My husband and I met while working in the deserts of Eastern Oregon—the nearest water is the Columbia River and our home was a six hour drive to the Pacific Ocean. During one of our first dates, he told me he would like to retire on a sailboat, possibly sail around the world someday. Would I be interested? I told him, without question, no. More precisely I told him he should find a new girlfriend if that was his goal. Thankfully, he stuck with me, but would hint at all things sailing through the years. While living in the landlocked areas of Eastern Oregon and Washington, we took many trips to places with access to the beautiful oceans of the world—French Polynesia, Belize, Honduras—but never sailing. He would ask occasionally if I would reconsider a sailing vacation until finally I gave in. It happened after we’d met a couple on one of our trips to Central America who had spent 7 years sailing. They made the concept real for me. They didn’t talk much about the physical act of sailing, but more about their travels and learning to live aboard a sailboat. On the flight home I told my husband I’d be willing to try sailing. So we took the first step for someone who had never sailed before, testing out how I would do on a sailboat. We took a sailing course on a 22 foot sailboat on Lake Coeur d’Alene. There was virtually no wind, but I had no sea sickness either! Little did I know that this brief sailing class did not represent what we were planning to get ourselves in too. The sailing instructor was not formal—as a matter of fact, he didn’t care if we called things by their correct names. His goal was to get people to love sailing.
I’m sure there are many sailors who would cringe at the idea of a sailing instructor allowing students to call the port side of the boat the “left side” or the main halyard the “rope that pulls up the main sail”, but it worked to help me relax and enjoy the day. Based on that experience, I agreed to the next step in this journey, a 7-day ASA Bareboat course in USVI and BVI. I was very nervous, my husband was very excited. The first night on the boat, I was hooked. I slept like a dream, loved the motion, the water, the smell, the overall feeling. And I instantly knew I could give up my home, cars, and a sturdy piece of land to live on a sailboat. The whole sailing course was not what I expected. It was as advertised and a valuable learning experience, but it was not a vacation and I couldn’t wait to get back to the BVI on our own without tests and books.
The third step in this adventure was renting our own bareboat charter. We chose a 42 foot sloop from TMM Yacht Charters out of Road Town, Tortola. I was anxious the first day. Would I remember what I had been taught almost a year earlier? Luckily, my husband is patient and doesn’t mind walking through each step: leaving the dock, raising the main sail, letting the dingy out, etc. No task is too mundane for him to talk me through. I realized by the time we moored at Norman Island the first night of our 12-day charter that even though I had fully immersed myself in the 7-day course, I had not gotten as much hands on experience as I would during the first few days of this vacation. My husband patiently corrects me when I call the shrouds the side stays, he walks me through the navigation, using the radio, etc. On one of our last days of the trip we were on a downwind sail using just the genoa when my husband noticed the main halyard seemed to be very loose. He gave it a little pull and the shackle that connects the lower part to the upper part of the main halyard flew off into the big blue ocean. We are lucky to have learned this way how important pre-sail inspections are! We made a call to TMM and they agreed to meet us at our next anchorage. We arrived in Cane Garden Bay and met up with the maintenance guy. He looked at the problem and realized he would have to take the Bosun’s chair to the top of the mast to retrieve our halyard. I asked if I could go up. He said yes, but you won’t like it—most people get up a few feet and start screaming to get down. But he agreed to let me try. I didn’t scream—the adrenaline was pumping, but I was fine. It was a great experience. I would guess that if I have to do that out in the open ocean, I will feel a little different, but for a first time at least I know that I can do it.
I love most things about sailing. The freedom to go where we want when we want, the freedom to eat in our own kitchen and not miss out on the view, the beautiful bays and anchorages, great snorkeling, great people. I don’t love heeling over hard and I still have a lot to learn about sailing, but this sailing vacation was a major step in my husband’s dream to sail long-term. This was also a major step for me to realize that I wanted this dream also. I love the water, the travel, the adventure. I’m not bothered by the cramped space or smell of diesel. I have so much to learn about sailing. I want to learn about the electrical systems and the marine diesel engine. I need to learn to be a better helmsman and how to rescue a man overboard. I think even if we don’t get to live the dream of sailing around the world, having the opportunity to take these sailing vacations is the next best thing. So many of our friends are amazed that we took a bareboat charter class and then actually rented someone’s boat and went sailing. I never realized so many people feel the same way my husband does about sailing and will never take the steps that would at least allow them to charter a sailboat themselves.
While we hadn’t planned the next step in our journey to be boat owners, that’s exactly what happened. We decided to buy a boat and put it into charter service in the BVIs. This method allows us to get to know our own boat over the next few years, and undeniably sets us on the path of no return. We bought a 43 foot Beneteau we call Barefoot Life. Barefoot Life is a chance for me to get to know the boat we will eventually live on full time in a place that is comfortable for new sailors like me.
Where will the Barefoot Life take us? Only time will tell…
