Keens- Cruiser’s Deck Shoe

Indispensable Cruising Gear…boat shoes

I prefer bare feet when I am on our boat.  But when it comes to sailing, I will admit, I can be a bit clumsy either stubbing my toes on cleats or dropping a wench on them.   So I needed a good pair of shoes that will cover my toes.

Buying boat shoes should have the following qualities:

• Non-marking soles–otherwise you might see black shoe prints on your deck.
• Water-proof & dries fast.
• Grips the deck- slipping on the deck can be dangerous.

Style should also be a consideration.  I like the light blue and white stripes in the shoe and there are many colors to choose from.  But most important is the fact that I can protect my toes with an added bonus of  hiding my non-pedicured nails.

Fair Winds!  Kelly Girl

While still landlocked in our jobs and dreaming of cruising to tropical islands, this book opened our eyes to what cruising is really like, the kind of gear needed, type of vessel to buy, and what to expect.

The author will not fill your head up describing the cruising life as paradise–garnished with gorgeous sunsets and Pina-Coladas, which does exist.  Between the covers is an honest depiction, of the good and the bad, and an author that tells the experience well.  It is worth the price new or used!

The answer depends on the person(s) cruising, the type (length & make) of the boat and the cruising destination(s).  These variables will determine the amount of money spent on their voyage.

Home-Made Hair Cut

Like living on land you can have a lifestyle that is frugal or extravagant.  How you choose to live on a boat, cruising to various locations will depend on you.  But here are some things to consider when deciphering your budget by examining each category…

Person(s) – Do you prefer…

• Living on the hook (cheap) or dockside at a marina (expensive)?
• Eating out every night (potentially expensive) or dining in (cheaper)?
• Buying trinkets or souvenirs at every location or just enjoying the moment?
• Do you take a taxi (expensive), bus (less expensive) or walk (cheapest) when you reach land?
• When you reach a destination, are you hiring a guide to show you around or trekking about to make your own discoveries?

Boat – The type of boat can cost you more…

• A bigger boat exponentially increases the cost to moor it, store it & possibly clear it into a country
  

  DIY Hull Maintenance

• A bigger boat can cost more to maintain and outfit.  For example Bigger Sails, more equipment  etc..
• Do you own the boat or are you making payments?
• Are you required to carry insurance?
• Consider fuel consumption…Do you sail in light winds or motor just to get to your destination?
• Is your boat decked out in the latest technology or do you have what you need to get by?
• Where do you plan to haul out your boat for hull painting and maintenance?  We found it to be more expensive outside of the States.
• Regardless of the age of your boat, you will be spending money on unexpected repairs and replacements.

Destinations – Where are you cruising?  

• Check-in fees in third world countries can cost more than in developed countries, but cruising in them can make up
  

  Meeting locals & Cheap Eats

  for the initial cost.  Groceries, dining, services and attractions can cost less.  For example.. When we cruised (2005-2009) the cost of diesel in the Mediterranean was $9/gallon and in Venezuela it was $.11/gallon.

• If your cruising destination is in “hot” tourist locations, you will be paying more for the services provided on shore.
• Are you leaving your boat for land excursions?
• Are you required to renew your visa if you stay too long in one country?  You may have to leave the country for the visa renewal.

After reviewing the above questions examine how you would evaluate your potential cruising budget?  For example, if your  budget for dining out is currently $200 per month, depending on where you travel it might be less in another country or more.   While boating in home waters, do you motor-sail or sail?  Are you on a tight budget or can you freely spend.  Like all budgets, it is a personal topic.

We cruised on less than many of our fellow-cruisers did.  How?  We had a 35 foot, bare-bones boat.  We ate out,

Regardless of the budget...Just make it happen

but in affordable places.  We sailed in 4 knots of wind and when we were land based, we rarely moored in a slip.  Some people don’t like our style of travel, but this lifestyle was not a sacrifice to us.  We are used to it…our lifestyle on shore is fiscally conservative.  We don’t have car payments (we drive old cars), we rarely eat out (I like to cook awesome meals), our entertainment is watching DVDs, hiking, playing disk-golf, reading, basically living inexpensively.  We do this so we can afford to go out on a boat and travel the world again.

So do what you can afford, it will vary from person to person.

If you want more information on how to cruise on a tight budget, read, “Cost Conscious Cruiser” by Lin & Larry Pardey.   They can give you insight on how to do it on the cheap, because it’s easy to spend money if you have it.

