Sailing Trip Preparation

On my last post, I shared that I will be going on a wonderful, long anticipated sailing trip to the South Pacific, specifically, French Polynesia and The Cook Islands.  This will be an offshore sail training expedition so I may experience for myself what it is like to be out on a sailboat way far from land.

To get ready for this trip, I knew I needed to prepare for it physically.  Here is what I have done to prepare:

Fitness-I took my spine doc’s advice and joined a gym to work out, then hired a personal trainer, too.  We focused on the areas that needed strengthening, and my arms are now very toned.  I feel great!  I also increased my aerobics, and now I am doing sprints, too.

Coffee- One theory is that coffee contributes to sea sickness, so we are told to go off the java before the trip.  Loving my morning coffee as I do, especially when it is lovingly prepared by Joe, I weaned myself off of coffee slowly, to  avoid the dreaded caffeine withdrawal headaches.

Expedition Supplies- You are provided a long list of what you need to bring with you.  Here are just a few supplies from the list:  Foul weather sailing jacket (photo above), chest harness and tether,  Headlight, alarm for standing watch, waterproof watch, polarized sailing glasses,   packtowels, flat sheets, pillowcases, backpack and duffel.  Optional items I am bringing include my GoPro camera, a small Kindle Fire for reading, and my snorkel and mask.  Btw, Love my watch- a Baby G:

Medical Supplies- You must partner with your physician and bring along antibiotics, anti-fungal pills, and of course, Rx for seasickness.  Plus any regular Rx, too.  This takes some pre-planning, but it helps if your doctor likes to sail, too.

Clothes- you are very limited by how much clothes you can bring.  I will be bringing 5 pairs of sport shorts or my favorite white and black petal skorts from Athleta:

Add on sports bras, swimsuits, shoes, and tops, plus we have to bring a long skirt or dress to be culturally sensitive and 3 hats, plus a long tech shirt for the sun.

Did I mention that the total weight for all items together must be lower than 30 pounds?  I freely admit that this is the hard part for me.  To that end, I have been searching out shorts and clothes that are very lightweight, so that I might be able to bring a few more clothes along.   My favorite shoe I am bringing is from Merrill’s Barefoot collection and my Teva’s:

   

Both pairs are lightweight, and comfy.   To help save weight when packing, I bought a bunch of Eagle Packing cubes to organize my supplies in.

Ok, you get the idea that I had to prepare way ahead of time for this trip.  Joe tells me it will be the trip of a lifetime, based on his experience sailing betweem Fiji and Vanautu last year.  I can’t wait!!!   From adventurous Carla

 

Offshore Sail Training Expedition

I thought I would shift gears from my quilting today to tell you about a fun trip I have been planning for… an offshore sailing expedition in the South Pacific aboard John and Amanda Neal‘s Mahina Tiare III.  Here is what their Hallberg Rassy 46 looks like, via magazine covers:

Last year, I wrote about Joe’s sailing adventure between Fiji and Vanautu here.  I stayed behind to care for dear Ethan, and once Joe returned home, he encouraged me to apply for an expedition leg in 2013.    I was accepted for their Leg 2 in 2013, which starts less than 2 weeks away!  I will join the boat in Papeete, Tahihi in French Polynesia and will leave the boat in Rarotonga in The Cook Islands.

This expedition will allow me to have an offshore, bluewater sailing experience, while learning about topics such as navigation, safety at sea, standing watch, weather, sail trim, etc.  While I have been on numerous yacht trips over the years- crewing on numerous luxury yacht delivery going from Maine to FL, or FL to Michigan, this time I will be on a sailboat AND will literally be in the middle of the Pacific far from land.  In sailing speak, this is called “bluewater” or “offshore” sailing.

  ( Mahina Tiare III expedition photo from Bluewater Sailing magazine)

Yes, I will be wearing a foul weather jacket, tether and harness like shown in the photo above.  My jacket will be bright pink, as I like being different, yet still girly.      I will also have a chance to snorkel in exotic locations in French Polynesia- many not accessible to tourists.  My plan is to bring along my GoPro camera with dive housing so I may post some beautiful videos/pictures of what I see.  Anyone willing to take bets whether I will capture any images of sharks?

While I am in French Polynesia and The Cook Islands, my goal is to seek out local fabrics and if possible, buy a small tifaifai (French Polynesia quilt) or tivaevae (Cook Island quilt).  I have been reading up on the style differences between these methods of quilting art.

Here is an image of a tifaifai:

Here are examples of Rarotongan tivaevae from the blog by John Charles Davies:

Can you tell I am getting very excited???   Regards, Carla

Joe’s Sailing Adventure

I thought I would mention that DH Joe went on a 2 week sailing trip from Fiji to Vanuatu recently. I stayed behind to care for baby Ethan, who is now 17 months and into everything.  Really. I turned my back for 1 minute and Ethan somehow reprogrammed my computer desktop.  Took me 30 minutes to unscramble his work.

One day, after Joe and I retire, we have grand plans to trade in our O’Day sailboat for a 40-45 ft. bluewater cruising sailboat, and sail in the Caribbean and South Pacific.  To that end, we have been taking sailing courses, bareboat chartering trips, and  sail whenever we can.

