I’m not sure who coined the phrase “Sea Gypsy”, but I picked it up from Cap’n Fatty Goodlander; one of my favorite sailing authors and self-proclaimed Sea Gypsy.

For us, it means going with the seas, wind & currents – letting them guide our journey. We don’t force ourselves to meet any expectations, not even our own! If the weather turns ugly, we stay put; if we find an unusual, secluded anchorage, we stay put; if we meet interesting people, we stay put and then, when the time is right, we weigh anchor and sail away towards our next destination.

Yes, yes; I can hear all of you laughing!

I can’t say that it’s always easy, sometimes we just want to get going and start getting annoyed that the weather won’t cooperate! Guess how much good that does? So, after being pissed for a few hours, I shrug my shoulders, settle in and enjoy whatever our current location has to offer.  When that fails, we remind ourselves that some of our fondest memories are those “happy accidents” that we never planned.

Happy Accidents

On our way to the Long Island sound one 4th of July weekend, we ran into so many crazy boaters flying around the Hudson, that we decided it just wasn’t worth the hassle. We anchored for the night on the Hudson River in a random spot just off the Palisades. We were sitting in the cockpit simply enjoying the quiet evening, when we suddenly found ourselves in the middle of a private fireworks show being put on by one of the towns! It was absolutely amazing!

On another occasion, we hit a bit of not so good weather and decided to anchor for the night just off Cold Spring (NY) on the way to Newburgh. The following morning, we rowed ashore and enjoyed a great day in this quaint riverside town. We’ve returned several times now, to a town that, until that day, was simply another blur of greenery along the Hudson River as we sailed by.

Of course, who can forget the lovely Jekyll Island (GA) we were “forced” to visit when we missed the tide and couldn’t get under the last bridge on the way to Fernandina Beach, FL. On every one of these occasions, we could very easily have allowed the situation to turn ugly, but in this example, instead of getting annoyed at missing the tide, we dropped anchor just north of the bridge. We had lunch, I fished, Maria read a book and we simply waited for the tide to drop again that evening. By that time, it was too late to get to Fernandina Beach before sunset, so we simply sailed under the bridge and visited Jekyll Island… we liked it so much, that we ended up spending almost a week there!

Right now, we’ve been sitting at anchor in The Atlantic Highlands for over a week, we sat in Cuttyhunk for a week and we sat in Provincetown Harbor for over two weeks! Our intent had been to go through the Cape Cod Canal on September 2nd, but Hurricane Florence decided to show up. Not knowing where she would head, we opted to simply stay put until the possibility of danger had passed. It meant that we would miss the Annapolis SSCA get-together, but so be it.

The Buddha

So what the heck does The Buddha have to do with this?  Well, the teachings of the Buddah tell us that everything in life is transitory and that by setting expectations and by clinging to them, we create our own suffering.  It is only by letting go that we can move forward and truly enjoy what is present for us in the moment.  We attempt to be conscious of that fact each and every day.  This is not to say that we don’t set expectations, but rather that we try to move on quickly when those expectations are not met.

I know plenty of people that would have never gotten to enjoy the quiet night at anchor and the private fireworks display.  They would have continued to push through, they would have gotten annoyed at the mess being created by the other boaters, they would have reached their expected destination that evening, but they would not have enjoyed it and would have wondered why everything always seems to not work out for them.

So, set your goals and objectives and create your expectations if you must, but allow for the fact that things happen everyday that will start you down a path you hadn’t even considered – be open to them and enjoy!

Winnie the Pooh

The Tao of Pooh

Seriously, Winnie the Pooh?  Yep!

Many, many years ago, I picked up a book titled The Tao of Pooh.  I highly recommended it and if you’ld like a copy for yourself, please consider using this Amazon affiliate link to purchase it.  t’s a great read and does an excellent job of capturing some of life’s very basic truths:

“Things just happen in the right way, at the right time. At least when you let them, when you work with circumstances instead of saying, ‘This isn’t supposed to be happening this way,’ and trying harder to make it happen some other way.”
― Benjamin Hoff, The Tao of Pooh

“You’d be surprised how many people violate this simple principle every day of their lives and try to fit square pegs into round holes, ignoring the clear reality that Things Are As They Are.”
― Benjamin Hoff, The Tao of Pooh

“When you discard arrogance, complexity, and a few other things that get in the way, sooner or later you will discover that simple, childlike, and mysterious secret known to those of the Uncarved Block: Life is Fun.”
― Benjamin Hoff, The Tao of Pooh

Enjoying life and trying to make a difference

A big part of our “Sea Gypsy” lifestyle is being self sufficient, treading lightly and giving back.

We’ve always been very conscious of our impact on our little planet and if possible, are even more in tune now. We produce very little waste – on average, about 2 of the supermarket shopping bags worth per week and no plastic bottles at all! We’ve been making our own seltzer water for years now using the SodaStream Carbonator.  We still purchase beer and wine, with their associated glass bottles which need to be recycled, but I’m working on getting around that as well… I’ve been talking with one cruiser that brews all his own beer!

Just as importantly, we’ve continued to reduce our power consumption and in turn, our carbon footprint even further. In the last five months, we have not tapped in to shore power once, producing the bulk of our own electricity using our wind generator. While typically providing us with enough power for our needs, we’ve had to severely curtail our consumption a few times due to lack of wind, and so I intend to add solar panels this winter to further increase our passive energy producing capacity.

Are we going to stop global warming? Ah, No!  But in our own little way, we’re making a difference.

And so, as we make our way south this fall/winter, our story continues to be written… we’ll continue to pick up trash on the trails we hike; we’ll continue to help out fellow cruisers, as many have helped us in the past and we’ll continue to smile and greet strangers as we walk through new towns – as before, some will respond in kind, some will ignore me and surely, some will think I’m nuts!  But, in all these small, seemingly insignificant ways, we will continue to make a difference.

Finally, since some have asked, let me clearly say that, in the end, it is not our objective to sail around the world, if that should happen as we voyage, then that is all well and good, but it is not our purpose. Our purpose is to live simply, love deeply and to enjoy whatever each day brings our way on this amazing journey we call life.

I wish you peace my friends!

Till next time,
Carlos & Maria
SV Rocinante…_/)