Hi,
my Name is Lani and i am now 17months old. I can tell you horror stories about boats! It started with my production, i was even made on a boat in Portugal. Then, when iwas just 3 months old my parents made me fly all the way from India to Portugal and we cruised for 4 weeks. Cruising is spending money to move slowly in a boat. A boat is something little kids have in their bath tub or big kids have in the ocean! They both have the same problem: The boat is always to small and the conditions never good enough. I even had a full 48page travel passport when i was only 6 weeks old! Other parents only care about diaper fillings at that time and mine dragged me through embassies. And on the boat it was amazing:
I was sleeping in their bed between them with all these cozy sounds of water and it was always moving slightly. Ok, sometimes it was also loud and moving heavily but usually it was a gentle move and noise and i was sleeping as tight as never before.
During daytime i was often sitting with them on what they call the helm station. It had a big wheel and a kind of TV and other instruments and it seems that these gadgets were actually controlling my parents. Sometimes when they showed high numbers they were fumbling around with these huge white towels on a stick whick they called "mast".
I was in my car seat which was fixed to a cockpittable with belts and could watch the scenery. It was nice to see dolphins jumping and daddy shouting at mum. Whenever i shout at mum my dad takes her side.
For my bath they have emptied a plastic box which usually contained some tools and filled it with water. How embarassing we do not even have a hot tub on board!
I saw my dad dragging things behind the boat and he promised me to show me a fish but it never happened. Once they told me they had caught one while i had my nap but i guess it was from the supermarket.
The 4 weeks passed by quickly and i started to get used to it. For a vacation it was nice but living on the boat? NEVER!
I grew older and i heard my parents often using the words: "boat, sail, Caribean, blue water, money, unrealiable boatshops, insurance, watermaker and windgenerator" and i had the gut feeling that something was cooking!
Once they said: "Lets do it for at least one year and move to the boat" and they seemed to be very happy. Then the talked about an "ARC" and what the pros and cons are. Finally they told me "Lani, we will go with the ARC!". Hmm i thought they wanted to go by boat. Now i figured out that we go with by boat and with the ARC. So the ARC must be something cool and fun too.
The boat had to be equipped and my dad was swearing on the phone and typing angry emails almost on a daily basis. Is that what makes cruising fun? The were preparing huge lists and instead of cheap books started to read big manuals. When we finally arrived at the boat in July 2009 i even got my own cabin with a net so i can not fall out. It has my name written on the door and plenty of toys. The first 4 weeks we were stuck and dad was even swearing more and often speaking on the phone to multiple boat shops. The most common words he used were: "Unreliable, expensive, wrong and late". Parents are strange.
What i really liked was the nice weather and that i could play with water almost all day. Since we have a catamaran there is always a place where i can sit and play. Strange that the adults never like it if water comes into the boat itself. I think that would be fun.
We have a small inflatable pool and a trampoline at the bow where i love to play and jump around. Other kids recognized me by my distinctive walking pattern which is perfectly suited for a rocking boat but might look a little strange on land.
My parents speak english and german to me but i never figured out to which language "bom dia" and "Ola" belongs to. Many other cruising kids speak other languages but thats ok with me. Many of them also speak a few words english. When we left Portugal we sailed for endless days and i was not allowed to roam around on my own on the boat. These days were really long but i learned many new songs and my parents tried to improve their drawing skills. Daddys seahorses always looks like cows to me!
We have a private taxi which is moounted on the back end of the boat, called the stern. It can be lowered and then we usually drive to land and go for a walk or even better for dinner. I have to were my yellow lifevest with Dory and nemo printed on it. I am always proud to wear it.
Who came up with the idea that little girls dont get seasick? Once i was feeling bad the sea was rough and i could not keep my breakfast. Mummy, i promise, it was not because of the breakfest itself but maybe with sweets instead of a bread it would be better!
We met other people on boats which had a blue flag and also talked about the ARC. it was always fun to meet them in different harbours and islands. German, Norwegian, Dutch, english and scottish. I even learned that english and scottish is not the same.
Our trip to the Canary islands was good. No wind but many turtles swimming. Only daddy was not happy that the ocean looked like a small lake. It was the first time i saw the turtles from my Nemo playcards live! Isn´t that beautiful? Another beautiful thing is that my dad is now 24hours with me and mum. When he was still working i saw him one hour in the morning and maybe 2 in the evening and these were not often my best hours either....
We saw and met more and more boats with the blue flag and now ended up in Las Palmas. Daddy is again going through checklists and Mum is buying food like we would be out at sea for 3 weeks. Strange, isn´t it?
So if other kids ask me about cruising the oceans i tell them it is most of times fun because i have my parents around all the time. If they ask me about the ARC i tell them it is a meeting thing where sailors meet other sailors to get over their checklists and drink a few beer.
The fun thing is: These lists never get shorter and so does the beer supply!
Lani Waldbrenner
on board catamaran LinoCat
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