Because we didn’t plan our arrival dates, we would often enter a country on a holiday, like Easter but usually  the holiday was specific to the country, like an Independence Day.  There were numerous times we spent days quarantined on our boat as we waited for government officials to get off holiday and clear us into their country.

Constitution Days in Rarotonga

But there were many occasions when we arrived a few days before a big celebration.  One of my favorites was Te Maeve Nui also known as, Constitution Days on Rarotonga Island, Cook Islands.

Walking through the town, we stumbled upon in Polynesian music, hip swaying dancers and a cultural festival with local cuisine, crafts and activities that lasted all week long.

Dance troops and choirs teams, from each island community within the Cook Island Group, dress in dazzling floral costumes to perform and compete during the week.  We were able to attend with ticket prices starting around $12 (USD)  for the cheap seats.

For a little side adventure around Rarotonga, an island 20 miles in diameter, we rented a motor bike for about $20 (USD) for the day.  (Scooters were also available.)  We encountered parks, roadside eateries, pristine ocean drives and my favorite, a cool waterfall to swim under.

Upon hearing we could earn our Open Water Scuba Diving certificate for around $360 (USD), we took advantage of it.  This certificate costs thousands of dollars in the US.  Learing how to dive in this spectacular location in warm water with tropical creatures and brilliantly colored coral added more meaning to our experience here.

This life of ”no schedule to live by” made our voyage  memorable because it contained the thrills of an unexpected adventure.

Click here to learn more about this holiday in Rarotonga

See more pictures of our Rarotonga Adventure

I had been thinking about a way out.  Even after tossing around the idea for a while, neither of us would commit.

 Finally it was the candle party I hosted that became the catalyst, and put us in motion to pursue our dreams.

It was the kind of candle party a woman feels obligated to attend, because the host had gone to her party.  The problem is, once you begin the hosting circuit, it turns into a reciprocating suffocating cycle of cooking and lingerie parties that eventually evolve into innocently organized money gift-giving parties.

Only a good friend would pay $25 for a two-inch forest-scented candle when they could get a generic pine-scented candle for a buck at the drug store.  When you reach this point of throwing money away, the reality of a Ponzi scheme eventually comes next, under the guise of women who are re-circulating $500 amongst themselves.  When I finally came to my senses and said no, I was admonished for not participating.

My husband and I started to seriously question what we were we working for.  Looking at our car payment, cable package, high mortgage, new clothes, and a lifestyle that focused on the material goods we acquired, was no longer satisfying to us.  We wanted something more, like a real challenge and yet it was more than having a challenge.  It was also understanding our mortality because our life experiences taught us how fragile humanity really is.  We have no guarantee of walking this earth tomorrow.

So we sold our house to live on a boat.  It seems like a simple act but it took us over a year to do it.  We paid down our credit card debt by cutting back on our small luxuries of HBO, DSL internet package, avoided buying cell phones, and dined out less, basically becoming socially inept by our peers’ standards.  The signs were evident that we were on a course for change.   Once we left the house, it caused a bit of commotion among our family, friends and some casual observers.

Why would you want to live on a boat? was the question we were frequently asked.  My husband was vague with his answers because he didn’t want to go into any specifics, but I would say proudly, “Because we want to sail the world!”   At that moment there would be a puzzled look on the questioner’s face, and a response of, “What?”

Before we could leave on our sailboat, we had to save money for cruising.  That meant living on our boat for a couple of years.  This allowed us to get to know our vessel.  She was a big boat for us.   So we had to learn how to sail her, especially me.

The following pages (in Sailing The Waterhouse-Swapping Surf for Turf) reveal the odd challenges we faced with this new dock-dwelling lifestyle.  But the many peculiar experiences we encountered as Live-Aboards—people who live on boats full-time in a marina—helped prepare us for our adventure.

Eventually we had a proper bon voyage party and left the Strait of Juan de Fuca with our wanderlust dreams for a pleasure-seeking life.  Unfortunately those dreams were tested with unexpected foul weather off the West Coast, also known as the Graveyard of the Pacific.

Sailing The Waterhouse-Swapping Surf for Turf:   Read about Kelly & Kelly Girl’s challenges of transitioning from a land-based life to living on a vessel for two years in order to save their money for a world bound voyage.  When it was time to cut their dock line,  people thought they were a bit reckless since they never sailed beyond the site of land.   

Available at Amazon  & Smashwords $4.99

This is a very remote place with few places to stay.  But if you will be in French Polynesia, make Makemo a place to stop.

