Staying Healthy on Long Cruises

Contributors: Rich Haynie, Betty Marie, Ocean Alexander 48; Fred Kaufhold, Dream Weaver, Mariner 35; Eric Muller, Dolphin, Monk 36; Bonni Nutter, New Adventure, Pacific Mariner 65; Kathy Perkins, Buster, Nordic Tug 37; Mary Robbins, Prime Time, Bayliner 47; Dennis Thornton, Tonic, Riviera 40; Joanne Wilshin, L'Esprit, Ocean Alexander 44.

  If you’re alive and well, you have a pretty good grasp of how to stay healthy. But maintaining your health on an extended cruise of several weeks or more, requires some extra consideration.  The members of Fidalgo Yacht Club routinely leave port around May and head north to British Columbia and SE Alaska, not to return until July or August.  There’s a lot they’ve learned about staying healthy on a boat in these remote locations and for weeks or months on end.
   Here's what we've learned:

   Mary Robbins offers her Nine Steps to Staying Healthy:

1. Wash hands frequently for 20 seconds to kill germs.  Hand sanitizer isn't as effective as soap and water.
2. Get enough sleep.
3. While underway and moving around on the boat, keep one hand on the boat for unexpected turbulence.
4. Be sure that you have enough prescription drugs for your voyage and have copies of the prescriptions, in case more are needed in an emergency.
5. Have a copy of your passports, Nexus cards, and emergency information in your wallet or purse when on land, in case of emergency.
6. Put all prescriptions for each passenger in every cell phone notes, in case of emergency.  This especially applies to guests on board.
7. Eat healthy by having a small garden on the back of the boat for fresh produce and herbs.
8. If you are exhausted from being in the small confines of your boat, spring for a hotel in a marina for two days to get your land legs back, have space between boat passengers, pamper yourself, and get a non-water reality check.
9. Both physical and mental health is important on long cruises!  You may be sharing a much smaller space with people, with whom you don't ordinarily share.  Be gentle with yourselves and try to be more tolerant of others, especially your spouse!

 
   Kathy Perkins advocates for evacuation insurance: We carry Med Jet Assist, medical evacuation insurance. There are other providers. Medical transport home from Northern Canada and Alaska is extremely expensive. Our policy covers us when traveling worldwide. When I worked on the cruise ships I saw people caught unprepared with unbelievable bills for medical transport.”
 
   Joanne Wilshin also created a list:

1. We have a water maker, so I make sure to take vitamins with extra minerals, which usually get leached out in the water-making process.
2. Eat your four basic food colors every day. Fresh is better than frozen. Frozen is better than canned.
3. Wash things down a lot; keeps surfaces sanitary.
4. Carry a .5-micron water filter to protect from giardia.
5. If there’s a place on your boat where people tend to trip, add a visual clue, like little carpet, to warn the eye of potential danger.
6. Have a well-outfitted first-aid kit. Be prepared for bugs bites, major cuts (clotting gauzes), muscle pulls, breaks (splint), etc.
7. Suck the air away from foods that mold or rot. I use a little keyboard vacuum.
8. Have your man-overboard equipment and strategies set before you leave.
9. Keep your decks cleared, and wear shoes that won’t skid.
10. Have one of each person’s favorite comfort foods on board. It helps to reduce stress.

      
   Many members partially rely on their pets to help them stay healthy. Rich Haynie: “We eat healthily and walk Oscar and Sophie wherever possible.  To keep active, we crab and fish whenever we have the opportunity.” 

    Some attribute the routine that pets require to their enhanced health while cruising. Dennis Thornton: “We take McDuff for walks three times a day, using the skiff. We also have regular cocktail hours.  Seems we are more active and busy while on the boat compared to when we’re home.”

   Fred Kaufhold gives the perfect explanation for this:  Just being out cruising on a small boat is a healthy lifestyle.  We enjoy plentiful fresh air, eat fresh fish more often and every simple chore takes much more energy.  When at anchor, we don't just step out the door to walk the dog - it's more like launch the dinghy, mount the outboard, load safety equipment, lift/carry the dog to the dinghy, row/motor ashore, pull the dinghy up on the beach or set the anchor buddy and shore anchor, walk the dog and then do it all in reverse.  The point is, that cruising in itself is conducive to getting exercise and staying healthy.  Besides dinghy trips, there are opportunities to kayak, hike ashore and, if on a sailboat, a lot of strings to pull.  As my sea daddy once told me, ‘The good Lord does not deduct from our allotted time the hours spent boating.’

   What rings true for everyone, though, is the importance of remaining active and eating healthily.

   Bonnie Nutter: I stay healthy and fit on the boat when we travel for several months at a time by doing a couple of things. I work out daily, and I’m very careful about the food we have on board.  My exercise plan consists of falling out of bed and heading directly to the fly bridge to work out for thirty minutes.  If I get coffee before I work out, I come up with a million reasons why I shouldn’t work out.  Did I mention I do not like working out?  I do listen to books on tape which helps the workout go by faster. We also try to kayak as often as possible to vary our workouts.  While on land we walk everywhere.  I also try to keep our meals as balanced as possible.  A lot of fish, veggies, and fruit.  We try not to have processed sugar on board.  I really watch what I drink (too many empty calories).   I try to cook like we do at home.  We don’t treat our cruising as a vacation, if we did that I would have no ability to control my weight because I would make excuses that eating that rich dessert because it was “vacation”.  We live on our boat 3-4 months each summer, so I can’t eat like I’m on vacation for that length of time.

   Eric Muller: Good diet and exercise are ongoing considerations. Other things to keep up with are hydration and exposure. Wind and sun take their toll. Keep up with a regular stream of fluids through the day and be sure to use sun screen and lotions to protect from UV as well as overall skin dryness. Wear sunglasses for eye protection from reflection off the water, and a wide brimmed hat to protect the face and ears. Wool clothing is second to none for body heat retention when exposed to wet conditions. Always have a change of clothing available in case one of the crew ends up getting soaking wet. Also, graciously excuse yourself if you find yourself with a couple or group that has an individual with a "cold" or other sign of a contagious condition.

     Hope this helps you plan for your next cruising adventure! What new item or practice do you think you’ll add to your cruising lifestyle?