Today was Monday and the beginning of another work week, so I awoke without an alarm around 6:30 am as usual and got up to begin my day. After living here almost a month I had developed a daily routine which seemed to ebb and flow something like this:
After I get up I first climb the companionway ladder up to the cockpit to greet the day and remind myself of my nearby neighbors since most of them change almost daily. Then I check the oil and water in the engine before turning the key in the ignition in the cockpit to start it, adjusting the throttle to 1500 RPM’s to allow the fridge to charge, and then run it for an hour to cool the SeaFrost plate and also charge house batteries. Then I put on a skirt and cotton top for school and gather up my handmade lesson materials, lock up the boat, and board the dinghy for my 5-10 minute dinghy ride to the dock closest to town.
I typically arrive at school just before 9 for assembly, sing with the students, and then share a prayer and our stories about what we did the previous day. When they go to first class I either meet with Camille or work in the computer room or sit in on one of their classes and help the other teachers. Then it’s my turn to take the 5-6 girls for our lessons in reading comprehension, grammar and math lessons from around 10:30 to noon. (Anecdotes from these experiences are in earlier posts - my personal favorites are Feb 25 and 28).
I typically join the students and other teachers for lunch in the large lunchroom. The students sit at seemingly the same places each day at 3 large square tables in the large kitchen. Our lunches are usually a pasta or rice base with meat and a spicy island sauce and vegetable of some kind, and water or juice to drink. Then after lunch we share ½ hour of free time where the student play in the assembly area. I typically leave the school between 1 and 2 pm.
The afternoons typically find me working on and recharging my laptop at the Gingerbread along with other liveaboards - posting my log and checking or sending emails or handling other business details, returning to the boat in late afternoon. Occasionally I may return to the boat after lunch for a mid-day swim, and on very fortunate days I might even be able to pick up Internet access from the boat. But I never know for how long or how stable it will be, so I never count on that and consider it a bonus when it works out that I have a wireless signal.
After dark and before turning in for the night, I climb the cockpit stairs, pull the flashlight out of the cockpit table, and walk forward for my nightly anchor check to test the security of the snubber line. I run the light down the anchor line to ensure it looks clear and that the boat is swinging normally on her chain and rode. As I walk back aft and climb back into the cockpit from the foredeck, I move to the transom to check the security of the knots on the painter line and locking cable for the dinghy. And finally, after ensuring that everything is secure for the night, I go below and close the companionway hatch.
Before I turn in I typically read a bit in my berth in the forward cabin, often speak to Tim on the phone if I didn’t earlier in the day via Skype. [Even with Skype, I rather dread seeing our phone bills for this trip because we’ve talked pretty much every day for the last 3 weeks while we’ve been apart.] Before turning all the lights out, I walk up the steps one last time and take another
visual check around me noting where all the boats are and ensuring no one’s position is changing due to a slipping anchor, and that SJ is not likely to get a bump in the night. Usually I’m exhausted by 10am and falling asleep while I read, so I turn out my reading lamp, close the top hatches in case it rains overnight, curl up in the bunk, and am rocked to sleep with the motion of the boat and the soothing sound of water lapping against the hull. Perhaps it's not a glamorous life, but all in all, not a bad way to live at all.
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