What do you do all day?
What do you do all day? That is a question that cruisers get asked over and over. The idea that we’re sitting around all day, suntanning and drinking umbrella drinks, is pretty far removed from reality. The fact is that boats break, making maintenance, both preventative and repairs, a big part of a cruiser’s day. So even though we may have wanted to spend our day lounging around, our boat wasn’t going to allow it. I won’t regale you with the details or sights of our head repair yesterday but I will say that it was simply a very crappy job!
In addition to that bit of fun yesterday, I also started studying in earnest for my Yachtmaster course which is to begin on the 26th. Alex, the instructor from Bluewater Sailing, dropped off a selection of books for me to read through before the course starts. Yes, it’s some nice light reading to while away the day. 🙁
So that we can all share in that fun (studying, not head repair), I think I’ll throw in the odd question or two from the books. To start us off, what does the image below represent?
In spite of the occasional crappy jobs, we certainly aren’t complaining. That’s just the price you have to pay to have sunsets like this every night from the cockpit.
Restricted in ability.
Here’s some tricks I learned when I took my captains license: 1. red over green is a sailing machine. 2 red over red, the captains dead and his balls are in the rigging is a ship not under command. I like the last one.
Capt Rich
I like those. I had to look up the red over green thing though as having all-around red over green is not common place on small sailboats.
2 Tugs protecting a 32 ft sailboat?
Negative.
I saw the day shapes above on Facebook and quickly came to the blog to comment so I could be the first to win the prize (wait, what is the prize?) but then I realized that might be cheating since, as you know, I just got my captain’s license… so I’ll give others a chance first. I will add to the knowledge though and say that if it were dark, the same ship displaying these day shapes would show the vertical lights – RED, WHITE, RED… (rhyme: captain making bread). That’s not the best rhyme for it but I have a “rhyming card” to help remember all the lights. Let me know if you want to do a study group once you get further into it or closer to the test – it would help all of my knowledge sink in deeper too!
I’m sure I could definitely use a study partner!!!!
(and that rhyming card)
😉
From here on out, I expect ZTC to have a cone, apex down, in the rigging whenever those Yamahas are running. You can’t claim ignorance anymore!
And does Troubadour sport such a thing when under power?
No! A blatant violation! I sometimes even leave my tricolor on when we need to fire up the “iron genny” rather than switch to a proper masthead and running lights.
I do, however, often fly a black sphere (or plastic disks meant to look like a sphere) when at anchor, and am a firm believer in the “law of gross tonnnage”!
I had just read that it was improper to use the tricolour when motor sailing and explained that to my friend who just installed one. Good thing he didn’t remove his deck-level lights. As for day shapes, we have no such devices (yet).
Hello Mike and Rebecca, Yachtmaster designation, sounds great! Is this license for boats above or below 100 tons. Do you have any further contact info on this program?
Regards,
Ron and Kath
Hi guys
Try doing some reading here:
http://www.rya.org.uk/coursestraining/professional/courses/Pages/default.aspx
Is this a Rorschach test? I see a girl in a bikini under a palm tree drinking a bushwacker as the sun sets in the background and calypso music wafts liltingly on the soft breeze.
Am I close?
You crack me up but yes, you’re very close.
Do you know that Eileen Quinn song “What Do You Do All Day”? She’s a cruiser/ singer/ songwriter who is hilarious. I totally meant to give you and Rebecca a CD of her tunes when you were here but I was too pregnant to think at the time. Ask around, other cruisers will have her stuff. It’s hilarious!
I think I do have that song but I’m not sure I’ve listened to it. I’ll look for it though.
Is it a pretty decent ski slope?