LIVING ON MANTRA
Living on Mantra is casual
and is meant to be as
relaxed as the weather and
its effects allow; and as
relaxed as the needs of work
on the boat allow.
The primary purpose of all
this mass of information
available on my web site is
to help us keep the
atmosphere on Mantra
hassle-free & problem free
and to provide a structure
within which life is
predictable and where people
find life enjoyable, do not
get on each others' nerves
and, hopefully, do really enjoy each
other’s company.
All people on board are
expected to be social and to
participate in the life of
the boat & to help (without
having to be asked). I do
not look for people whose
inclination is mainly to
pursue their own independent
interests alone and who I
would therefore regard more
as a passenger / occasional
helper / visitor; rather
than the crew, companion
that I would prefer. On Mantra
the social group is more
important than the
individual.
GENERAL
I do most of the navigation
and keep any radio net
schedules. If nobody else's
skills are better than my
level of mechanical /
electrical skills, I am
forced to attend to boat
repair / engine maintenance
work but I am happier if
someone else can take that
over, or at least help me
with it.
While under way there's
always something to do
whether it is active about
the boat (keeping lookout,
adjusting course, plotting
position & doing log
entries, checking fuel
consumption, sail trimming,
checking the fishing line,
etc)
or is maintenance & cleaning
& wish list jobs etc, or reading, or
sitting & thinking or just
sitting! There's plenty of
room and plenty of space for
one to lie out if one is
tired of sitting. Mantra is
also just big enough for one
to be able to get away more
to oneself if one feels a
need for a spell of personal
space.
I have scuba equipment and
two tanks. If people scuba
dive and if I lend them a
tank of mine I expect them
to ensure it is full again
when they leave or that they
pay for it to be filled
later.
We have fishing rods and
lines. We fish for food
rather than for sport.
Though Mantra is primarily a
motor yacht, we hoist sails
whenever it is worth it.
Our range under power alone
is above 3,000 nautical
miles. Having sails up is
not only more fun but also
economises on diesel.
For more information on
living on Mantra and on what
is required of you, please
see below:
WATCH KEEPING
Usually there are no formal
watches during the day. Each
person takes some of the
load, but not on a scheduled
basis. Whoever has the
whistle hanging on their
chest is the person
responsible for the boat at
that time. If an overnight
sail is involved, formal
watches start at 9p00 and
end around 9a00. We do take
effective watchkeeping
seriously. Which watch I
take depends on SSB radio
schedules and on how many of
us there are. If there are
only two of us, it is likely
we would do 3 hours on and 3
hours off to cover 12 hours
of night watchkeeping. I
would normally take the
midnight to 3a00 watch and
the 6a00 onwards watch. My
crew companion would take
the 9p00 to midnight and the
3a00 to 6a00 watches. If
there are three of us, we
might do 4 hour watches or
one x 4 and two by 3½. In
that case I would usually
split my watch into 2 + 2
and would take first and
last. That way I can cope
more easily with being woken
as required for any problems
and when advice is needed.
When we are three, the other
two people work out how they
would like to allocate the
other two watches.
MEALS
A Roman general is quoted as
having said "An army marches
on its stomach". Life on
Mantra while on passage
tends to revolve round its
social pattern of meals and
our sundowners at the
cocktails / happy hour.
Breakfast is usually tea &
cereals or fruit, sometimes
porridge, sometimes tea &
toast or croissants,
sometimes pancakes or even
scrambled eggs on toast --
but usually cereals or
fruit or toast. Lunch is more of a
snack, a very light meal,
often cold unless it is soup
or a something on toast. The
evening meal is the main
meal, usually cooked after
the galley has started to
cool from the day's hot sun. We eat well! When
cruising (rather than on
passage) we tend to eat the
evening meal ashore if there
is a convivial taverna
available and if our
individual budgets allow.
Unless we are going to have
something special or someone
takes over the cooking,
either I prepare the
breakfast or we each do our
own. Unless there's a member
of crew who is keen on
cooking, I often attend to
the snack lunch. The cooking
of the (main) evening meal
is usually done by the other
member(s) of the crew. I do
not enjoy cooking, though I
do much enjoy food
We often have pasta dishes.
We constantly try to catch
fish to eat. I eat meat, but
depending on who is with us,
seem to be eating far less
meat than before. We try to
be conscious of cholesterol.
I have an aversion to garlic
and do not like poultry (ie:
chicken, turkey, pigeons),
nor game (ie: venison,
pheasant and very rich meat
that needs to be hung);
otherwise I eat most
things.
As already mentioned, it
helps if at least one member
of the crew likes cooking as
I do not like cooking.
SPACE & ACCOMODATION
Storage space is at a
premium.
WORK
Provided they
actually do their
share, it is up to
the individual when
they do their share
of "boat work".
RECREATION & TOYS
Recreation -
We do go ashore very often
to happy hours or to drinks
on the beach. We also try
and get ashore frequently to
walk, sightsee, shop or
windowshop. When at anchor /
in port we often have the
evening meal ashore, unless
eating out is particularly
expensive in that place.
When there are just two of
us and where we can afford
it, we eat out a lot.
At 6pm we usually have a
sundowner drink in the
cockpit. It is not unknown
for me to have a shandy
before lunch.
Toys -
We have cards, poker dice,
music, videos, films and
books. When cruising we
tend to swap paperbacks and
videos en route with other
boats. There are three TV's
but when cruising these
appear rarely to be used.
One (in the dinette) is a
multi-system TV. The TV
card in a computer is also
multi-system. Another TV is
in the owner's cabin.
There's a stereo radio / CD
player and I have a
selection of music. There's
also a cassette player which
can be hooked up. The
computers also play DVD’s
and have good external
speakers. The stereo
radio / CD player will also
take a USB stick, as will
the computer.
DRINKING
Mantra is not an AA "dry"
boat. However, people are
expected to regulate their
drinking. Getting even
slightly "inebriated,
boozed, glazed, mellow"
while at sea is a definite
no-no. Frequent heavy
drinking or binge drinking
while not out at sea but
living on Mantra is also a
no-no. But our sundowner
drink(s) before supper seem
to take place most days - as
in Mantra’s cockpit at
Sifnos in the photo below.
OBJECTIVES
My objectives are to enjoy
life in a leisurely manner,
to keep healthy, to see
interesting places, meet
interesting people, avoid
difficult people, cruise
comfortably and to cruise
with the minimum of stress
and in warm waters. Other
objectives are to avoid
risks that can be avoided
and to avoid humidity &
cold. It helps if my crew
companion has similar
objectives.
I like living on boats and I
regard Mantra more as being
my home than I regard her as
being a boat. I live aboard
all year round, not just for
extended vacations.
That Mantra is a personal
home as well as a boat is
one of the keys to
understanding life on Mantra
so as to enjoy it to the
fullest extent possible for
you. The other keys to
understanding life on Mantra
are:
On Mantra the social group
is more important than the
individual.
My main reasons for wanting
crew (rather than
single-handing) are for
effective watchkeeping and
for companionship and
because I do not like
cooking. Many people think
one's main reason for
wanting crew is that one is
unable to handle the boat on
one's own. That is not the
case here. Help with
handling the boat is a
useful bonus by-product
of having company.
If my crew companion knows
less than I do about
yachting, then I would be
happy to pass on as much of
my knowledge as the other
person wants to learn. I’m
told that I am an effective
and patient teacher.
