have learned to recognize these moments of bliss, accept the short time they last, and live them throughout, like the wind momentarily filling the sails and pushing the boat a bit further…

Philippe