The Tuamotus  are a chain of  72 atolls.  An atoll consists of low lying, coral islands that surround a lagoon.  Normally we can see an island in the Marquesas with it’s mountainous range 30-40 miles before reaching it.  With the Tuamotus, on a clear day, the atoll is visible within 8-10 miles.

   

This is a quiet destination made for lovers of the sea.  It’s best asset is crisp-clear blue water to snorkel through the vibrant colors of coral and fish.  We anchored in 40 feet and could see our anchor on the floor bed.

For the more athletic.  There are a few breaking waves to surf and bring your gear for kite-surfing.

In the Village…

There is a restaurants, small store and bakery.  Check out the small church decorated in shell chandeliers with plain wooden benches and bright cloth panels.

You may be able to buy or trade for black pearls, the main industry on this island.

In the evenings the locals play bocce ball and the children play tag in the town square.

A visit here will allow you to slow your pace and relax in one of the most untouched tourist locations in French Polynesia. 

 Plan Your French Polynesia Visit

Click Here for more pictures of Makemo

The Old Hegg Turtle Sanctuary

Riding our bikes through the tropical countryside of Bequia, we had one goal in mind.  To visit a sea-side shelter that houses Hawksbill turtles.  An effort to keep the endangered species alive, Orton King, a retired skin diving fisherman takes care of these creatures until the age of five.

He gathers hatch-lings and provides pools, sheltering them from predators.  He has about 200 turtles to care for and charges a small fee to visit his sanctuary.  He also will accept donations and sells t-shirts to help support his efforts.

Normally we see turtles floating by as we sail past them or watch them swim while snorkeling.  Having the chance to see at them up close, to touch them and look into their large glasslike eyes makes us appreciate the creatures more.

Turtle Photo Gallery

To arrange a visit or make donations, go to  http://turtles.bequia.net/

Just a couple of years ago, we didn’t have a car.  We relied soley on our 35 foot sailboat and 5 foot dinghy to get us around. Once we were on shore, our legs did most of the work.

But no one really told us how much maintenance was needed to keep a boat shipshape.  During our four year voyage, I thought there would be more time  spent drinking margaritas at sunset and taking naps during the heat of the day.  I couldn’t be more wrong.

Around noon, you would find us decked out in our scuba gear.  Once a week the task of scraping the bottom of the hull was mandatory.  Seagrass, barnacles and thumbnail-sized shrimp would attach to our boat’s bottom.  Get a breath of air, dive, scrape and go up for air.  The two of us would repeat this for an hour until the hull was clean.

Once the job was done we would itch all over.  The shrimp would wiggle in our swimsuits and our knuckles bled.  They would be cut up from the sharp barnacle edges.

This wasn’t an easy part of cruising.  Nor is the bi-annual boat painting.

Every two years, we would haul out, Moorea onto land.  She would need a new paint job.  It was expensive and to save money we would do the labor.  This dirty and hard work.

So knowing what I know about the cruising life, would I do it again?  Without hesitation!

Cheers,

Kelly Girl

As we approached Male, the capital and only bustling city of the Maldives, we noticed tall pastel colored buildings stacked side by side like dominos.  We didn’t know what we would find in Male but I had read that most of the Maldives’ population resides here–about 75,000 people.  I knew the city’s citizens were 100% Muslim and to walk the circumference of this small atoll would take a little over an hour.

With its buildings and narrow streets, a satellite image of Male gives it the appearance of a Mini-Manhattan.  There are very little natural resources here.  Most of the items to buy here are imported in.  With the lack of raw materials, the main revenue generated is from its healthy tourism industry.

Most of the visitors to the Maldives escape to one of the atolls where high-end hotels spoil guests with every hedonistic pleasure available to man.  Sadly the resorts attract many tourists that rarely get the chance to interact with the locals in their environment.  An opportunity is lost on many tourists but for the culture seeking traveler go to the heart of the Maldives.  Go to Male to get the true vibe of its people.

Know the List of Don’ts  

This was our first country where the official religion is Islam and practice of any other religion is against the law.  Even bringing religious icons, symbols or books to shore was forbidden.  We were informed of these laws as we checked into the country.  No alcohol, pork products or live pigs (we left ours in Thailand) were allowed on shore.  But keeping these items on our boat was okay.  I was grateful the customs agents didn’t confiscate our wine.

