Single handed shopping
Rhiann Marie - Round the World
Stewart Graham
Thu 8 Sep 2011 18:53
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Cape Town Thursday 8th September 1932 Local 1732
UTC
Today the full impact of the consequences of my
decision to single hand sail to complete my circumnavigation hit home to
me.
I went grocery shopping. Alone.
This was a shock to the system and to be quite
honest I almost fell at the first hurdle. You see my wife was born with a sixth
sense to automatically know where to find everything she needs in a supermarket.
sadly from my point of view she is also born with a seventh sense which guides
her to the place to find everything she doesn't need in shops too.
Me however, I had to ask the shop assistants where
to find almost every single item on my shopping list which after taking stock of
all provisions aboard Trish left on a list for me.
After wandering in zombie fashion around in circles
and now on first name terms with most of the shop staff I stmbled on the check
out.
"Do you have a smart shopper card?" the lovely lady
asked me, only however because it is her job to ask. I think it was
perfectly obvious to her and the rest of the audience that I was not a smart
shopper, so I retorted in a bemused fashion " do I look like a smart
shopper?". She didn't need to answer but when I added "do you have any bags for
a stupid shopper?" she almost fell over the till laughing.
Then having some idea of what she was dealing with
she proceeded to explain in detail to me everyone of her actions convinced I had
never been in a supermarket alone before. "Would you like one of these
bags" she said holding it up for me to see. After answering in the positive she
then showed me how to open one! The lesson went on jollily with her and her
assistant now showing me in detail exactly what things should be put into bags
together rather over emphasising all the small lessons to complete the
humiliation.
As I staggered off loaded up with four heavy bags
of shopping, cursing the challenges of single handed sailing under my breath I
left the two of them laughing away quite proud of themselves for
having moved a single handed customer one notch up the scale from stupid shopper
to "smart shopper".
The rest of the day was far less challenging -
refitting engine room fan switch, removing a damaged D2 from the mast rigging,
re bending another new genoa sheet, and remaking a new downhaul for the genoa
pole and a host of other small jobs. I am however saving the job of
disassembling and fixing the aft toilet till tomorrow.
During these jobs I removed the old down haul
which was a rough and ready jury rigged doubled up 8mm polyester braided line
with a large knot in it which of course was absolutely locked solidly in with
the loadings it had been subjected to in 30,000 miles sailing. This was
rigged not long after the hi-tech dyneema one I was initially supplied with
disintegrated after an hours use!
Anyway the rope was probably shot but as you all
know a good sailor should never throw away any "string". So I decided to
have a try at undoing the solid knot. It was rock solid, but once I started it
became a proxy battle symbolic of the will and determination I may be called on
to show, over the next couple of months. I felt I could not give up as on the
one hand it may show lack of grit and on the other I feared that maybe just
maybe I may desperately need a couple of ragged 6m lengths of 8mm double braided
polyester sometime over the next 7,000 miles. Several pairs of pliers,
spikes and screwdrivers were drafted in to support my one hour, possibly
pointless, battle to undo the knot. But you will be pleased to know
that lying in the cockpit proudly on display now are two neatly coiled
lengths of defeated rope.
I have also suffered from a similar problem while
at home and shopping at Gael Force for chandlery. Everytime I pick up something
to consider buying it, I feel I cannot not buy it as the
nagging thought grinds away at me as I look at the item (possibly
superfluous, possibly critically important) - that how could I ever live with
myself if I found myself thousands of miles from anywhere just wishing I had
that widget.
You too should feel the same and indulge your "what
if's" at Gael Force or in fact on line at www.gaelforce.net
!!!!!
I am hoping possibly to get away north on saturday
though Monday looks like better conditions.
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