Security and Cruising

It's always interesting to get into discussions of the dangers and risks of cruising.  There are actual risks of theft and violence out in the big bad world, along with plenty of horror stories to back them up. People come up with all kinds of different solutions; automatic deck lints, tacks on the deck, electrified lifelines, and carrying weapons on boats.  

And, the thing is, the work-ability of some of these aren't the technical implementations but the human factor.  Sure, you can set up surveillance systems to monitor your boat, anti-boarding systems to keep uninvited boarders off the boat, and implement various self defense measures if they are on board.

But you have to look at the situation you are facing, or are likely to face, in order to be effective.  You also have to look at yourself and what you are able, especially willing, to do.

The continuum of risks is broad. The spectrum could be:

1. A simple attempt at non-violent theft.  This is just stuff.  It might be stuff you really like or stuff you need.  It's your stuff and you don't want it taken.  This kind of theft doesn't want you around.  If you are around, they will go where there is no risk of conflict. These are cowardly thefts.  They tend to happen to the less vigilant.  
2. It could be theft in mind, backed by defensive violence.  This is an added risk that this kind of thief, while not wanting to run into you, will have no problem whatsoever with using violence to escape with your stuff.  They may not be willing to kill you but they will fight you directly instead of just trying to run off.
3. Then there is the theft where they will maim or kill you to get your stuff.  They don't care of you are there.  They might even plan for you to be there.
4. Let's not forget boarding for rape, kidnapping or simply outright murder.

Items 1 and 2 can be mitigated by staying away from high-crime areas, being very visible on your boat, practicing vigilance, and making it clear that you protect your boat and the people aboard.  These kinds of thieves don't want conflict.  They don't usually carry weapons.  They are opportunistic in nature.  Likely, as others have pointed out, they could also be other cruisers.   We like to be a friendly lot but, don't forget that people who pretend to like you can also be casing your place for a future theft. Your best defense here is to deny them the opportunity.  They will go hunting somewhere else for friendly and less vigilant folk.  

Item 3 represents the horror stories we have heard, where pirates or boarders will have it in their plan to simply kill you and take your stuff.  The only defense you have against them is not being where they are, demonstrating a strong enough deterrent that they will go hunting elsewhere, or be capable enough to defend yourself if you are approached or boarded.

Item 4 is pure self defense.  They don't want your stuff so much as they want you, or your wife, or your daughter.  They are hunting you, not your stuff.  Best thing is to be where they are not but, if you present a good target, I hope you are capable of defending yourself.

This brings us to handing out violence terrible and deadly.  Are you ready to do that?  Are you willing to literally run someone through with a pike?  If you carry a firearm, are you well trained in it's use?  Do you know how to bring it to bear in a combat situation?  How well would your firearm (unless it's an AR variant) fare against a pirate with a AK?  I'm not asking these questions from an air of superiority but engaging you to seriously ask yourself these questions.  You could have the fanciest pike, the best gun, in the world.  If you aren't willing to tear up the center of mass with that pike, or rounds from your weapon, it's useless to you. Keep in mind that video games, as violent as they may be, don't prepare you for face to face violence.  Only training or pure survival does that.

There is nothing wrong with talking about self-defense, even using deadly force to defend you or yours from grave bodily injury or death.  I support your right to survive, even if it means the unfortunate death of your assailant.  

The very serious question is: are you ready to do that?

The protective measures we choose, no matter what they are, are our personal decisions as captains/cruisers/travelers.  It matters not so much which tactic or strategy we choose as much as if we are comfortable executing it.  It's much like the PFD statement that says the best PFD is the one you will use.

I've been involved in law enforcement and personal security.  I've been ready to defend myself and others by bringing violence to bear as effectively and directly as possible.  Contrast this with my personal wish for non-violence and it's a bit of cognitive dissonance to those that don't understand it.  The thing is, my very job, the places I needed to go, had a high likelihood of violence.  Whether it was a felony traffic stop or patrolling a fence line in Iraq, I was placing myself in an environment where violence was likely.  I put myself there.

But back to real risks and the likelihood of same for us as cruisers (or homeowners for that matter).

The advantage of this, instead of what I describe above, is that cruisers can usually choose where we cruise.  One of the most effective survival tactics is to avoid the risk all together.  If you don't fall off the boat, you are less likely to drown.  If you don't pass though a gang-infested part of an inner city, you are less likely to be a victim of gang violence.  If you don't cruise in areas where poverty or opportunity have contributed to high crime rates, you are less likely to be a victim of violent crime.  Now, none of this blames the victim of violence.  I can't stand when people do that.  It does, however, speak to how we can lessen the likelihood of being a victim of violence.