If we wanted to purchase these items from a supplier on shore we could.  But an expensive permit is required.  That is how the resorts are allowed to have these items.  It seems like the resorts on all the other atolls have more freedom and choices than the locals on Male.  After reading these laws, I wasn’t sure what to expect when we ventured on land.  I wondered what the people were like.

Walking Around Male

 We dressed in conservative clothing.  My husband wore kaki pants and a buttoned up short-sleeved shirt.  I wore pants, a short sleeved shirt and brought along a long sleeve linen shirt just in case I needed to cover my arms.  I chose not to bring a head scarf since I do not practice Islam and I did not read in any laws of this land that I required to do so.

When encountering a new culture, we are careful observers.  Getting to know our surroundings and trying to read people.  Maldivians are reserved but respectfully pleasant.

The women vary in their dress.  Some wore the burqa, completely covered with their faces exposed; the younger females either wore a hijab which only covers the head, or nothing to cover their hair.

It was on a Friday that we first walked the streets of Male.  Friday is the equivalent of a Sunday in the States.  Not many shops were open.  As we walked past the mosques, hundreds of shoes lined the entrance.

When we returned the next day, the streets were alive with commerce.

What to Do

The oldest mosque is called the Friday Mosque or Hukur Miskiiy.  It was built in 1656 and is still used on special ceremonies to this day.  The minaret is white with blue Arabic print.  Gray aged headstones within the grounds are protected by a shoulder height wall.  If you want a visit the inside of this mosque, you will need a permit.

To experience the inside of a mosque, visit the Islamic Center.  It can hold up to 5000 worshipers and is open to all visitors, but not photography allowed.

If you like museums, the National Museum of Maldives contains a collection of pre-Islamic artifacts.  The grounds of the museum were known as the Sultan’s Palace which dated back to the 17th century.

A strip of sandy beach for swimming in aqua waters

For the adventurous type, there is a surf break.  If you have a surfboard or prefer body surfing, the local “artificial” beach is for you.  Located just north of the airport ferry pier, you will find fully clothed swimmers and surfers enjoying the aqua blue waves–a perfect place to meet locals.

There are plenty of restaurants and coffee shops for dinning.  My favorite was Jade Bistro, near the ferry piers.  It had wireless available and decent pastries to complement coffee.

The Local Commute

Getting around on the atoll, most people walk or use scooters.  There are cars and trucks here too, but don’t seem to dominate the roads.

There are ferries to get around from atoll to atoll.  The atoll next to Male, about a mile in distance, is Hulhumale which is a twenty minute ferry ride and costs around $1 (USD).  The airport is here along with a new community of sky-high apartment buildings.  There is a restaurant above the ferry terminal and other services are sprouting up so it might be worth a quick visit.

A Pleasant Surprise

After spending a couple of days around Male and Hulhumale, we felt at ease with the people yet kept in mind the restrictions placed on us. The restrictions were to only visit atolls that were approved by the government and adhere to their curfews to be off the atolls (not Male) by 6:00PM.

The pleasant surprise came from the locals.  They were reserved but pleasant people…even generous.  At seeing the price of imported water, we inquired where the locals obtained their drinking water.  Finding out that the Mosques provided desalinated drinking water, we went to the Hulhumale Mosque to check it out.

On the grounds was a white tiled structure with a water spigot.  With our empty jerry cans, we started filling up our containers.  As a local came up with his empty water containers, we were a bit nervous.  What would he think of us taking water from the Mosque?  We stopped filling our jerry container and let him take water.  When he was finished, he took our container and started to fill it up.

There were no words exchanged, just an act of kindness.  Those are the things we travelers leave with when visiting a country.  The local landmarks and national treasures fade overtime, but the one guy that helped us fill our water tanks will always remain in our memories and hearts.

Kelly fixing our outboard

“If you can’t find him cute, at least find him handy.”This is a phrase I  heard from my seventy year old friend, Don.  Every time he’d say this, his smile would be wide and toothy.

When it comes to my husband, I feel I got both.  He’s a cute handyman.  Luckily for me he knows how to fix the many gizmos that would break on our boat.  Sometimes I would be the one doing the damage.  In a single day I broke a few to many items.  I decided not to confess to one of them-stopping up the head (toilet).

So if you want to cruise on a boat, I would recommend having a handy partner go with you.  There will be times the trusty equipment you purchased will fail.  It may be something you can live without or a key role in getting from place to place.

So you may be surprised to find yourselves looking for boat parts and new equipment instead of watching the sunset in a beautiful location.  But even though there may be many repairs needed to keep your vessel going, it is usually done in spectacular locations.