Rhythms of the Day

The day begins about 1am for me – I wake up and “make water”.  Usually I check the back of the boat and make sure we are safe.  J

Often my day begins again around 6am, when I wake up and “make more water”.  It’s been dark at this hour and it’s good to check the back of the boat again.  No movement, other than the normal swinging on the anchor/mooring ball, is good news.

Quiet time begins for me about now and often lasts until 8am.  Marney usually sleeps longer.  First things (on the list)…. (1) check the battery monitor which tells us how “full” the batteries are (usually we begin each day around 80% and hope by the end of the day we’re back to 100%), (2) check the water level (which tells us whether or not we will need to turn the watermaker on), and (3) check the weather on the internet (which tell us wind direction and speed including gusts, wave direction, height and the timing between crests, temperature, cloud cover at high, mid, and low altitudes, anticipated precipitation - in millimeters during a three hour period).  The report shows all this information for 5am, 8am, 11am, 2pm, 5pm and 8pm. 

Then I write, read, check email. (we have a wonderful device called a MyFi which connects to the cell phone towers and allows us to have internet virtually anywhere in the BVI).  When I read Scripture, it’s now, and often electronically, using a devotional resource.  I will lower the dinghy back into the water so we can get ashore when we need to…

Marney shows up for her quiet time of tea, reading, writing, listening to the world and stretching exercises.

Then we have a small breakfast  (a bowl of cereal, or half a banana, or half a Greek yogurt, that sort of thing).  We talk about the day ahead, the weather and batteries and water tanks, and finalize our plans – for cleaning or fixing chores or moving the boat or going ashore for shopping/laundry, etc.  So, we live with the lists daily.  However…  usually something happens to intrude and, like life ashore, you go with the flow (it’s just that the “flow” moves more like lava than water here).

Lunch is often around 1-2pm and very light – a hard boiled egg, some peanut butter or a few potato chips.

Then the best part of the day begins.  Around 4-4:30 (sometimes as late as 5:00), we declare “quitting time”.  We take showers (she inside, he on the back of the boat), put on clean clothes, and get ready for the evening. 

The evening begins with appetizers and cocktails.  And we try to contact our children and grands.  We talk about the day, impressions, observations, good things.  We think about this (sometimes all-consuming) living on the water.  We’ll have cheese and crackers, or chips and salsa, or veggies and dip. 

If the computer and electricity “gods” are smiling, we’ll turn on the NBC Nightly News and watch YESTERDAY’S show.  We’re always a day late on the news, which feels about right for this life. 

And around 7pm we’ll cook dinner (often on the outdoor gas grill because it keeps the galley cooler), sit outside and eat our meal.  Our dinners are made of fish, rice or roasted potatoes and vegetables, no deserts (and for me, no breads).  We’ll do the dishes, and by 8:00pm we’re deciding if we want to watch a DVD or read our current books. 

By 9pm, the day ends. 

And throughout the day, we’re always paying attention to the weather.  When it rains, we’re closing the hatches and pulling in the towels hanging on the lifelines.  When it’s sunny, we’re opening the hatches and hanging things out to dry.  If we’re moving the boat, I’ll check both engines.   And we’ll watch for the fish, birds, people to come into this daily life with visits and some joy.

It’s both a lonely and a rich life.  And we’ll keep writing to help our friends and family know just how “crazy” we are to be doing this – for at least now.