While I'm perfectly capable of defending me and mine, I'd really rather not if I have a choice.

The world is large.  We don't have to go everywhere.  

Relationships and Cruising

This was recently posted by our friends on Windtraveler.

The sea finds all weaknesses: in boats, in people and in relationships. You have to be sure you have the skills to sail the boat, to fix it, to navigate, to get along in foreign cultures. But you also have to be prepared to come face to face with yourself, to discover things about yourself that you do not like and to work to change those things. You have to be ready to confront any weaknesses in your relationship and to address those in a situation where you are together 24/7 in sometimes highly stressful situations where your lives depend on one another. Cruising will not fix a broken relationship – it is far more likely to rip it apart along the fault lines. But where a basis of true respect and caring exists, the experience of cruising together can create a real partnership and eventually transform that into the kind of soul-deep bond that most people dream of but only a handful ever achieve. In the toughest times, when you think that you can’t do it or that your relationship cannot survive it, commit and commit again, knowing it will be worth every moment of doubt, pain and discomfort. In the best times, which come far more often, don’t forget to dance on the foredeck under the stars, to make love in the cockpit caressed by the tradewind breezes and to say “It sure beats working,” at least twice a day!" 

- Beth Leonard, from the Interview with a Cruiser Project

A sense of accomplishment.

It's not often we get this opportunity.  While Brigadoon is a "well found" boat, we have quite a large list of items, some large, some small, that we are focusing on to make her "safe and strong."  Safe and strong, in the words of Capt'n Fatty Goodlander, equals seaworthy.  Seaworthy makes Brigadoon a better boat.  It makes her better able to take care of us.

So we have this list, a prioritized list, of things that Must Be Done, things that We'd Like to Do, and things that we Will Do After All the Others Are Done.   You can call it, Must, Should and Maybe lists.

As of today or tomorrow, we will have crossed off three Must Be Done things off our list.  They are pretty big things.  The details are unimportant for this post but, what is important is we did them.  That's right. We can have all the lists we want, all the wishes we care to plan on but, if we don't execute those plans we will fail.  The most important thing, our goal, our path, is to make Brigadoon as solid, secure, maintainable, and up to date as we can.  It means spending our dollars very carefully, in a clear priority, with a clear goal in mind.

That means work -- hard work.

The thing is, after each job is checked off, no matter how large or how small, it's an accomplishment.  That means, for me, that it's now Something I Don't Have to Do!  It's Done!

And that is worth the work.

More to come on Brigadoon Upgrades soon...

Where do you go when you fight?

You start here -- mutual adoration.

We occasionally have people visit. Some visit for the company.  Some visit to learn more about living aboard.  Some want to live aboard.  There are always the usual questions about cost, space, laundry, dishes, the head (how does your toilet work?), and so on.  Other cruisers get this all the time too.  This post was inspired by a similar question answered by these folks. One of the most consistent questions we get from couples is, "So if you are living in this small space, where do you go when you fight?"

"We don't."

"We don't," doesn't mean we that don't go anywhere to get away from each other when we fight. It's not that we haven't had challenging discussions, or that we don't tackle difficult thing or hurt feelings. It means that we don't fight.  We just don't.

The responses to that are varied but, they usually come down to either respect or disbelief.  The disbelief is reasonable.  I mean everyone fights, right?  Everyone gets angry with their spouse, argues, then needs some space to recover, before returning to each other.  That why homes have rooms.  That's why we have sexist jokes about men sleeping on the couch until she cools off.  People who see relationship conflicts as inevitable need that separate space for recover from anger or hurt,  in order to stop "fighting".

We have each had relationships in the past where that was the case.  It wasn't our other partner's fault for this.  We each participated in the belief and relationship model too; lack of communication, lack of honesty, lack of kindness and....fight.

That isn't the life we want.  Therefore it isn't the life we have.

We approach our relationship from a place of true mutual respect, accepting the regular human faults (all of them -- all), support each other in our own personal growth and, above all -- being kind to one another.

Our life plans include more than just inhabiting Brigadoon's 150 sq/ft of living space living on a dock in Seattle.   Sure, when we first started this we weren't necessarily looking for a blue water boat.  We committed to living aboard a boat for about five years.  That five years would be spent living a marina and coastal cruising life on the water.  With the purchase of Brigadoon (a true blue water capable boat), our possible horizons have broadened a little.  We have the potential to literally see the world on Brigadoon if we so choose.  It makes sense to ensure our relationship in good order before even contemplating going off to explore 140 million square miles that are the oceans on this little blue marble.

