This topic is of particular importance to us. As we all know, every life choice comes with its pluses and minuses. Whilst we want to maximise the advantages, we also want to minimise the drawbacks. We will need to find ways to stay holistically healthy in a confined space. We won’t have access to doctors or medication beyond the pre-prepared stock; as a little complication, the day before setting off from Limehouse I was found to be vitamin B12 deficient again; intramuscular injections every 3 months are now a must!
I have no doubt that our emotional wellbeing will improve by leaving the 9 to 5 (9 to 6 in my case!) rat race behind to realise our dream. Yet, I always worried about the limitations of physical activity in a confined space; but with the right routine we hope to remain physically fit.
Swimming will be the obvious choice. Sorin particularly enjoys snorkelling and free diving. This comes handy, since his ambition is to become a spear fishing expert. We also bought some basic and light fitness equipment. Regular yoga not only will challenge us physically but will also contribute to our overall wellbeing. Last Christmas, Secret Santa brought me a yoga book. This, along with a DVD that I purchased recently, will help with putting together a 30 min yoga session which we will practice regularly.
Food is another concern, as fruit, veggies and meat whilst at sea cannot be stored for too long. We will be taking advantage when we are near the shore; and, we will have enough stocks of canned fruit, veggies and meat whitest at sea.
Music maintains the spirit. You tube, and our favourite radio will no longer be an option! So, in recent months I was on a mission to download our favourite tunes.
Sharing our story, and learning languages (Spanish is no 1 in our priority list!), the planning of passages (and overcoming inherent challenges along the way) will definitely keep us mentally engaged. Once our stock of movies has run out, we will be focusing more on reading iBooks, and we will be playing all sorts of fun and interesting games.
We are both sun lovers, but since we will be in the tropics, we will have to temper our thirst for sun. UV protective tops were on our shopping list, as well as high factor sun creams. We have a new spray hood and a new coat hanging type bimini to protect us from the sun whilst sailing and whilst at anchor.
Whenever we will be around land we will take the opportunity to jog and go for long walks/hikes, meet interesting people and see interesting places. We hope to have the opportunity to share some of these experiences with you!
If you have other good ideas for staying healthy onboard (beyond the obvious!) please share these with us.
It’s lovely to see that you’re so concerned about your mental and physical well-being at sea, it’s really important. Re food I think some supplements might come in handy in your case. I’m not sure what’s obvious for you so I’ll just put down my ideas.
– Make sure you drink plenty of water. It’s the best way to enhance your mental/body functions and immune system.
– Wild Oil of Oregano:
https://www.amritanutrition.co.uk/joy-01
https://shoppe.listentoyourgut.com/joy-of-the-mountains-wild-oil-of-oregano-0-33-fl-oz-10-ml/
It’s not cheap but a great organic cure and prevention for all kinds of maladies.
– Udo’s Oil (cold pressed oil for healthy fats)
https://shoppe.listentoyourgut.com/flora-udos-choice-oil-blend-17-fl-oz/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B016MLMB5C/ref=pe_3187911_189395841_TE_3p_dp_1
– Vitamine C obviously (as calcium ascorbate not as ascorbic acid which might cause diarrhoea):
http://www.blackburndistributions.com/calcium-ascorbate.html
– a Multivitamin and -mineral complex
https://www.bulkpowders.co.uk/complete-multivitamin-complex.html
Generally I’d draw up a dietary plan for each of your blue water passages to make sure you absorb enough calories, carbohydrates, protein, healthy fat, vitamins, minerals etc. during your days at sea. Your body functions will affect your judgement and needless to say how important a sound one out there is. 😉
I hope this helps. It’s getting really exciting now with just 11 more days to go!
Wow! Thanks for your comprehensive recommendations, Peter! Will definitely look into these. We have a healthy stock of multivitamins and a nutrition plan sounds like a great idea. Although to be fair, putting together one and keeping to it seems slightly ambitious for undisciplined minds like ours! But we definitely have to keep an eye on our intake of everything.
Ana – sounds like you have both planned well for what lies ahead. Knowing your taste in music which we like, would be interested if you can let us know your playlist.
Look forward to your next instalment.
Cheers
Bruce & Catherine
Thanks for your kind observation, Bruce and Cathrine. I will gladly email the playlist:) Have fun!
I would recommend to practice the gratitude for this amazing journey.
Always! Being good to the sourroundings and others, and sharing is my understanding of gratitude. Hope this is what you had in mind 🙂
I absolutely love this blog and seeing that you are healthy and happy and keeping up yoga even at sea!! You must do boho bohemian every now and then and think of us!! And what about a quick Ted Talk a day for example to learn about something completely new every day 🙂 that’s my idea for you 🙂 or maybe a six pack challenge or a similar challenge to motivate you to keep to that swimming! there are so many ideas here that I love – like the spear fishing is such a great idea for Sorin- I bet he’s gonna be coming back with his pants full of fish in a few months 🙂 I’m sorry to hear about the vitamin deficiency but I’m sure in a few months with this routine and more rest and relaxation you will be back to top health in no time!! Love you both very much and miss you so much!!
Hi Majita! It is so great to hear your thoughts. They are like a light breeze on a sunny day:). All fantastic ideas, but some unachivable at sea. As a matter of fact, anything that requires internet connection is pretty unachivable…Anyhow, we will definitely post a picture of Sorin’s first catch when that happens! We miss you and all the great people that we left behind too!