Lagoon 380

Provisioning For Farley

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 5 Comments
Farley's Fed for the Winter

So who says my wheaten terrier is spoiled? #sailing Here he sits with his high-end pet food, Orijen, waiting patiently to eat.

Today, Farley and I went shopping. This mound will get him through till the spring. He even got to pick his own treat. Of course he chose a Bully Strap. While I loaded the car, he ate his treat in the pet store.

Dog food in the Bahamas can be expensive and the choice limited. I buy the smaller bags to reduce the risk of spoilage. If I lose one bag, that’s okay.

The smaller bags are easier to store on a sailboat. We just have to remember where we store them. After six months, it’s easy to forget.

My lucky dog.

Testing: Equipment and Scenes

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 5 Comments

As we get ready to head offshore we test all our equipment. #writetip Before you send your manuscript off to an agent or publisher, you should test it too. I can’t imagine going to sea unprepared or unsure that everything, and I mean everything, is working. Here we are testing bring the sail up and down, repeatedly.

I use several test people at different stages of my novel. I have a two very important test phases.

One is at first draft. Here you need a test reader that will work with you chapter by chapter and tell you what they like and what they don’t like.

Two is at the final stage before sending. Here you need a reader that has an amazing eye for detail. This is the person that will proofread for you. The one that will find all the typos your eye can no longer see.

If I’ve significantly changed a scene from when one of my experts read it, I will ask them to read one more time.  This is asking a lot, but I want to make sure I didn’t inadvertently put in a technical error.

I’m sure there are many ways to do this, but this is what works for me.

Cruising and Dog Safety

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments
Farley gets a ride

If you plan to cruise with a dog, one thing you might want to consider is your pet’s safety gear.

Farley has his own life jacket, a gift from  Chopper’s Pet Supplies in Invermere BC, but doesn’t wear it all the time. He’ll wear it kayaking in rough weather, or if we are kayaking along a rocky shoreline where he couldn’t get ashore himself.

When we are underway, Farley has his own tether and harness. He is not allowed out of the cockpit unless he is tethered to me or the boat. He has a safe spot to curl up when the boat is rocking.

We keep him in a harness instead of a collar when we are underway, so if he gets jarred his neck won’t het hurt. It also makes it easy for us to hoist him onboard if we have to.

Farley has a dog tag for each collar or harness wears. That way we don’t forget to put a tag on. His tags are engraved with his name, our email address, boat name and phone number. If he gets lost, we are easy to find. I’d love to hear about any other safety gear used by cruisers.

Related articles

Cruising, Writing and Spreadsheets

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 6 Comments
Provisioning

Do we really need to eat this much? #sailing #writetip

I think I’ve turned into a spreadsheet junky.

I have just reached a first draft of my third novel. Now I study the spreadsheet I created as I was writing the novel, decide at the best order of scenes, where the chapter breaks should be, do I have enough scenes with the main characters, etc.

As if my head wasn’t exploding with details,  but I was feeling so productive and decided it was time to do some provisioning.  So out came spreadsheet number two. After two years of updating this spreadsheet, I know exactly how much food we eat.

Every season, I write down when we run out of food or if we have left overs at the end of the season. It’s getting pretty accurate. During the season I add lines if there is something we were missing. Last year, I didn’t bring enough honey. One little bottle. What was I thinking? I love honey.

Today it’s back to my writing spreadsheet and the hard work of editing that first draft.

Related links:

Keeping Track of Details

Preparations for Cruising

~ Kristina Stanley ~ Leave a comment
Vero Beach, FL Mooring Field

The boats are starting to line up in the Vero Beach mooring field. #sailing

As I sit in my cockpit working on my novel, I can’t help but stop and enjoy the view. I should really be provisioning, as this is the time of year we get ready to cross the Gulf Stream and head for the Bahamas.

It’s an exciting time to be a cruiser in Florida. Many of our friends who cruise are arriving and each day we look forward to seeing who is in the mooring field. Some have passed us already and are farther south. Some are still farther north haven’t caught up to us.

Our catamaran, Mattina, is almost  ready to go. Systems have been tested and maintained. spare parts ordered. Now the big task of provisioning begins.

Cruising with Manatees

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 3 Comments

Have you ever seen manatees kiss? #sailing Part of the joy of cruising is the unexpected events that happen each day.

There are moments in life when it’s meant to be observed: life that is. How lucky was I to spot these manatees. Being a foot away from such magnificent creates made me stop and think.

I hide my head in the pages of the novel I’m writing and enjoy every moment of it, but what am I missing? Sometimes is pays to take a break!

Dog Parks While Cruising

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 3 Comments

Dogs bring special needs with them onto a cruising boat. #sailing One of their needs is exercise. While in the U.S. or Canada is easy to find dog parks. When you pull into an anchorage, Google will find one for you if you don’t know where one is. Locals are always happy to point us in the direction of a good dog park.

Just north of the Titusville Municipal Marina in Florida is  a fenced in dog park. It’s split in two. Half designated for small dogs, half for big dogs. It has a double gate for entry, ensuring our pup can’t run away. It even has water. It was a nice surprise for us and for Farley.

There is a dog park near Vero Beach Municipal Marina, but it’s not fenced.

Seaside beaches in the U.S have varying rules for dogs. Some allow them, some don’t. We always check first before taking Farley for a run.

If you’re cruising to the Bahamas, dogs can run free on the beach. Some places have organized “doggy beach parties” depending on how many dogs are in an anchorage. It’s easy to start one up. Just get on the VHF and announce one.

“Who let the dogs out?” Woof Woof

Genoa Rigged

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

When don’t you want wind for your Genoa? #cruising This morning we awoke to 3 knots of wind. Perfect for rigging the genoa. She went up without a hitch – literally (and pardon the cliché). Rigging the sail is easy on a catamaran. The wide bow with a trampoline gives us plenty of working space.

Now to rig the mainsail . . . The radar is telling us a rain storm is on they way, so the mainsail has to wait until tomorrow. Maybe we’ll get lucky and wake up to 3 knots of wind again.

Sometimes I love the rain. It gives me an excuse to stay inside and write.

Milestones

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 1 Comment
Mattina Getting Launched

It’s time to celebrate! #sailing Big moments in life shouldn’t go unrecognized. Mattina, our Lagoon 380, is in the water. We keep her on the hard for the summer and then, after a lot of hard work each fall, she goes back in the water for a winter of cruising.

Waking up this morning, I was too excited to write. The sun is up, coffee is ready and it’s time to put the sails up. Not literally. Before that can happen, we clean the sails, check and maintain the rigging, wait for a calm morning, and then up they go.

What does this have to do with writing? Well, aren’t all milestones important. Like the day you wrote your first page, finished your first draft, had your first reader, or sent your work to an agent. Every one of these moments should be acknowledged. Tomorrow, I’ll settle down and get some writing done.

Checking for Errors

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments
Mattina: Lagoon 380 S2

Getting a boat ready for a season of sailing is like proofreading a novel. #writetip Our catamaran is out of the water, and this gives us the opportunity to check under the water line for any issues. We go over every inch of the boat just like an author should go over every letter and punctuation mark on the page.

I don’t know if it’s just that I read in more detail since I’ve started writing, but I notice more and  more errors in published novels. This goes for both those that go through the traditional publishing houses and those that are self-published.

I understand the occasional typo, but yesterday I found the same sentence written twice. I know the author has spent so much time with the book that is impossible to see it after a while. Here is where I believe an editor is in need.

Whether you hire a professional editor or ask a friend, make sure it’s someone with an eye for detail. It sounds obvious, but you need someone who is tough on you.