Down and Out in Paris and London and Training

Dear family and friends,

I am enjoying my time camping in the bed of my new (to me) truck. I live out on the point, where there are no services, like power or plumbing. It’s only a short walk to the clubhouse where I spend considerable time with my writing and trip logistics planning, since the cell signal and WiFi is almost non-existent at the “point”.

Maybe I imagine it, but there seems to be some sort of bias against someone “camping” versus living in a trailer or proper RV. Most of the people are friendly, but not always eager to mix with the riff-raff who needs to camp and cannot afford a proper lodging. When I explain that I need to get used to living in a tiny space (the bed of my pickup truck for now) to train for living in an even tinier space (the “cabin” of my sailing and rowing boat), I often wonder if I forgot to speak English and went to another made up language that listeners do not understand. I think I can read “why?” On their foreheads. 

Years ago, I read George Orwell’s book DOWN AND OUT IN PARIS AND LONDON, which was semi-autobiographical about the author spending time with the poor people who served the wealthy in those cities in the late 1920’s. I often considered trying a version of this for myself. I didn’t realize I was doing it this trip. 

I will admit, the reflection of that “why” comes back to me as I spend time planning this big adventure. It is a big one for me and occasionally makes me wonder what the f**k I plan on doing or even why. 

Depending on what I call “success” in an endeavor like this, it will take a bit of luck and lots of mental and physical endurance.

It fits my idea of a good adventure in that it is not the usual way to go (I chose to go non-motorized). It is challenging also,combining the study of guidebooks for kayak travel and motorboat travel guides on this route. I typically find that once on my way I figure out what and how to do it, but don’t want to get myself backed into a corner by missing a key planning factor. 

The learning of the boat and training is going well, both the rowing and sailing. I find that at first I was afraid of the speed of the boat, the tenderness of such a light boat and the fact there is nothing to hang onto except for the foot straps. Once I get up to speed in a fresh breeze though, it is fun to see it practically fly with not that much wind. 

The dinghy sailing experts in Port Townsend told me all I should need to know about sailing a dinghy with a centerboard: ” down when up” and ” up when down”. I’m guessing that means the board goes down when upwind, etc.

In rowing it, I am learning that I cannot row it the same as a rowing shell, where you can apply all your strength and power to each stroke, as the weight of the boat (400 pounds without water jugs) is too much and is hard on the legs and back, so works much better with less power applied. That’s why the seller of this boat bought the ocean rowing style blades, with much less grab of water than the traditional hatchet style blades for racing.

I am taking a couple of days off of rowing to let muscles recover. It seems I can sustain about four miles per hour for a long time, if I pace myself, once I get fit.

I joined an ANYTIME FITNESS here for $20 per week, so I mix up bicycling, gym workout and rowing the boat.

Camping in the truck helps me decide what I will need to pack in the boat to be able to camp in it comfortably and not overload it, but still have the basics needed. I expect I can leave about half of what I brought for the boat trip in the truck when I leave. Space and weight are both considerations. Why would one need more than one spoon and one fork and one pot for eating and cooking?

I see there are big snows in Wrangell and record rainfall in western Washington and I am sitting in the shade next to the pool as I’m writing this to stay out of the 75 degree F day with clear skies. I can almost understand why northerners spend their winters here. 

Sending love,

Charley