Cruising Musings: Isolation, Crew and Community

What do Space Exploration and Cruising Have in Common?

May is here and we are still stuck in the boatyard. Zephyros remains out of the water and work on many projects continues. This is disappointing, but not exactly surprising. I know we will launch soon, and we are getting closer one step at a time. We have felt “close” for most of the month, and the team continues to work through the last details – why does the last little bit always seem to take so much more time than expected? As we push to the finish line, I find myself continuing to daydream about being back on the water and continuing to ponder the things that I love and miss about cruising.

In April, Artemis II traveled around the moon and came back to earth landing safely in the sea. Scrolling social media while they were on the adventure, I saw a headline about how long-distance sailing is good training for space missions.

Google AI produced this: “The ESA (European Space Agency) and NASA utilize maritime environments to prepare crews. Ocean sailing is used in astronaut training to simulate the extreme isolation, confinement, and teamwork required for long-duration space missions.” Last year ESA did a fascinating research mission that you can read more about here: ESA: Next-generation scientists set sail to harness space for oceans.

Perhaps we are training our sons to be future astronauts and remote scientists. Maybe we should have used more of those catch phrases in Ronan’s university admissions application essays.

I also came across another interesting Artemis II tidbit; Christina Koch gave a post-mission talk where she spoke about crew. In that speech, she said: “What makes a crew? A crew is a group that is in it all the time no matter what, that is stroking together every minute with the same purpose, that is willing to sacrifice silently for each other, that gives grace, that holds accountable. A crew is inescapably, beautifully, dutifully linked.”

The talk of long-distance cruising being an effective skill-building environment and talk of what makes a crew, all ring so true to me and hit on something that I left out of last month’s The Allure of Cruising. Isolation, skill building and a sense of community – these elements comprise a large part of what I value and love about sailing and long-distance cruising.

The Bubble

The isolation and confinement of long ocean passages feel like we live in our own bubble. A protective bubble where many of the troubles of the outside world become less important. We live more internally focused on things that are directly impacting us and affecting Zephyros. We rely on ourselves, fellow crew and our larger community (sailing, family, friends). This is true even in harbors or coastal cruising, but more pronounced in remote locations or on long passages.

Inside this bubble, we further stretch and develop our resilience and problem-solving skills. I enjoy the creative problem solving that is required inside this bubble. We build our resourcefulness when there is not a store or Amazon delivery readily available to quickly get the replacement part needed to solve the issues that arise. I cherish the great sense of accomplishment when we have managed to solve a problem with only the materials that are available in our small floating home. I know that we can do tough things and feel prepared for whatever the next challenge might be.

We built and developed these skills and bonds on Zephyros over the years and look forward to more opportunities to continue to develop and grow. We are also thankful that technology helps to keep us a bit less isolated and allows us to reach out to our larger community for opinions, assistance and support.

The Crew

In our case, our crew is our family. We have been blessed to be able to spend so much time with our children. What an amazing gift it has been. When we set off they were 8 and 10 years old. They have grown and developed over the years. They are, indeed, valued teammates working together towards the same goal. They have learned grace, sacrifice and accountability.

We have all developed together in our bubble with many memories of exploring a remote location together and family game nights. We have learned together and they have grown and changed. Now Ronan is applying to university and looking forward to traveling his own path in the world. Daxton will likely follow in the next years.

We hope that they will be amazing, well-adjusted people and that the skills they have learned over the years will serve them well. Hopefully we didn’t spoil them with seeing too many beautiful places and amazing things along the way – they have been known to be a little unimpressed with yet another glacier or fabulous vista. Maybe they will be ocean or space explorers or maybe they will just keep their feet on the ground in a land life. Whatever their path, we hope they continue to find joy in exploration and know they can do tough things.

The Community

Being a sailor automatically makes you part of a larger community – one that is resourceful and pulls together to support each other. Meeting new people is a normal, regular occurrence, whenever we find ourselves in a shared anchorage or port. Conversations meander across places visited, challenges faced, and other vessels that we might all know. Bonds are quickly forged with others that you meet along the way and spend time with. Over time networks are built that stretch across the globe.

Besides how we interact and benefit from our own personal sailing (or family) networks, I’ve seen the larger cruising community pull together to support others in need. It is a beautiful group of people that are always happy to lend a hand or help others in need. Sailors bring supplies like books and medicines to remote communities or places damaged by storms. Sailors will re-route in the sea to help a fellow vessel that has any number of problems and might need supplies or assistance.

Our sailing community is very special, and being a part of this wonderful community is a bright spot in this world. Focusing on shared community and similarities feels like the antidote to so many issues in the world where division and individualism are actively being stoked. In the words of Christina Koch remember that we are all “inescapably, beautifully, dutifully linked.”

Life Afloat, Again

Zephyros will soon launch. We have a few more challenges and problems to solve, then we will be off sailing again. I can’t wait to drift off to sleep in a quite anchorage; for it to be just our crew adventuring in our exclusive bubble. I’m feeling desperate to rejoin the afloat membership side of our wonderful community.

Thanks for joining me on this month’s musings. May you enjoy your own safe and inspiring adventures this year and let me know any topics about life on board and long-distance cruising that you would like covered in my monthly column.

Megan Schwartz
SV Zephyros
Noonsite Regional Editor

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About the Author

Noonsite editorial team member, Megan Schwartz, joined Noonsite in October 2024 concentrating on research and updating country formalities. She lives on board SV Zephyros with her husband and two teenage boys (18 and 16 years old) and they have been cruising full-time, since 2017. Zephyros is an aluminum, expedition monohull which suits the family’s style of cruising perfectly as they enjoy high-latitudes and places less travelled, but have also cruised popular Mediterranean and Caribbean destinations.

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Other Noonsite reports in the Cruising Musing Series:

• Cruising Musings: The Allure of Cruising
• Cruising Musings: Remembering to Breathe
• Cruising Musings: Holidays on a Boat
• Cruising Musings: An Ode to AIS
• Cruising Musings: The Power of Sleep and Resilience
• Cruising Musings: Creepy Crawlers and Nature’s Pest Control
• Cruising Musings: What Do You Do All Day?
• Cruising Musings: The Things We Keep, Yet Rarely Use
• Cruising Musings: Life is Easier, But the Easy Things are Harder
• Cruising Musings: Finding Balance

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The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the view of Noonsite.com or World Cruising Club.