Housekeeping

Hello Friends!  I'm just going to run through a couple of things here because, you're my buddies and I like to keep you posted.

Taking care of business.

I'm feeling pretty proud of myself.  I've been handling some 'technical aspects' of the blog solo while simultaneously feeling like a fish out of water.

Here's a bit of Nautie Mermate History.  I started this blog in 2010.  It was a self hosted Wordpress site.  My friend Lauren designed it for me and, it was seriously cute.  But, there were drawbacks, namely, I didn't know how to do things myself.  This wouldn't have necessarily be an issue but, I don't have a budget for Nautie Mermate.  This is a passion project.  

I transferred my blog from Wordpress over to Square Space.  I like Square Space a lot.  Like a lot, a lot.  I like it for so many reasons but, the biggest reason is I get tech help.  I can send a message to someone and they'll actually answer me.  I know, right?  Huge.  Square Space costs money - and Wordpress is free.  The catch is I was spending a fair amount of money with Wordpress because I needed people to help me.  

In the meantime, even though I had transferred over to Square Space, I was archiving my data at Blue Host and I paid for my domain name at Go Daddy.  Too Much!

I have since transferred my domain name over to Hover.  I like Hover!  It's more affordable than Go Daddy and again, they are really helpful.  Plus, they just have that nice start up aesthetic that ever Apple user loves *wink*. 

In a nutshell, I feel more in control of the tech side of things and I also saved myself some money.  Two very good feelings.  

I got the Shingles.

Wop.Wop.  I didn't even know this happened to people my age.  The good news:  it hasn't been a very serious case and it hasn't been very painful.  I'm on the mend now.  I'm not contagious.  

I've been working on a new little series.

I'd like to have a series on the blog called 'Nautical Musings'.  A couple reasons.  People ask me all the time, 'what is it like to be a Sailor?'.  It's not something you can describe.  Like most things in life it's a rolling experience.  There isn't one succinct sentence.  You just have all these experiences and they culminate into something personal.  Unique to you.  I'm going to try to start just telling some stories.  I think that I've always done this but, I haven't made it something that was cohesive.  I'm going to try.

Thanks for listening to my drunken ramblings.

Bridget called me a wonderful nut!  Which kind of warmed my heart because I was on the cusp of taking the post down.  But hey.  Real life.  Kind of cathartic.  Whatevs.  Thanks for taking me as I am.

There you have it!  Happy Aloha Friday!  No music for you today!

Let's Empower Women This Holiday Season!

I wanted to do something special for Christmas to let you all know how much I love you!  I racked my brain trying to think of the perfect gift.  I thought, 'host a giveaway!' and then I thought, 'make them a playlist!' but then I thought, 'nah, I can do better than that!'.  

Here in Nautie Mermate Land we believe in empowering women.  In fact, we believe in it a lot.  We want women to know that they can go anywhere and be anything they want.

We as women also know, that sometimes this means we have to work a bit harder. 

“Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult.”

— Charlotte Whitton

While it may be true that women have to work harder it's not true that they have to do it alone.  We owe it to each other, men and women alike, to be there for the Ladies who are out there getting it done.

In your honor (and in the spirit of Christmas), Nautie Mermate empowered a women's group via Heifer International.  Nautie Mermate believes that with a little education, a little encouragement and, a little bit of girl talk women are unstoppable.

Nautie Mermate also believes in community - especially our own.  While it's true that international women need a boost up it's also true that there are some pretty spectacular women in our own community who are getting it done.

Team Rock is a group of 10 female paddlers who race long distance and are gearing up to participate in the Takapuna Beach Cup 2014 in New Zealand.

These Chicks are rugged and I can't wait to see them kill it in Aotearoa!  

Imagine hopping out of an escort boat in the middle of the ocean and treading water until your canoe comes past - you wait for someone to hop out and then you pull yourself up into the canoe.  Rugged.Water.Women.

change out

Here's to you Nautie Friends!  Thank you for being the best support network I could possibly ask for - to say you've made a difference in my life would be an understatement.  Here's to supporting all the unstoppable women out there!  

