Having a Fitness Fit

I received a message from Mark that the new engine did not arrive at his shop on Friday and he is hoping to receive it on Monday.

I spent several hours on Saturday cleaning - really cleaning - the starboard side of the boat which includes the galley. This involved the same sort of activities that one would do in an ordinary house, e.g. throwing out old supplies, cleaning the oven and shelves, general rearrangement. For some company during the boring chores I had a search for music on FM radio and found a great 24-hour station that has few commercials and plays what I would term "light rock" from the 70-s and 80's.

The music must have pepped me up because at mid afternoon I went ashore and had my first "jog" in months. It was a risible exhibition of running only 50 meters for every 100 meters that I walked, but I did go a long way in the hot sun and besides, it was a start. This is all part of a "get fit" effort that I've been on for several weeks in an effort to reduce my girth. I sailed out of Fremantle in May 2008 in very trim shape but the subsequent two years of cruising have been accompanied by a slow but steady gain in weight. There is nothing wrong with comfort eating when you are wet, cold, and often under great stress sailing in heavy weather, but the trick I haven't learned is how to dial back the feasting when times are easy. I have had success with my beer intake. After drifting up to about 4 and 5 cans of day and constantly worrying about running out I went cold turkey for about three weeks. A few days ago I bought a pack of 8 cans of beer. I was reluctant to do this because it might mean the breaking of the dam, falling off the wagon, and going into freefall (to really mix up my metaphors). But it didn't happen. Last night I had one cold beer left and to be honest I wasn't fussed whether I drank it or not. I don't plan to buy any more beer for a while.

The photos tell the fitness story. The first one was taken on May 2 2008, the day before we sailed out of Fremantle. (Brenda is smiling, not aware of what was waiting in store for us in the Tasman Sea.) The second one shows Captain Bob on the way to Mexico looking at celestial bodies instead of his own.

Back at the boat I went over the side for a short cooling off swim. There was no wind or current - ideal conditions for hull cleaning - so I spent an hour on my third iteration of hull cleaning. Even with the reputation of La Paz waters the pace of marine growth is too much for my liking and I will have the boat antifouled again when it is lifted as part of the repowering. I will take the opportunity to raise the water line another 50 mm (2"), to the upper edge of the boot topping. I've got the time and energy to do the work myself but the marinas here do not allow boat owners to do this sort of work themselves.