There is no way we could dream of attempting living aboard, much less exploring the world, if we were prone to fighting.  Where can you go when on middle of a 30 day pacific  passage between the Galapagos Islands and the Marquesas, overboard?

One of the followup questions we have to the "not fighting" thing is, "what about personal space?"

Well, our space is small and very personal, but we are not forced into each other's company.  If one of us wants a nap (usually Kerry), she can go into the berth and close the door and nap.  If she is reading a book on her Kindle in her happy corner, I can sit up in the pilot house, surfing the internet and watching the geese go by.  We are comfortable this way.  I am here, she is there, each doing our thing. Yet we are still together.  It's called being "Together Alone".

I think the key here to living in such a small space, is a consideration, a respect for each other.  It extends to giving each other space and time to dress (we pretty much take turns) when going out, to keeping our space neat and tidy, sharing the chores and keeping the place livable.  We plan burning down our debt.  We map out improvements to Brigadoon to make our home safer, stronger and more seaworthy.  We improve ourselves, our skills, and our teamwork whenever we can.  All this makes us better sailors, ready and able to possibly handle taking on the the sea.

Until then, we practice living always five steps from each other hardly out of each other's sight, each of us potentially underfoot of the other, in this floating home we call Brigadoon.

The Price of Admission

This place sucks.

I recently read a post on another blog that, I think, think, was written mostly in jest.  It was a bunch of complaints about living aboard and, to be honest, they can be real challenges.  It was an honest thing to do, to put that out there.  It was titled,

"Liveaboard Hate: The top 10 things we hate about living aboard a sailboat in Seattle"

The 10 things they listed were:

• Laundry -- how they have to haul their laundry to what is sometimes a busy laundromat.  They used to have a washer and dryer in their home.
• Lack of Galley Counter Space -- I did note in the picture that they have a galley larger than ours, with more counter space but, one whole counter is taken up by stored food, a toaster, and a full sized coffee maker.  There is a lot of stuff in that galley.
• No Tub -- they used to have a tub in their home.  
• Birds -- since their boat is outside the birds like to gather on the rigging of their sailboat and poop on the deck.  Oh, and the Blue Herons are scary at night when they walk down the dock and don't see them until the big pterodactyls (as my friend refers to them) squawk and fly off.  Yeah, they can spook you but, walk quietly and look around.  You might be amazed by what you usually miss.
• Being asked, "Are You Going to Sail There" by people that don't know their boat moves at walking speed and takes a whole day to cover what a car can cover in an hour.  You know, while they are *sailing*.
• Custom Work -- they don't like the fact that many things on a boat are more expensive and that, sometimes, you have to to have things made custom.  Apparently you can't just go buy boat cushions at Fred Meyer.  Who knew?  
• No Room to Stretch -- boats, they say, are smaller inside than houses.
• Power Limits -- it is a great inconvenience that one cannot run their blow dryer, TV, computers, toaster and heater all at the same time.  You know, like you can in a house.
• Boat Forums -- these are the places where you can't get an answer to your problem, like why you can't run the toaster, curling iron, and blow dryer all at the same time.
• Condensation -- boats can get damp inside if you don't have proper airflow. You see, if you have a closed container that is warmer inside than it is on the outside, and people are breathing and cooking on the boat, you get condensation.  I wish I had paid better attention in science class in grade school.

Yes, I know I'm poking fun at the complaints.  Yes, I know it may sound superior but, that isn't where it's coming from.

Here's the key to this, Mr. Liveaboard. They key to not hating it.  Not hating anything.  Remember, you chose this.  It's simple.  

Everything you do in life comes with a price of admission.  Do you like driving that high performance car but don't like the price of gas?  Price of admission.  Do you love your wife but her farts are stinky?  Price of admission.  Love watching TV for four hours a day but don't like being overweight from lack of activity.? Price of admission.  Love to work out to keep your weight down but don't like sore muscles or puking at the top of that hill?  Price of admission.

So, if you want to live aboard a boat -- you know, on the water, near the wildlife, close to your neighbors, and within ten minutes of sailing on the sound, with the ability to take your home with you every time you sail, never having to pack, you have to pay the price of admission.

If you don't understand that you gave up things like a lot of space, a tub, being able to consume power like it was free, can't just go shopping at the local hardware store for parts, and so forth, as the price of admission for living on a boat then maybe...move back to land?  

