TAHIRA ARC BLOG D-Day 16 [06-Nov-23]

TAHIRA ARC BLOG
D-Day 16 [06-Nov-23]
Location: Open Seas - Atlantic
Lat 14.28N: Long: 49.51W

FIT FOR SAILING
Keeping physically and mentally fit is an important aspect of life for us all - particularly as none of us are spring chickens any more! : Each person deciding on the right balance for them as individuals. This is more important but also more difficult on a 42 foot boat in the Atlantic with differing routines are different, new sleep patterns and limited diets any exercises need to be performed at a 30 degree angle whilst the boat rocks from side to side.

The physical challenge
Of our crew of six we had two who exercised on a semi-regular basis - and one fanatic (John) who managed to exercise everyday. Our routines varied, but we all needed to find something we could do that we would maintain our core strength and balance whilst being thrown from side-to-side.

John and Andy adapted a routine referred to as the 5 Tibetans - based on five 'habits' that are a mixture of yoga and pilates. There is a lot of info on T5T on the web, but we needed to adapt some of the habits for life on the boat, and we skipped the one that involved whirling around like a whirling dervish as we were pretty sure one of us would have ended up the in the Atlantic :.

Other daily sailing task were also good for fitness and none more so than helming for 4 hours a day as part of the watch system. This was pretty tiring and proved great for developing core strength - similar to paddle boarding!

Coping with diets
Bryan 'Q' did a great job of provisioning the boat - a task not to be under-estimated as it takes a lot of planning, and then a daily adaptation. It also needed flexibility to cater for different diets: vegetarian, gluten free, no sugar, types of tea, types of milk ++.

And of course, our daily intake needed to be supplemented with personal meds and vitamin tablets.

Mental resilience
As well asking after the physical side of keeping fit, a voyage of this nature needs a lot of mental strengths. For Chris and John there is a big weight of leadership resting on their broad shoulders as most of the crew were challenged in a way they had never experienced previously. Having the ability to recognise and overcome areas of discomfort had a big impact on each members level of enjoyment.

Sleep depravation became a bit of an issue as we got into our watch system and in particular in weeks 2 and 3. This is not just an issue for the individual but will impact on the whole crew. For one of the crew, meditation was a way of supplementing their lack of sleep.

Finally, it is important that everyone has their own personal space. This is less about having a physical location they can retire to - on a boat the size of Tahira there aren't many options, but simply being allowed to take themselves off to read a book or grab some sleep.

In brief, staying fit on a boat is the same as on dry land, but everything has to be re-thought and adapted to life at sea on an extended voyage.

Blog author: Andy Bruce