cruising: not all a bed of seaweed

The sensation comes and goes: the love for the sea. there is something truely magical being out in a boat surrounded be nature, in a gorgeous anchorage, at the same time knowing that nature has the power to put you on the hard, or at the least give you a good scare. I've felt that we, as gypsywind, have been held in Gods' hands. That has always been my sensation sailing, just you and God, and his wind. But like the saying goes, "trust in God but tie your camel first. That more describes crusing. For every hour of enjoyment, three hours have gone into preperation The safety of the crew and boat, is a check list, that for someone as laid back (loosy goosy) as myself, it feels like a mile long. As an example you want to move the boat (Gypsywind) over to the anchorage next door, say around the point, well you better not fire up the engine till you check that one or more of your helpful crew hasn't left a line in the water that can foul your prop. A dead engine at a most inoportune time can spell disaster. Oh but lets just back up a second, you don't fire up the engine until: you have checked both the engine and transmission oil levels, not that it might be low, but to make sure it's there. Wierd things can happen for no reason on boats, and espesially mechanical things on boats. Besides, this engine has been so good to us not letting us down, it once ran for 52 hrs straight, oh yeh, it did die half way in the middle of the sea cause someone forgot to switch the fuel tank diverter to starboard tank. Now this is a deisel engine, and I was warned, back when I was 20 yrs old, never run a diesel engine out of fuel, unless you know how to bleed the fuel lines of air. It didn't happen because we have such a good engine. I baby this engine and in turn it loves me, did I tell you about all the superstitions sailors have? Maybe another blog. And you need to change oil every 100 hrs thats 500 miles in landlubber terms, so before you fire up that engine you've got to know how many hrs to the next oil change. Oh did I tell you, it takes 2 1/2 gal of oil, you should always carry 5 gal on board 2.5 for the next change and 2.5 in case something goes wrong. Did I mention the oil does not run out of the engine at the bottom, as in a car,you must own a pump and suck it out through a tube made for this.We have a nice motorised pump.
So you want to fire up the engine and move the boat around the piont. You must first secure all things on deck, tidy up the lines, ready the sails, secure all loose items below, one second lets start over. Alert the crew so that you have help to secure everything and anything that can be a projectile and hurt someone.
It may be calm now but the seas are funny , you go around a piont and you have a 5 ft sea, and a 5 ft sea with 20 kt wind on the nose can be a very unplesant thing, dangerous if it is bashing you on the beam, you best have some sail up to stop the rolling, otherwise the computer that you thought was safe is now a porjectile and can take out one of the crew, which of coarse would be two as another would have to tend to the first. this of coarse leaves you short handed to deal with a fowled sail or sheet or something. Did I tell you about a  boat coming in to a slip in a marina the wife throws the dock line, I'm  not clear how it happened but the rope was around her foot, she gets pulled overboard, the husband more worried about his wife in the water drifts sideways and hits the boat next door. Days later we are in thier slip and the people that got hit are leaving and ask our assistance to walk them off the dock, they had enough exitement for one week.  Nothing that exciting happened to us, oh wait a minate, we are pulling into the customs dock in San Diego, technically my first dock landing ,we go down the channel so we can take it on our port, and have a look at it. We come in a tad fast but it's from the end and the dock is 150 long so in my mind we will just go down a bit till we stop. only propblem is, orders we given to the first mate that when he can, to leap onto the dock and secure the bow line to an avaliable cleat. Nikita did just that, the boat is not at a full stop, we swing to port and thump the dock,like good. Now did I tell you the boat wieghs 40,000 lb, it does not like to come to a full stop suddenly, it keeps going, or the stern did, as it tried to pass us, the ones that thought they came to a stop, we swung bringing our 6 ft bow sprit (the thing that projects off our bow) within inches of a concrete piling. we never use the bow line first, ever, allways stern or spring in case. But we have mastered the dock (meaning I haven't hit one lately) we come to a stop one ft away and tie the lines, but Kim still has anxiaty if I come in fast, she, the boat, stops on a dime when thrown in reverse, just have to make sure there is no cross wind or current,  like the time in La Paz (thank god everyone else was at the baja ha ha party and we had not to many witnesses for that one ...thats another story. Man this is off topic.
So you want to move the boat, after every line, the sheets wrapped on the winches and at the ready, is in place, for you never know when an engine is going to die, a prop get fowled, and you will have only one opption and that is to set a sail to get control. This is what I mean about the 3 hrs of preperation.
So if you think your ready, your not,  you haven't brought on line the GPS, the chart plotter,and the radar, all things you will need and may not have time to set up in an emergency, did I mention the depth sounder,wind direction indicator,electric compass? And have you read the charts to where you are going? usually the night before along with the cruising guides which are our bible down here, they tell of every submerged rock, and the distance to stay off shore, along with way points for the tricky stuff. So before you pull up anchor, pack a lunch, in case of bad seas, Kim usually premakes  burritos, and slips them in the oven even if things aren't so great, we have a hot meal under way. Oh I forgot to mention you have to take up the ladder, we didn't once, another cruiser pionted it out as we went by, embarassing, do up the life lines, break out the harnesses and tethers, lift the dingy, secure the gas tank. You get the picture.
 Oh yeh, don't forget to pull up the thing thats in the water hooked onto a chain at your bow, you may need it at the next anchorage.
happy sailng