The Struggle of Stillness
Often times, cruising by yacht is a lesson & test of one’s patience
I am writing to you as the golden light of dawn fills the cabin of Triteia. We are anchored in the largest coastal lake in Australia and the top half of our diesel engine is currently on holiday inland. A week and a half ago, as we made our way out of the drawbridge that separates the Tasman Sea and Lake Macquarie, we heard a scary sound from down below and instantly the engine began to bellow white smoke and idle rough and stall underload.
We had stopped into the Lake a week prior to weather some weather and explore its shores and coves and we were eager to continue our sail north towards tropical waters. Sailing on a schedule is always a bad idea, but we had plans to join of tour of the outback at the end of April and needed to be in Brisbane to safely leave the boat in a marina and fly to the interior of the country. This meant we had about 30 days to make the slow crawl north some 400+ nautical miles. When it comes to ocean sailing 400 miles can easily be covered in 4 to 5 days, but with coastal cruising, 400 miles can easily take weeks depending on the distance between safe anchorages and ports and the weather, not to mention the contrary current that runs south down the Australian coast, slowing progress. You might find yourself stuck in a small port or river with little to no access to shops, supplies or parts for two weeks or more due to rough weather, headwinds or mechanical failure.
It’s been just over two weeks since we sailed into this lake, where we expected to stay for only a few days, and we will likely be here another week or two until the engine is (hopefully) repaired. We were very fortunate to have had a critical engine failure happen near protected body of water, where we are safe from the seas and the weather. Now with our engine in the hands of a kind diesel mechanic who is sympathetic to our cause, our biggest challenge currently is being patient.
We had to cancel our plans for the adventure in the outback due to the financial aspect of the repairs and the inability to know when we will actually be in a place where we can safely leave the boat. These are all parts of cruising, being flexible with plans and realistic with what is possible.
Looming ever constant in my mind is the 5000+ NM we still have ahead of us this year as we push up towards and into Southeast Asia ending the year in Thailand. I keep reminding myself that in 2022 I sailed more than 6000 NM between July and December and I never felt rushed during that time.
Learning how to be “Zen” about when you can and cannot move is certainly one of the toughest skills to master. You must learn how to navigate and control your stress levels when faced with major roadblocks (Seablocks?) and hurdles. For fulltime cruisers such obstacles can affect not just your month but your entire year or more as we sail by the seasons and you might find yourself stuck in a country until the next cyclone, hurricane or monsoon season when you can safely continue sailing. For part time cruisers, you might find your entire season derailed, forcing you to lose precious days or weeks of cruising, a limited resource for those sailors who have to return home to work.
At the end of the day we must all play the cards we are dealt and make the most of it. I don’t know any secret tricks or short cuts to this challenge, but wanted to write on the subject for any dreamers out there that have yet to untie the lines, just know that this is something you will be faced with someday, it doesn’t matter if your boat is brand new or 60 years old, things will break and you will find yourself with no options but to be patient.
#yachtlife
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