Now, the post may have been tongue in cheek or just a joking rant about some of the challenges (the price of admission) for living on a boat.  I get that.  However, if you do focus on those things as dislikes, instead of the things you have to pay for in order to do what you want to do, you are just going to make yourself miserable.

If you focus on how damp the boat is and how everything get's all mildewed in the winter, maybe you won't find the solution; get some air moving by opening the hatches a little and venting your breath.

If you focus on how you can't run your house sized toaster, your full-sized coffee maker and your curling iron, maybe you won't consider that you can toast bread on your stove, make coffee in a french press and get a hairstyle that doesn't require a curling iron.

Really, it comes down to a million little adjustments in lifestyle to truly live on a sailboat and make it work.  If you try to bring all the modern conveniences to your boat you will find yourself out of space, out of power, and out of patience.

I look at it this way. 

It takes fifteen minutes to clean the inside of my boat, not two hours like my old house.  I never have to fix a washer or dryer again, that is the laundromat's problem now.  I never have to mow a lawn or rake leaves, ever again.  Everything I own is five steps away.  I live a neater and less cluttered life because I have to -- because I must.  I live on/in the water, in the middle of the city.  My view is the envy of thousands of people. If I don't like my neighbors I can move.  If I don't like this country, I can visit another.  

And the wildlife that shares this space with me?  I like the crows (it's easy to get them to stop sitting on most of your rigging by the way). The otters who play in my marina (who can destroy your boat if you leave it open or food out) entertain me to no end.  The blue herons (beautiful quiet ghosts of the night) are the epitome of grace and stealth.

For us, on Brigadoon, it's all about paring down, seeing all the things we have gained instead of all the things the Jones's have that we can't have anymore.  My McMansion home had a 30 year mortgage.  My boat will be paid off in about three years. 

And that is why I don't hate, or even dislike, the things that this person lists in their blog.  

You see, I understand.

They are all the price of admission and one I'm more than willing to pay.

Breaking Real Ties to the Land

I worked hard for this place.  This was my fourth home.  It's a product of my desire to have a warm beautiful sanctuary in Seattle; a place full of original art, to display my collection of books (over a thousand volumes) and momentos of my family and to live with my amazing wife, Kerry.

And now it's sold.  We had planned to sell it in 2010 when we bought Brigadoon.  The problem was we could not.  A combination of incompetent Realtors and a lousy housing market made that impossible. Kerry decided that we could make it a vacation rental, so we did.  It served us well, paying for new upholstery and sails for Brigadoon, while allowing us to keep the place until a buyer appeared.

Well, one did appear, about six weeks ago.  The deal actually went smooth as a Lake Union summer night on the water; barely a ripple.  There was no Realtor.  The new buyer is in the house last night and we no longer owe the bank hundreds of thousands of dollars.

That's Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars -- Hundreds of Thousands.

I will miss this home.  I started my marriage to Kerry in this place.  We figured out how to be husband and wife there, how to live together. I built the place I always wanted, in Seattle.  I filled it with art, music, happiness and love.  I will miss this home in a way that I will miss any other.  This was my home.  I bought with my previous wife, then had to buy it all by myself when my previous marriage ended.  I shared it with Kerry. It was beautiful.  I will miss it.  But...

It's part of the Freedom Project; to reduce out debt, our constraints, our commitments.  It's part of enlightenment.

My debt is "enlightened" to tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars, and that gives us freedom.  It means that Kerry or I could lose a job tomorrow and the other can still take care of us.  It means we are that much close to our goals, and that much more free.

It means I no longer own a home on land.  I may never own one again.  I have less of a tie to the land.  Before, if we had to, if we needed to, we could head back to this lovely town home.  Now we cannot.  It belongs to someone else.

It really, really means that Brigadoon is our home -- for good.

Brigadoon, sailing away.

Race Your House II

I just landed some choice pics of Brigadoon in the 2012 Race Your House.  I'm so stoked to get this shots, especially the one up close.  Without further ado, here they are:

Brigadoon, going past the committee boat at the start of the race.  Bob and James are driving.  Donn is crouched down on the starboard deck, repairing a block that came loose.

A great shot at Brigadoon's lovely broad canoe stern and dingy!

On our first upwind leg, headed towards the committee boat.

Brigadoon, headed for the final turn, just 21 seconds behind the Catalina 30.  We are hauling for all we are worth, rail buried in the water.

The Catalina is rounding up, having just crossed...we are next, tearing up sea for all we are worth.

Brigadoon, taking second in the 2012 Race Your House Regatta.

And easing off to go home...