Are you interested in what a typical day looks like aboard Whiffle? Amazingly, the days go very quickly. One might think that being on a boat day after day gets boring, but thus far it seems that the sun sets before I have finished my to-do list.
The morning routine consists of each of us emerging from our cabins at various times depending which night watch we are on. Breakfasts so far have included bacon and eggs, omelets, oatmeal, yogurt, fruit, and freshly baked cinnamon buns. Our provisioning has been working out well and I am pleased to report that we still have dozens of eggs, bacon, fresh fruit, and some fresh vegetables. It is a balancing act of conserving resources but also using fresh ingredients before they spoil. For example, today was the last of any fresh meat. We cooked the remaining chicken we had and made chicken salad for lunch. The first few days we had turkey or ham sandwiches, or left overs. Besides the remaining chicken salad, we can make egg salad and BLTs. Once those provisions are used, it will be necessary to use canned goods, pasta, rice, and of course peanut butter and jelly for lunch. Our dinners have consisted of BBQ chicken, potatoes and salad, curry vegetable stir fry, burritos, and a chicken casserole. We have several nights left of pre-made frozen casseroles that we can easily pop in the oven, especially when the seas are rough. Surprisingly we have not eaten many snacks which include nuts, crackers, popcorn, chips, granola bars, cookies, and we even have two boxes of cake mix to bake!
While meal preparation takes a portion of the day, you might find anyone of us reading, listening to podcasts, playing games on our phones, posting to social media, taking a nap, exercising, bathing on deck, making a sail change, reviewing weather forecasts, and of course, fishing. We have been extremely fortunate that sailing conditions have been very favorable and going about our daily activities has been relatively effortless. I am grateful to make this passage on a catamaran rather than a monohull. Being able to feed the crew, move about and even play games like chess and cribbage feels luxurious. Working out on deck and then taking a salt water shower from the hose on deck has been a great late afternoon activity. On my list for tomorrow will be baking some fresh bread, assessing provisions to keep us on track for meals, and some light cleaning.
Speaking of staying ship-shape, you might wonder how we deal with trash. Prior to our departure we removed all packaging and consolidated our provions as best we could. Luckily Whiffle has a tremendous amount of storage space, but being as efficient as possible with trash removal and storage has been key. All organic waste goes overboard and all plastic drinking jugs get crushed and stored, especially when our planned water consumption is 7 gallons per day. Imagine the amount of trash a crew of seven could accumulate in 10-14 days. Removing packaging prior to our departure and disposing of organic waste overboard has made a great difference.
I also pleased to report that our conservation of water in our tanks has been stellar. After 4 days our tanks are still close to full. We wash all dishes with our salt water faucet in the galley and limit the fresh water to mainly brushing teeth. Conserving fuel
is also key, but we have used about 1/4 of our tank so far between running the engine and the generator. This is something we will keep a very close eye on and have brought a surplus supply with us in the event that it is needed.
As you can see, the days fly by! Sailing the boat efficiently, planning for weather forecasts, assessing the use of our resources and keeping ourselves well cared for with healthy meals, exercise and entertainment keeps one day rolling into the next very quickly.
Let us know if you have any questions about what daily life is like during our passage.
Comments