My boat captain lessons continue: yesterday I was assigned to work on a boat, rented by a group of friends for the day. Very exciting! Where would we go? What wonders of the open ocean lay in store for us? I dreamed of the adventures we would encounter, discovering uncharted islands and perhaps searching for sunken treasure. But then it turned out the friends just wanted to float around, get tan and drink. Ah.
I worked on a 68-foot Azimut*, a lovely boat with four bedrooms and satellite TV. It was bigger than my apartment. Although that doesn't say much.
When I arrived I thought I was acting sufficiently tough amongst the rest of the crew, pretending I belonged in the Salty Sea Club, until I asked the captain if there was any sunblock on board. He looked at me and said "........(big pause)...........nnnnnnnnno. Why?" If I had asked for a Hello Kitty life vest, he wouldn't have been more disgusted with my weakness. But I care not. I went on another boat and stole SPF 15 to apply in secret.
It was a rocky start—after 30 seconds of holding a rope, shrieking "I don't know how to tie knots!", the rest of the crew just yelled at me and made me feel bad about myself. But then I went into the galley and found the secret stash of Reese's peanut butter cups and suddenly my confidence was restored, and had a grand time running around the deck.
When you're working on a boat, you don't really sit; so standing for 6, 7, 8 hours on a moving boat is like standing on a Power Plate. I couldn't get out of bed this morning without lifting up my legs with my hands, and propping myself up like I was on stilts. Ouch.
* That's not the exact boat I was on but it's close. Fancy. Ignore the mountains in the background, there are no mountains in Miami.
Pssst...you could say they are clouds. I thought they were, knowing there are no mountains in Miami.
You make me want to go boating!
Posted by: Erica | October 13, 2009 at 09:53 PM
o m g i have a power plate and i just started using it. my legs have felt like that for the past month. glad you share my pain. can i call you matey?
Posted by: willam | October 14, 2009 at 02:32 AM