Over the past 6 years as we've sailed through the Caribbean, the west coast of California and Mexico, and through Pacific Polynesia it's become abundantly clear that catamarans have become the boat of choice for charter fleets and the cruising world. The catamaran's popularity is similar to the SUV takeover of the auto market in the 1990's and for similar reasons - more space, utility and comfort. When looking out over any given anchorage it appears that anyone who can afford a catamaran has one. They are the envy of the fleet.

People, therefore, look at us in disbelief when we tell them that our last three boats were catamarans but we chose a monohull for our Pacific cruise. At social gatherings we are introduced as the couple who used to have a cat but have crossed over to the dark side and now own half a boat. We quickly explain that a cat has twice the systems to maintain, takes twice as long to clean, and is two wide for most boatyards which limits haul-out options. By selling our catamaran, Amaryllis, and buying half a boat (for half the price) we can now afford to do some cruising. Our charter cat gave birth to a cruising kitty.

So we are happy with our monohull and ecstatic to be cruising. Except at sunrise when we are offshore. "Honey", I said to Bruce when we were still on a mooring in California, "do you think we should get a French press coffee pot for offshore?" We were currently making drip-style coffee with a Melitta filter cone that fits atop an insulated carafe. I'm looking at its high center of gravity and wondering how it will work offshore. A stainless steel French press might be more practical. "No way," says Bruce. "A French press is too hard to clean out. The paper filter contains the coffee grounds and I read that it filters out all the bad stuff in the coffee that gives lab rats cancer." (Hmmm, I think, if I were a lab rat I'd want to be the one testing coffee making techniques.)

Bruce is the coffee afficianado in the family. He's from Seattle, where the American coffee cult was born. We grind dark roast beans every morning and only use unbleached paper filters. We may look like boat bums but we are extremely well caffeinated boat bums.

Which brings us to this morning's events. It is our fourth night at sea on the way from Bora Bora to Suwarrow and I have the 4am to 7am watch. We are sailing downwind and the sea swell has increased, rolling the boat not so gently from side to side (something that doesn't happen with a catamaran). The previous morning had been much calmer and I had started out my watch with a fresh pot of coffee and French madeleines, pondering Proust and feeling very smug about it. Today was not so mellow so I waited impatiently for the sun to come up before venturing into the galley for my morning fix.

Our stove is gimballed, which means it's set on pins so that it can stay level when the boat heels over. But what my brain tells me is that I am standing next to a pot of boiling water that is sitting on a stove top that is pitching wildly from side to side. Catamarans don't have gimballed stoves because catamarans always stay level on their two hulls. I strap myself into the galley with a length of canvas and webbing that looks like it came off a straightjacket. I set up the coffee carafe in the sink with filter cone, paper filter, and fresh ground coffee in place. At this point I can't take my hand off the coffee pot so with my other hand I reach over and grab the tea kettle of boiling water. I lean into the canvas strap so I won't be thrown out of the galley into the nav station on the other side of the boat. Now the trick is to pour the boiling water into the filter cone and not onto the hand holding the coffee cone in place. My eye/brain is telling me that it's all lined up correctly but I know this is an illusion and that gravity will work differently. I time the pour for when the boat rolls to the side that will pull the water away from my hand. It's slow going and I attempt to hold the tea kettle and the coffee pot level throughout the process. Finally I'm done and I can set the tea kettle back on the stove, remove the filter cone, and screw the lid onto the coffee carafe. Now if it falls over in the sink, it won't spill. I carefully pour myself a half cup - any more and it will slosh over the rim of the cup when the boat rolls. I set the cup down inside a bowl on a non-skid mat so I can grab a couple of madeleines. The boat makes an extra big lurch (part of a wave set?) and the cup leaps out of the bowl spraying precious coffee all over the front of my shirt (ouch!) and onto the floor and walls. "F**k!" I shout loudly, so Bruce can hear my pain and appreciate my galley martyrdom. The only response from the adjacent stateroom is an equally loud snore. I clean up as much of the mess as I can in the weak light, making a note to self to thoroughly clean the galley when we get to port. Yesterday the six beaten eggs for a Spanish Tortilla sloshed out of the bowl all over the counter and down into the top-loading refrigerator. The day before, I broke a coffee mug (we had too many anyway!). I've spent the past five years cooking on charter cats and now I feel like a rookie in the galley.

I pull the milk out of the fridge, wedge everything into place and pour another cup of coffee. I pop a madeleine into my mouth as I don't have a free hand to carry it. I don't dare go beyond the top step of the companionway with the sloshing coffee. I look longingly at the cockpit but it's an impossibly obstacle course just beyond my reach.

So when people ask us if we miss sailing on the catamaran - where you can put down a cup of coffee, walk away, and it's still there when you come back - we cheerfully lie, "Oh no, Never!" But if someone were to ask us for advice about purchasing a monohull vs. a multihull, I might ask a few questions. 1) Are you from the Pacfic Northwest? 2) How important is good coffee in your daily diet? Then I would look at Bruce and say, "Just follow your heart and go with the boat you fall in love with." And Bruce would add, "No boat is perfect. It's all about the commitment."