Anticipation versus dread, holiday or navy bootcamp again?

My first camping experiences were in France and Italy. Blazing sun, warm seas and lovely foreign food eaten on balmy nights.So, sure I come camping in NZ, who wouldn’t with those memories.Well those memories got well and truly replaced.

Because we kayak we have limited storage space.

So, the exotic food came from sachets. The big bungalow tent was reduced to the smallest tent possible and the sun also became a thing of the past.

I became adapt in folding my body in half and crawling around in the tent while bad weather continued.

And that is where navy camp came in and holiday left. I sat hove to in a tent all day and when the wind really started to blow we took the extra rain covers down and lay-a-hull under bare poles.

For days we lived in cramped quarters; but I kept smiling and I took lessons in patience, I checked weather signs and built character.

I learned to ignore the gusts and to have faith that the tent would not blow away with me in it. The last tent leaked, so I needed all the optimism and amnesia I could muster.

I cooked in these conditions, when the tent sail could knock my burner over any minute; sand came in at great rates to cover the food just dished up and I had to get out into the storm to get supplies from the kayaks.

I admit not rum but wine helped to dull the mind and former memories and to keep me calm and composed, waiting patiently for the weather to turn which usually takes days in this part of the world.

So I lived in the now, accepted what was so and created my day.

I saw it as my own navy boot camp to prove that I was up to life at sea.

This year we are going to do the real thing, we sail from Melbourne to Picton.So as I have already proven that I can ride out storms, I won’t ask for another bootcamp.I anticipate calm weather and a great sail.