Pouring over emailed pictures from Norway, I could hardly wait to pack. Though my phone calls to the captain with specific questions were often answered with short one word Nordic grunts, he was very busy, right? So, to find answers about the 1991 boat I was about to call home for the next six months, I looked at a brand new model; what difference would a few years of chartering to complete strangers in the Caribbean make? Let me share the feeling of …wonder that met my eyes when a half-inflated dinghy with a rusty  bashed out-board  transported me rather noisily to an  old boat that had just had the paint touched up quite obviously by hand with a brush in several places with a color that was several shades off. “There she is,” beamed the captain as we pulled alongside. “We just finished polishing her up for you!”

     I soon discovered a space that had been lived in by two Norwegian men who it seemed were hell-bent on seeing who could pile the dishes highest before they toppled over onto what they proudly announced was the newly varnished floor, barely visible under “stuff” of every description. “Where do you eat?” seemed a logical question as I carefully stepped over this and that to get to my designated aft cabin. “Oh, we mostly grill something and eat topside.” Hmmm. 

      Storage: As I glanced  at six months of hot and cold weather clothing, plus foul weather gear awaiting some space-bag miracle to fit into two drawers in a standard night table and hang space consisting of a 14x14x36 closet with two life jackets in it. Oh yes...nearly forgot: I sleep the wrong way on my queen bunk. It  has the added benefit of not rolling me on the floor when we do night sails.

     Welcome to Water World.

     Cleaning has become a constant obsession just to keep up with the Norskies. I keep wondering who these charter people were…a bunch of Chimps? Welcome to my new watery world.

Sharon Heggie, a Canadian, has been everything from a successful innkeeper to a chiropractic assistant to a TV producer/host and the list now includes sailor! When not traveling, she cheerfully bakes cookies for her family in Midlothian, VA where she can also be found at frequent food and wine events. 

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