SeaMonkey
What do we eat? How do you pack enough toilet paper? and all the other pressing questions answered here!
FOOD!
One of my favourite things! I just discovered Marks and Spencers - my new haven for provisioning (getting food to last for weeks)... I'm talking curry in a can, bag of steamed rhubbarb and at low low prices! What a treasure! Other than that Phil, Chris and I have been sampling the latest in canned and freeze dried technology. Potatoes that come out of a pouch and are fried = delicious, Lipton's sidekick noodles, not so much! The experiments continue!
Water water everywhere and not a drop to drink!
Water, one of those essential things that it is best not to do without. Making sure we have enough is a HUGE priority! Living in Bermuda has really made me so much more aware of water conservation. There is no fresh water on the island, it all comes from rain which trickles down the roof and lands into the tank under the house. So, when it hasn't rained in a while you learn pretty quickly that quick showers are essential!
Back to the boat though. We have 2 large water tanks on board, you can fill them up with a hose which is pretty handy. Rather than rationing for long passages we are installing a watermaker, I'm pretty excited about that because having enough fresh water for a shower sounds like heaven to me! Phil also installed a salt water tap near the sink. Super handing when conserving fresh water because you can do your dishes in salt water first and then just do a fresh water rinse, pretty smart huh!
To make the water we are drinking a bit more exciting we bought some rehydration tablets and will be taking a tonne of squash (drink concentrate) with us. We'll also have spare containers of water in case anything happens to the big tanks. I am not so good when dehydrated, a bit pickly and not so much fun so this is a pretty important thing in my life.
Back to the boat though. We have 2 large water tanks on board, you can fill them up with a hose which is pretty handy. Rather than rationing for long passages we are installing a watermaker, I'm pretty excited about that because having enough fresh water for a shower sounds like heaven to me! Phil also installed a salt water tap near the sink. Super handing when conserving fresh water because you can do your dishes in salt water first and then just do a fresh water rinse, pretty smart huh!
To make the water we are drinking a bit more exciting we bought some rehydration tablets and will be taking a tonne of squash (drink concentrate) with us. We'll also have spare containers of water in case anything happens to the big tanks. I am not so good when dehydrated, a bit pickly and not so much fun so this is a pretty important thing in my life.
Carrier Pigeons and keeping in touch
For all of you who know how much I love to talk and how important those phone calls and letters are the question is, how will we keep in touch from the middle of the sea??? Thank heaven's for technology... those wonderful innovations that have made it possible for me to check the weather, email and make a phone call from the Pacific (that being said, don't expect any phone calls, the rates are crazy expensive!). Phil and I will have a VHF on board which is a radio that we can use to talk to boats that are close to us. For those that are farther away, and for our weather updates we will be relying on our satellite phone which looks like the first cell phone I ever owned (thank-you Adrienne!).
What if there is an emergency
To say we are hoping this isn't ever the case is an understatement. BUT it is always best to be ready. We took an offshore emergency medicine course this spring which was amazing (http://www.wildmed.com/wilderness-medical-courses.php) We learned a lot and a big thanks to Jeff and the rest of the people that took the course. We have our medical kit, and have had lots of input on what to put in it (thank-you Dr's), a liferaft and 2 really important pieces of kit, our EPIRB and our PLB, both are satellite communication devices that will let Bermuda Radio know if we are ever in need of assistance. Of course we also have our SatPhone which makes getting in touch with people that know a lot more than we do an easy thing.