One of my (James’) favorite things in the world is lying at anchor, safely waiting out a gritty weather system. The past few days have been a great opportunity to do just that.
I often describe the way we cruise kind of like this: cruising is not only the sailing we do, it’s also the work we get done while underway. While the boat is moving, we mostly stick to sailing, navigating and maintaining the rig but, when at peace, when at anchor, we are also cruising.
The past few days have seen gales interspersed with souwesterlies, meaning warmer temps, meaning a good time to do some nonskid.
I have to admit, Dena had to drag me into this one. I felt like it was too cold to apply a thick coat of nonskid on the foredeck and have it dry. Dena was convinced it would go well so I just followed her lead. We cleaned and scrubbed with fresh water and a little bit of soap, rinsed and dried the entire foredeck area.
After that we taped her off.
Glopped the chemical on and rolled it out.
Well, as it turned out, Dena was right!
The foredeck looks and feels as sticky and rugged as I’ve always felt it should, and it’s a special pleasure to have done the work while underway.
Cruising is, to us, about the complete experience of moving through the universe. It’s about being at home wherever we are, whether that means pounding through chop to get into safe harbor or being relatively still, for a while at least. While we’re cruising, the moon goes through her phases. The earth’s turning makes the starscape an ever-changing buffet of favorites, the muscular light overwhelming dock lights and backyard floods to flicker at us.
We are always moving and always at home.
