Tips for guests
No hard luggage
Life on board a sailing vessel is an exercise in small space living. It generally is a pleasant experience, and the vastness of the ocean gives a sense of space. Each guest cabin comes with a double bed, its own bathroom, one small closet with space to hang a few clothes and two small cubicles that can accommodate some personal possessions. You don’t need much in the Mediterranean; some swimming outfits and one set of clothes to go to a nice restaurant on the beach.
There is no room to store hard luggage so please show up with soft bags.
Cleanliness is Godliness
Keeping the boat clean and organized is a joint effort. In a storm the best thing a captain can do is to make sure the main cabin is tidy, so it provides an oasis for the crew while the forces of nature rage outside. During calm weather a clean boat contributes to the happiness of the moment. Any and all help that you can give us to make sure the boat is left a little cleaner than when you found it is appreciated. Before you come on board, please take off your street shoes.
Marine Heads
On the old sailboats there was a hole in a board at the bow and the crew would go to the head of the boat to do their business. Today marine toilets are still called “heads” but they do offer more privacy. As they are often located below the waterline, they require a sophisticated pump that can both bring the right amount of seawater in, and dispose of the natural waste, either by storing it in a waste tank or pumping it out into the ocean. All of this is done by a small manually operated pump. These systems do not work with large amounts of toilet paper. If you need to use more than four sheets of paper, then please store that paper in a trash bag and we will dispose of it in the next port call. Large amounts of toilet paper plug the pump and result in an unpleasant maintenance job.
While in port please use the facilities onshore, those are connected to modern sewage plants which are better suited to process human waste.
Key to keeping the pumps operating is to make sure you flush well. Give it at least twenty pump strokes each time you use the toilet. Once you are done leave the pump in a locked position, so you don’t sink the boat.
You, too, can number two in a marine loo
By Audrey Hartman
What’s the worst that can happen? You fill the WC, and your cabin, with seawater and wastewater, and thereby sink the boat. As long as you don’t do that, you’re just fine.
Don’t clog the loo with toilet paper.
· Frank says use maximum of (4) sheets of toilet paper.
· Frank notes you can fold the TP sheets origami style to use all available surfaces.
· Ignore Frank.
· Do what Ruth does.
· Ruth keeps a trash bag on the counter behind the sink. Deposit used TP here.
· The wax lined paper bag that fruit comes in works well. Fold the top edge down to make it stand up.
· Throw this bag into the main trash every 2-3 days. Get a new bag.
There are 2 controls to the loo:
· An ergonomic T-Shaped rubber handle that pumps. It evacuates the bowl on the downstroke. It possibly rinses the bowl on the upstroke.
· A rubber switch that flips to the right (to empty the bowl on the downstroke). Or that flips to the left (to rinse the bowl with seawater on the upstroke and to empty it on the downstroke).
Step-by-step Instructions
· Do your business.
· Throw the TP into trash bag on counter.
· Flip the rubber switch to the right.
· Pump the T handle about 5 times to evacuate your solids from the bowl.
· Flip the rubber switch to the left.
· Pump the T handle 5-15 times to rinse the bowl with seawater and evacuate the bowl of residual liquid/solid.
· All boat plumbing empties into the sea/harbor.
· Sometimes the rinse seawater can be dirty with seaweed flakes, or even residua of another’s number 2.
· Think of Dory: 🎵 “Keep on pumping, pumping, pumping”…until the rinse water is clear.
· When traveling in the ocean, don’t sink the boat.
· Evacuate liquid from the bowl so it doesn’t slosh out of the bowl when the boat is listing.
· Flip switch to right.
· Pump T handle as needed.
· Don’t let seawater in.
· Rotate the T handle to the locked position.
· Depress it and turn it counterclockwise to the🔒icon.
Sailing Skills
Check out our page on basic sailing skills. It is always fun to pick up some new competences.