Top 10 Things To Do When Confined To The Boat Due To Bad Weather

Sometimes it rains a day here and there and sometimes it will rain for a week. Be it the rain or high winds or whatever confines us to the boat we have to find alternative ways to be productive. Here’s a list of our top ten things we find that fills our time.

     1.)   Boat Improvement and Maintenance

This is a rough environment for all it encompasses. The work is never done and constant repairs and maintenance exist. Some of our most recent fixes have been finishing trim and small work working projects previously put on the back burner,  a light here and a charger cord there. When it rains outside, we fix leaks inside. Although, it’s not always easy to find the origin of the leak.

                    2.)   Watch the Weather - Destination and Navigation

When the weather’s nasty, it’s important to know what to expect in the coming days. Receiving weather forecasting becomes a priority. The weather information we obtain helps us determine when and where we can or will go next. We have a few options for getting weather forecasts. We currently have a data card for the Bahamas, which when inserted in Jimi’s phone give us access to limited internet. This is one option Jimi uses for checking weather. Another is through our HAM radio. We can tune in to Chris Parker at 6:30am and at 8am to get weather information for the Bahamans and the Caribbean.  One of the coolest ways we can get weather updates is through ‘weather fax’. They are available at certain times of the day. By connecting our laptop to the HAM radio we receive a fax through the laptop with various weather reports. There are audio weather updates through the HAM radio on various channels and times, as well. Sometimes the VHF radio and public radio are options for getting local weather. From there we hit the charts to determine what destinations are possible and appeal to us. So when the weather clears up and the winds are in our favor, we have a plan or two.

     3.)   Personal Indoor Hobbies

We are well prepared with things of our own personal interest to keep us busy during the down times. Lorie catches up on scrap booking, stitching cards, cross stitching and watercolors.  Jimi enjoys post processing pictures or video from recent adventures, tinkering to make something out of nothing and experimenting/improving  electronics for example working on computers and 12 volt gadgets.

     4.)   Read

Rainy days are a perfect time to get caught up on our reading. Lorie has recently finished  the first four books of “A Game of Thrones” and is now reading the fifth. Jimi’s reads include studying the endless subject of sailing, which is everything from anchoring to weather, self steering to fishing and a plethora of cruising guides. We have a vast number of books that keep us well occupied.

     5.)    Baking

When boat bound it may not be possible to go ashore to purchase bread and other feel good eats. We solved that problem by baking our own. We often bake a couple of things at a time to utilize the use of propane. Our favorites include bread, pizza from scratch, cookies, banana  bread, dinner rolls, casseroles, and the list goes on. So when the weather is nasty and depressing outside we are able to fill the cabin with good smells and tasty food inside.

     6.)   Write to Prepare Blog Updates and Post Process Photos

Deciding what to write, when to write and when we can upload what we write are all factors that have to be considered and take up time. Adding pictures? Oh, what pictures have we taken and what pictures should we take. Then we have to post process those pictures and most importantly re-size them to a bandwidth friendly size. There’s no better time to do these things then while stuck on board.

      7.)   If Available, Surf the Net

Having the internet is a real luxury. When we do have it Lorie always messages with Jennifer (her daughter) and emails with her peeps in Georgia, South Carolina and Colorado. Jimi uses his time to research weather, cruising destinations and current projects. He also gets caught up on the news and recent events.

    8.)   Watch Movies

Thinking ahead years ago we began collecting movies. Watching movies is good entertainment to pass the time when needed. Some of our favorites and more recent films have been Casablanca, Walk the Line, The Notebook, Soylent Green, Sunset Limited and The African Queen.

     9.)   Play Games

We don’t play games as often as we want to or think we should, but we do have and have played chess, Teas hold ‘em, Life, Monopoly and Scrabble. Playing games provides great interaction and passes the time when needed.

     10.)   Annoy the Cat

Molly loves to annoy us….especially when we are preparing food. Sometimes when we are bored we return the favor and annoy her. The only thing is, she doesn’t take it that way; she loves the attention and wants more. Really, this time to interact with her is important because during fair weather she is on her own while we are out and about. So actually #10 should read play with the cat.