Amari - Day 7 Sailor Standards

We had more amazing weather today, with light caressing winds of 10-15 kts over the stern quarter and sunny skies to warm your skin.

And to think, a mere 1,211 miles to go of this wonderfulness.

So today, we decided it was get-a-shower day on the SV Amari. After all it had been … what day is it today … wait we are in November right … yeah so it’s been a while.

And I feel you getting all judgy with some land-lubber snark about, “Well yeah I guess it HAS been a few days then [snort]”.

But let’s face it, we’re on a boat in the middle of an ocean. Standards change out here for hygiene and clothing.

If you were in a standard town in Anywheresville, Generica and you showed up to work or the mall or your yoga class in the clothes you had on yesterday, people would be like, dude THAT shirt again? That’s two days in a row!

But out here, you only have so many clothes in that tiny shoebox you call a closet. And because the fashion police make for annoying crew, they get left at their mall job at the Gap where they belong.

Out here the units are just different. It’s more like, hey man you know you first put on that shirt back in September right? Its vintage at this point. Let it go.

As for taking a shower, well, water is more precious than gold when you are 1000 miles from the nearest tap. Baby wipes become your new best friend. Frankly, as long as I don’t feel like I need to be upwind of myself, we’re all good over here.

That being said, you can’t wash your hair with a baby wipe, so... sooner or later, showers are in order. Once we made the announcement, it was like Christmas morning when you’re 8 years old. Such anticipation!

We busted out the shampoo and soap, and strapped them to the back rail with bungees so they don’t become our contribution to the plastic in the ocean.

After strict instructions on where NOT to look, we each took a turn airing out our birthday suits on the transom with the stern shower. Given that the nearest boat is probably 20 miles away, our modesty remained politely intact.

As the fresh water rinsed my hair and face I tasted the salt that the air had deposited on me over the past I’m-too-embarassed-to-say days, and I thought to myself wow, remember how amazing this feels?

Once clean, you consult the shoebox, pull out a fresh non-salt-encrusted shirt, and feel like an entirely new human being.

Man, I’m going to have to do this every month! 😉