We just completed a great two weeks with friends and family visiting.

One of the things that I learned during their visit is how much there is to know about sailing. Every aspect of the every day is shaped by the differences between living on land and living on a boat.

Most mornings start with us walking the dog both when we lived on land and now. But now, when we are at anchor, walking the dog is much more involved. First, we need to inflate the dinghy (that’s not normal, its just that our little boat is leaking air and I have not been able to patch it yet). Then, we all need to get our life jackets on. The dog needs help with his. The dinghy engine, a 15 HP Yamaha, needs to warm up next. After we are all loaded in the boat, we can release the painter (the line holding us to the mother ship) and back away – unless there are toys in the water, then we need to make sure we don’t wrap the propeller in their painters. Next we head off to a beach. Usually we choose the closest beach but sometimes we pick the calmest beach or the most beautiful beach. There are lots of beaches where ours are the only footsteps. Landing the dinghy can be easy or hard depending on the waves. Usually, someone has to jump out and get wet up to their knees, toss the anchor and guide the dinghy the last part onto the beach. Then, finally, we can walk the dog.

Walking the dog is just one aspect of our day that is so different on the boat. Simple things like taking a shower and going to the bathroom (head) can be very different.

It was interesting to see how our friends adapted (or didn’t) to all the new vocabulary (dinghy, painter, head and much more), new sounds, new smells and new sights. We had a lot of fun introducing them to our new friends and catching up with news of our families and friends back home.

We snorkeled and ate out and hung out. Thomas is a fantastic photographer. So, be sure to check out our gallery of images.