Incredibly fun time sailing and racing on the Eleonora for the Westward Cup 2015!
Wow what a Yacht. Huge challenge for me as I am much more accustomed to 50′ and less. Everything is much larger and almost surreal because of the dimensions. You go to grab for a block or tackle and it is almost unrecognizable. It literally takes a full crew just to manage the sail hoists. I learned so much including new types of sails called the fisherman and the Gollywobbler!
When I first came on board in the early morning hours I felt humbled and awed by this magnificent craft. I went around introducing myself to the crew members on board and to the skipper. They all asked if I had experience on Classic Boats before and I had to say “NO”. They were all very nice but I could see the look in their eyes that I had a lot to learn and boy did I. Can I say foremast topsail tack!!
Now I have sailed for a long time and as many of you know I used to live on my 36′ Lancer in San Diego Harbor, but all of this was new to me and integrating into a crew was a challenge all on it’s own. I was able to overcome the fear by focusing on the excitement of learning all this new stuff. I jumped in anywhere I could and pulled sheets with the best of them. My one regret was that I knew I didn’t have the youth in me anymore to have hooked up and flown to the top of the masts, what a view that would have been. Darla would probably be happy that I didn’t do that though, cheesy grin. I did however climb out onto the bowsprit and attend to the sails. That was a rush!
Sailing on a Yacht this large is a different experience with regard to communication as well. The skipper, 1st mate and bowmen have radios to communicate and very seldom do the crews in different parts of the boat see each other. When you are so focused on doing your job sometimes you don’t even have time to look up and see where you are.
Made new friends including a french chap named Pierre who, unbeknownst to me lives in San Diego with his pregnant wife and had sailed with my good friend Joe Saad many times! Very small world. He crewed permanently on the yacht for a year all over the world and came back to help out for this series of races.
What an honor to be here. I am so grateful to have been invited. Thank you to Mr. Zacks and Skipper/tactician Mike MacMillan! Also a shout out to my lovely wife who inspired me to put myself out there.
It is frowned upon for the crew to go around taking pix etc… so I snuck a few and will post them below with some youtube stuff just so you can get an idea of the scale onboard.
So in summary, incredible experience and I say to all of those of you out there who experience self doubt and don’t choose to put yourself out there to be in a position to test yourself and grow, doing the things you love to do, STOP rethink that and see the possibilities to become more of who you are. Listen to the people around you who encourage you to grow and challenge yourself. This lifetime is short and your experience in this life is of your own making! Go for it!
I am going out to practice tomorrow morning early! I am so excited I can’t even tell you. After I do incredibly well in the 3 day series they may invite me back to compete with them in THE big race around the Isle of Wight! We are so lucky to be in the right place! Darla prompted me to talk to the Yacht Club and thanx to her motivation I received a call this evening from the skipper asking if I would like to join them tomorrow as crew! Thank you dear!
Living the DREAM, living abroad; how exciting, wonderful, fabulous, and its ALL the time right?
Well not exactly and not always; And, its ok to admit it to yourself and go ahead and have a bad day. Because sometimes it just is a bad day no matter where you are.
Missing family, weddings, showers, birthdays. Missing just “normal” things like Whole Foods, sunsets, BBQs, your own bed, your STUFF – it will happen. It does happen! Those “things”, sometimes just make your day feel like you can’t take it abroad any longer. In my world I call it my 10th day
Whenever we traveled on holiday, before we moved; it always seemed I cracked on day 10. Meaning, I had a melt down of frustration or crying, because I just wanted to be home in my bed, my house, with my things. I was tired of not speaking the language, my feet hurt from all the walking, tired of the food being weird, taxi drivers being rude, or, who knows what IT was but on day 10, I always seemed to melt down.
Once we ID’d that as a known fact, We knew to always fly home on Day 10. But NOW? Now, we live here and you know what, I had Day 10, it was just a bad day and I had to just let myself do it. Let myself Know, hey its Day 10, but its ok.
Get whatever makes you happy, makes you have comfort: a cup of hot Jo or tea or great glass of wine and just stay home, even if home is a hotel room. Don’t shower, don’t get dressed, just stay there and watch tv all day and surf the web. It WILL pass and then you are back to your adventurous self once again, ready to get going and see new sights.
You are going to feel like a fool complaining about a bad day as a world traveler to your family and friends; boohoo poor you in the middle of Rome feeling Blue! Tell me a sob story right? Well, yes, there are reasons why traveling can make you have bad days even when you are surrounded by wondrous beauty, history and sights. #1 thing I can suggest- is Its ok to let yourself feel it.
Just live it, deal with it and then let it go and get back to the FUN you dreamed of and are Now living. Let Day 10 happen, and then go kick ass sight seeing on Day 11 🙂
Great Question! I was asked recently by a friend planning a trip to the Med, what is the best way to stay connected? I have tried all the different methods of staying connected for both data and Voice. There are many choices and ways to go about it when traveling and will vary based on the individual and their needs.
Traveling short term the best bet is to make sure your current plan has international roaming and a set price plan for the voice and some basic amount of data. Then turn off your cellular data roaming. Then use wifi strictly for data. Once you get to this side of the pond you will find that everyone has free wifi unlike the states.
If on the other hand you are going to spend some time traveling then the far better choice is to simple get a pay as you go sim from one of the many providers. I currently use EE in the UK. I get 10 gigs and unlimited calls and texts for 29 pounds a month. Way cheaper than the US!
