make her happy down there
We named newby sailor and soon-to-be round-the-world cruiser Taru Tuomi (left in picture) Sailor Chick of the Week back in August largely because she brought a courageous and completely unique voice to the stale genre of the cruising blog. Her (and boyfriend/skipper Alex’s) humorous and frequently sexy posts at the World Tour are informative, self-deprecating, and disarming in their honesty, so we jumped at the chance to get her to write something else for us. Her response was to come up with this excellent ‘why we do it’ piece for anyone interested in how to persuade a ridiculously hot fashion industry chick in Barcelona to ditch it all and head to sea for two years in a 28-year old, 35-foot 4KSB where the only thing that works well is the bed.
Read this one carefully, both to pick up Taru’s hilarious gift with doble sentido like the title of this piece, and if you’re a guy who dreams of sailing the oceans with his chick, or a chick thinking of taking the leap as crew, to learn some life lessons. And be sure to check out Taru and Alex’s blog for some more great stuff – and HOT pics (though it’s a bit foody heavy lately. Note to the editors: More ass, less mung beans, please). Photo from Alex of Taru and a couple of gal pals.
If you have read our blog, you’re probably familiar with the fact that I am a newbie in the world of sailing/cruising and that it is Alex who has the experience and knowledge to take us safely around the world for the circumnavigation we’re about to undertake. Also, if you have read carefully, you might be aware of the fact that I exchanged my somewhat glamorous life on the fashion avenue of Barcelona to live on a 35′ sailboat a short time ago, and things being what they are, it turned out to be the middle of the coldest winter that Spain had in years! More to the point; the Halberg-Rassy that this man convinced me to move aboard had a fridge that wasn’t working, a heater in similar condition, and plenty of other things that needed my newfound love’s attention after his purchase. The refit to make her a homey, comfortable space hadn’t yet happened, so how the hell did he talk me into it?
As the fridge was kaput, there was no fresh food to talk about. There was also no possibility to get up and walk to the head in the morning without turning my feet into icicles (and other precious bits numb). Basically, there was no joy in doing anything else in the boat besides laying underneath the thick duvet in the aft cabin. In fact, the only thing cozy about the boat in that first four months was the neat and welcoming aft cabin. I remember just how treasured my time lying underneath that hot duvet was, listening to the water peacefully lapping against the hull as hours dribbled by. We laid there – just me and my sailor man – all alone in the world and dreaming of sailing around it. But what I remember most clearly was the uniqueness of the feeling that room gave me. It was like hiding in a closet, with just 20 inches of headroom over the bunk, the total area just a third of my walk-in closet at home. It was rough, natural, and so much more real than the world where I recently belonged that I forgot all about the lack of fresh, cold milk and heated parquet floors. There was obviously a lot of other action in that cabin the first winter, and I guess it was the wild combination of passion, dreams, and possibility that drew me in, oh so deep.
The winter passed by, and new love and a comfy bed helped me make it through the cold, dark months. When springtime finally arrived, bringing a new fridge and other completed chores with it (and no need of cabin heat), I felt like I had found a new home. The toughest part of it all was done and we now had a circumnavigation to plan for. Who needed hundreds of pairs of heels with silly names like Manolo, Jimmy and Louboutin, when one could have what we had – the freedom of moving our small but comfortable home to wherever we wished. To any coral-fringed lagoon or surf-strewn anchorage, we could bring our cozy, warm and private bed with us; all we had to do was steer there. But before that freedom, the bed and aft cabin (which is always filled with inviting duvets and pillows) and where I first began falling in love with the life aboard for real.
So if there’s only one piece of advice for anyone wanting a woman to move on his boat, or wanting to instill a love for cruising as a couple in his relationship, it’s this: Plan for a sailing dream, take her down in your tidy and cozy cabin (This is of major importance -clean it up and make it fresh!) full of lush duvets and pillows, and make her enjoy that precious time below in the best way possible. I can assure you, if you know how to make her happy down there, she’ll look forward to an even longer trip next time.
With love,
Taru Tuomi, The World Tour
