Author: Seth
Picture: We've come a long way in a year - and much has changed (including the original interior color scheme shown above). But the biggest changes have been in what we have learned.
Days at Sea: 365!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

365 days at sea! Back on September 4th, 2008, we officially closed the sale and moved onto our boat, so it has been a solid year at sea! To mark the occasion we have added one more Top 10 list, the things we have learned. Enjoy!

TOP 10 THINGS WE HAVE LEARNED:

10) Although GPS has revolutionized navigation, good ol' eyesight is still king. Often we find that the charts are accurate, but our position on them is off significantly (sometimes it shows our boat over ground or the reef we are trying to avoid!). Sunlight is needed to see dangers and we've even learned to pull into the sunny side of an anchorage first so that we can see the rest of it with the sun behind our backs - a great little trick that more sailors should do.

9) Join a rally. We learned so much from our experiences as part of the Caribbean 1500 Rally that I don't know if we would be in the South Pacific today without them. All the cruisers were so helpful and informative, and the assistance underway with weather routing and check-ins was beneficial. We owe most of what we know about blue water sailing to Steve Black's C-1500 Rally.

8) It takes about six months to fully relax. And maybe a few additional months to stop dreaming about work. Life is much slower out here and even something as simple as taking the time to genuinely say hello to someone in a shop before attacking them with your questions is a very hard task to re-learn. It's island time and you better get used to it.

7) The world is really not all that big. If we can cross the Pacific Ocean in 20 days at 7mph, how big could it be? And finding an anchorage alone is far more difficult than it should be. Sadly, it's not all that big an orb.

6) Contrary to what you might experience at home, people are nice to one another. Out here everyone waves at you on the street (even the drivers going past do!). People are here to genuinely help one another - particularly cruisers. As you find yourself in more remote areas, people are innately nice. It's good to see that the human race has a chance.

5) You need to learn how to fix your own boat. Diesel Engines are actually simple machines. If you change your impellers, fuel filters and oil often enough, you probably won't encounter many problems. It's all about clean air, fuel and oil! And you'll need to know how to bleed a line of air - something so simple that I am amazed I didn't know how to do before this trip.

4) Finding chicken breasts is a lot harder than you would ever think. Live chickens are everywhere (especially roosters, it would seem), but all you can find in stores are "Tyson's Frying Chicken Parts," which exclude breasts. Where all the breasts go is a mystery.

3) It's really quite important to leave your anchor light on at night. We have met many sailors that are concerned about energy draw but the local fishermen leave in the dark of morning and might not see your boat. Get an LED and keep a light on!

2) "Slow is Pro" - or as our good friend Captain Bob on Comanche once told me, "when uncertain, only go as fast as you want to hit something." Too many boaters fly into marinas or anchorages, and while they may feel manly doing things quickly, the true experts out here will shake their heads.

1) Sailing around the world is all much easier than I ever expected. Get out and sail!