Figure 8 FAQ from Joanna

Date: June 7, 2019

Hello Everyone!

It’s been a while since you’ve heard from “my lovely wife,” but with Randall and Mo now tucked safely into a Halifax marina, a number of my non-sailor friends have been asking me questions about the voyage. The same questions. I’m the in-house expert on the non-sailorly stuff, so I thought I’d do a quick FAQ for everyone.

So, here we go…

1. Has Randall broken the “rules” for this voyage by stopping?

The short answer is: no, there are no rules. It wouldn’t matter if Randall stopped once or a 100 times (which I rather think he’d like to do.), no one has yet singlehanded this route in one season, so technically his journey is still 100% successful. Practically, the combination of the time/distance commitment and weather patterns meant stopping as little as possible was the goal– hence the 200-and-something days at sea–but a stop somewhere in the North East prior to entering the Arctic was always part of the plan. There’s actually another person starting from Germany (I think) this summer who’s trying to go even faster. We think he’s great too!

2. Are you going to see Randall?

Yes. With the stop now happening in Halifax, we might change where I meet him, but I’m absolutely heading up to the North East for a couple of days. Why not longer? Because Randall and Mo need to get back out to sea and headed for the Northwest Passage soon. Plus I have to get back to work. Someone has to pay for all of this. 🙂

3. Were you worried all this time?

Yes and no. Yes, of course! Some of that stuff Randall got himself into was super scary. But the reality is that my way of coping is to just not think about the bad stuff. I’d make myself sick if I did. Plus I come from a long line of sailors who’ve done some pretty insane things on boats–my Grandfather was on two ships that sank in WWI, and he survived them both–so I’m generally optimistic about Randall’s chances.

4. You’ve been alone much of the last two years, (Figure 8 Attempt #1 and now #2). How have you handled that?

The good news is that I’m a pretty independent gal. I think it’s part of why Randall likes me. Plus I’ve been really really busy building my own company while he’s been gone, so it’s been great to not have him underfoot during this time of intense focus. On top of all that, I have LOTS of awesome friends all over the world (I’m a tad more extroverted than my husband) who’ve kept me entertained. As they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder. And right now my heart is very fond.

5. Do you understand all the technical terms Randall puts in his blog?

Most but not all. I tend to skip over those bits and just read about what he’s doing. That said, my mother wrote a lexicon of terms on Randall’s first adventure on Murre, our first boat. You can read them here:

<https://murreandthepacific.com/the-mother-in-laws-lexicon-of-sailing-terminology/>

6. Why didn’t you want to go with him? Would you go with him?

I know Randall would love nothing more than to have me with him on this and all his voyages. And as much as I love sailing, I’m a firm no. There are some very simple reasons for this:

-I require hot and cold water under pressure, and Randall’s boats have never had this.

-I like fresh fruit and veggies. On Randall’s boats, these are in shorts supply.

-There’s no one to chat with.

-Randall likes to go long distances, and I’d miss going on hikes.

-The whole “no showering” thing is a bit of a deal breaker.

I guess I’m more of a “wine and a cheese plate” kind of sailor.

All that said. I couldn’t be prouder of what Randall is doing, and I’m excited to see him in a couple of weeks.

In my mind this is just the start of a new adventure for both of us.

Until next time.

J