Remember to turn off the cellular data and make great use of all the available wifi spots! Be mindful because everything you do except call a phone number uses data now days.
There are a large number of communication APPS you can use to make calls, text and video calls over the internet for free and I will address them in another article soon.
If you have more questions you can always send them to me @ [email protected]
As a vegetarian (newly for only 5 months) and 100% organic, Non GMO for 4+ yrs my food is my lifestyle not a “diet” and I am very concerned and focused on maintaining organic and non gmo.
I have spent hours and hours cracking the code in grocerers in England and here is what I have found so far:
Most all of the stores as of May 2015 are still 99% Non Gmo as England and Europe have stayed on the No Monsanto path. HOWEVER just late 2014 there was a break thru for the evil chemical company and England at least, has now folded its strong arms against GMOs and is allowing/letting a crack form in its grocery stores to carry GMO products under force of Monsantos evil ways. The top grocers are No longer standing true and stating they are 100% non gmo any longer
I can save you a lot of time shopping: do NOT shop at Sainsbury or M&S and parts of Tesco. they are no longer standing by their word and carrying Non gmo products. so its a crap shoot if you shop there.
Waitrose is the only one I have found so far that is standing by its word that no GMO products will enter their stores thus far May 2015.
Depending on what township you are in, there ARE small tiny independent grocers that are also non gmo and you have to google them for each spot you are in.
Organic? now that is an entire different rabbit hole and the very hardest one to find. Even in the tiny non gmo grocers, they won’t and don’t carry all organic. and it is a never ending search for my food on a daily basis! just when you think you found the best mom/pop shop on a tiny island BAM no, they are not organic 🙁
Waitrose again wins the war (and it is war on our food supplies in my opinion) of having the most Organic sections Usually. it totally depends on the township you are in, how much the grocer carries, some more than others.
But for me for now, we only shop at Waitrose as much as possible. In a pinch we go to Tesco and then you have to search and search for their Organic markers but you can find them. You just have to Really want/and mean your food to matter to you; I am finding here in England. The Blank faces we get when we ask is it Organic? is it Hormone free? shows us that England is educated as America was in 2000 not 2015 🙁 sorry to report negative. And even when they know Organic/non gmo means their following comment is its too expensive! and its REALLY not that much more, 20 pence maybe and yet you choose pesticides for you and your family over 20pence? really?
At the stores, the clerks have NO clue 99% of the time and we search it out together. So far in both Waitrose and Tesco their staff is highly misinformed and don’t trust what they say, do your own research. I found in both stores I cracked their codes and figured it out Before the employee came back to tell me what a manger said!
The secrets of Organic :
Waitrose, look on the shelf tabs that are white for an upper left corner of Green circle showing organic. Mainly only items that are organic are fruits/veggies. some Breads, yogurt, jellies, pasta and pasta sauces are the main categories I have found. NO chips,cereals or other products have been in the stores we’ve been to.
Tesco, NO shelf markings and usually never together, you have to look at every single package of veggies/fruit and its on the actual package in bold letters ORGANIC but they will be in each section of food products not all in one. they ONLY have organic fruits/veggies and some meats and once only, orange juice. No breads/yogurt/juices nothing organic only produce.
Sometimes they will have the fruit box itself that is white and says organic on it and makes it easier to find. Only at Tesco.
HINT: most Organic foods that are produce: fruits/veggies are in plastic bags (which makes me crazy–earth pollution with all the plastic and you take a gorgeous organic item and place it in plastic to get hot and off gas!) sorry I digress, but whereby most NON organic produce is loose American styled, the organics will be wrapped in plastics.
Morrisons: again search every single plastic bag and there is a tiny, dime sized (pence) green apple that says Organic on the apple. you will need your glasses for this company! also they do not group items together so its a search in each category and we are ONLY talking produce. we found NOTHING on the shelves that was organic at all so ONLY produce/fruit/veggies here.
Hope this helps saves you tons of hours that I have spent figuring this all out. It can be done and you feel so Victorious after scoring a good healthy lode but wow it takes a lot of time and your husbands won’t be happy! Now we know what we are looking for and just rebuy the same thing over and over. But even on the tiny Isle of Wight where local produce is a big thing, none are organic 🙁 I had really hoped we would get here to the mom/pop shops and find them all organic non gmo but so far not good. will update if I score!
Traveling and staying in other people’s home for free; sounds Great right?
Well it is- But there are some challenges such as trying to cook dinner in a kitchen you don’t know where everything is and everything is different. Simple things like a really good knife are not always found in other’s home. And most/all kitchens don’t look like this one!
More like this one in Europe:
Rice cookers and toaster ovens are more random but two items that are really important to me when cooking and have yet to find them in anyone else’s kitchen in Europe. simple enough just buy your own right? well yes and no. First off they are expensive and you only have so much space in the car but some things are a must.
For us, its the rice cooker and the good knives so purchasing was required. There are just some things that make life easier and if you cook, knives are the biggy. As you cannot fly on a plane with these in the luggage that is something that must be purchased once you get wherever you are going.
Made new friends including a french chap named Pierre who, unbeknownst to me lives in San Diego with his pregnant wife and had sailed with my good friend Joe Saad many times! Very small world. He crewed permanently on the yacht for a year all over the world and came back to help out for this series of races.
elf that is white and says organic on it and makes it easier to find. Only at Tesco.
