Exercise

Some people may think we are going to get plenty of exercise while living on board Sila- running, playing, and walking through museums. Others may think we won't get much exercise, sitting still on a small boat. Both ideas are partly correct. I get exercise in three main ways: swimming, having no car, cranking winches, and wall-sitting.

When I swim, I often swim for two or three hours, sometimes for five or six. I will sometimes swim with one or leg to strengthen that limb. The hours of jumping, diving, twisting, rolling, racing and splashing in the water strengthen me. In the last two months, I have doubled the distance I can safely swim.

The positive and negative of not being able to own a car is we must walk everywhere we go on land. You can tell we just went shopping if you see some red heads stumbling through a town under huge bulging back packs. If I'm unlucky, I get to carry liquids. If I'm lucky, I get to haul toilet paper. My legs and back have been greatly strengthened by going to the grocery store.

 Cranking winches changes one's arms. I struggle fiercely to control, adjust, and pull in and out sails. Imagine spending the next few years cranking sails, meant to catch wind, in and out while 20 mile per hour wind is trying to stop you. This is one way I get exercise.

The wall-sit is a stamina competition we have onboard Sila to help pass time while we are motoring when there is no wind. To wall-sit, someone presses his back against the binnacle, the post that holds up the wheel, and bends his knees to a 90 degree angle. The person then holds that position, without touching the binnacle or his legs, for as long as he can. A timer can be used to see how long he made it. It used to be that two minutes was a long time to hold that position. We worked our way up to five and then Jack did seven. Currently I hold the record of ten minutes and sixteen seconds. Try it, but be prepared for agony. A wall works instead of a binnacle and you will have the advantage of not being on a moving boat.

 I must also sit still for days at a time. For example, when we sailed overnight I had to be on deck unless I was sleeping to avoid seasickness. Staying on deck means sitting or moving carefully through the cockpit, you cannot run and play on the foredeck when we are underway.

 If you have any ideas about how I could get more exercise while living on Sila, I would love to hear about them. -Porter