We both lacked deep bluewater sailing experience, so Joe signed up for an expedition trip sailing from Fiji to Vanuatu in the South Pacific.  He had an exciting adventure, meeting like-minded crew mates, who also were there to learn.    If you want to read more about this amazing trip, you can read the posts by crew-mate Roger and watch his terrific videos HERE.  Don’t miss the erupting volcano video from Tanna, Vanuatu.

Joe came back and said I must go on an expedition, too.  After reading the expedition website, I decided on Leg 2 in 2013 trip.  So my application was sent to the expedition organizers and I am awaiting back approval.  Where is Leg 2, you might ask?  The sailing trip will start in Tahiti, sail around Moorea, Wuahine, Bora Bora, a few other wonderful places and then sail to Rarotonga, Cook Islands.   Think of the snorkeling I will do!!

Just received word that my application was accepted!  Can’t wait, especially since I can learn about native textile art and quilting in The Societies and Cook Islands.

Class Registration and other items…

I decided to take a few minutes and come up for air!  I have been busy registering students for my next online class that begins on Monday, October 18th.  I am happy to report that registration has been a complete success!

The demographics for this class is  a wonderful cross section of both sit down machine quilters and people in business with stand up quilting systems.  It is a nice mix of quilters from around the US, plus several students from Australia, Germany, England,  and Canada.   Students have been very upbeat and positive about taking my class, too.  We will have a good time.

Class starts on October 18, 2010 and lasts 3 weeks.  For more info, just click my class button above my Header art above.

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What else have I been up to?    I went thrift store hunting and scored more designer clothes for my fall wardrobe.  All for $1.50 per top!  I love a bargain, plus it just makes sense in this economy to save wherever you can.  Also came home with lots of grandkids toys to add to my collection.  Jack and Kate have more toys here than at home, I think.  LOL

Been sailing on my boat, S/V Sea Glass, a few times.  Sailing has become the highlight of my weekend time with Joe.  It has been 90- degrees, so it is still bathing suit weather here in Northern California.

Spent babysitting time with Jack and Kate.  They are so cute and fun to be around!  I love being a grandmother!

Preparing for Fall class season in the local stores.  I am teaching a wide variety of classes here in Northern CA-  an Autumn Leaves quilt, my slash therapy quilt, 3 purse classes, and yes, an adorned fabric bowl class.  More details to follow…

What have YOU been up to?  Hugs, Carla

Mountain Democrat article

This is the second time I made the local paper this year for my quilting work.  If you want to read it, just click HERE.  Note that the published version had a picture with me and the designer standing by the quilt.

The reason I am in the article is because I quilted the Opportunity Quilt for the local guild:

and here is another view from the archive:

Anyway, I missed the article, but later heard about it from friends and family members.

The quilt show was this weekend and they also picked the ticket for the raffle.  When I find out who won, I will post it here.  I hope it was one of my blog readers who purchased raffle tickets that won.  I am rooting for you!

Other News:

Boat News: Today, we are taking our new boat, S/V Sea Glass, out on the lake.  No wind is predicted, so we will just enjoy the sun, water and practice anchoring, docking, etc. with the motor.  Hmmm…. I wonder why the wind doesn’t blow on Joe’s day off?  I guess Murphy’s Law is happening here.  Anyhow, I will pack a nice lunch,  cold drinks,  and a good book to read.

Retail Therapy: I was shopping for a new comforter for my king bed, and decided to look on Overstock.com.  Oh my!!  I splurged on not only a luxurious comforter and matching pillows, and a bed skirt, but then added a feather bed and feather bed cover.  We put them on the bed  last night,  then jumped in to test it out.  Very comfy!  I woke up this morning feeling very rested and no aches and pains.  It was so worth the price.

What spurges have you made lately?

Carla

New Sailboat!!

Joe and I wanted a nice little sailboat and trailer to sail whenever we wanted and keep those sailing skills up for chartering.  We have been watching  Craigslist for about 6 months to find just the right boat.  We finally found one yesterday, and arranged to meet the boat’s owner down at the lake marina today.

Here are the pictures from the Craigslist ad for this nice little 1984 O’Day 23:

Above, shown in the marina yard.

and on the water below.  The person taking the picture is standing on the bow (front) of the boat looking back to the cockpit:

No photos of the interior.  It is clean, but the cushions are original to the boat, so I will get them recovered.  Same goes for the forward V- berth.  The interior is very spacious for this size of boat.

After a detailed survey, we bought it!!  We plan to keep it for few years, then upgrade to a bluewater cruising boat.  Joe and I are excited!  The name of this boat used to be ‘Tee-Time,” so Joe and I started talking about potential names for our firstboat.  Picking a name for a boat is harder than you think.   I’m sure the right name will come to us, but if anyone has any ideas, bring them on!!

I started making a list of essentials to buy at West Marine.  New anchor & rode, fenders, some extra lines, depth finder, handheld radio,  and boat hook to start.   Now I need to hunt on craigslist for a used dingy, too.  Life is fun!!

Hugs, Carla