“The question isn’t who’s going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.”

— Ayn Rand

Happy Birthday Sweet Blog.

Nautie Mermate is three today.  Three. A lot has happened in those three years.  I lived in Hawaii, tried out Maine for a bit, and then plopped a squat in Houston.  I've changed ships twice.  From the Persian Gulf, to the Med, to a worldwide tramper.  I made the move from tankers to heavy lifts.  I upgraded my license and dove head first into the waters of Chief Mate-ness.

This blog has become so much.  A sounding board for all my coulda, shoulda, woulda's.  A motivator.  A sweet escape.

Two years ago I celebrated Oct. 19th with friends in Maine - there were cupcakes.  Last year, I have no clue why I didn't celebrate and, this year I find myself at sea.  Eastward bound for the Panama Canal.

Today, life couldn't be sweeter.

I saw an amazing sunrise.

I sipped an orange goodness.

I watered my plants.  

I made a quinoa salad for lunch.

...and seriously, if this blog isn't about sunrises, orange goodness', shipboard gardens and quinoa...well then, I just don't know what it's about...

Nautie Friends, thanks for all your kind words through it all - the pep talks - the mettle making - the whip cracking - the virtual hugs.  I heart you.  Like...I heart you a lot.

I have one small request for you...de-lurk!  Who are you lovely readers?  Where are you from?  What do you do?  What do you enjoy most here in Nautie Mermate Land?

Here's looking forward!

My MEOW is 'effin FIERCE.

I have been having a really hard time sitting down and writing lately and, I think it's because I've had something weighing on my mind. I've been asked a lot - I mean I always get asked:  What's it like to be a woman at sea?

My answer is different every single time.

Sometimes I laugh through my response.  Sometimes I'm a little more serious.  Sometimes I barely acknowledge the question was asked.  Sometimes (when I'm with my best girl friends) I'll let my guard down a bit and open up.

Mostly I stick with a standard answer:  the one where I say, 'yes there have been some challenges but I've really never had any issues'.

...and that's mostly true.

I'd like to talk more about being a Lady Sailor but, I really just don't know what to say.

The closer I look at my situation the more I'm convinced that it's really not as different as it seems.

There are days when it's hard and I cry.  There are days when I feel like I'm doing everything alone - I feel completely overwhelmed - I feel like there is no way anyone could possibly understand what it's like.  There are days when I wake up full of energy and feel like I can take on the world.  There are days when I feel so incredibly blessed to live the life I do.  There are days I think I've made a terrible, terrible mistake.

Not so different from any other 30 year old trying to find her way in this crazy world, right?

Here's the thing...

Being a Lady Sailor has irrevocably changed me.  It's shaped who I've become and is currently shaping who I'm becoming.

Between the ages of 22-27 I was the only female sailor on my ship.  For six months a year I'd work solely with men however; I think the greater impact (on myself personally) was that I was completely devoid of female companionship.  Sometimes, I'd go up to three months without seeing another woman.  (I chose those years because I feel those are the ones that affected me most.  I've been the sole female at other ages / times as well.  I should also mention there are times when I've sailed with other women but, thats a different story for a different day.)

How could that not change the way you view the world?  How could that not change how you view male / female relationships?  How could that not change how you view yourself?

The problem is:  being a woman at sea isn't too different from being a man at sea in most regards and certainly, being a woman at sea is no different than a woman pushing herself to try new things and places herself in unchartered waters except, people don't want to hear that.  (Did you like the nautical play on words there?)

It seems like when I get asked The Question people want The Answer.

They want me to say, 'I'm a tough, strong, capable woman.  You should hear me ROAR.  It's loud.  I have a really LOUD ROAR.  Louder than the average Woman's ROAR.  My ROAR is louder than others because I am extraordinarily fierce...because I work with ALL OF THE MEN!'.

They want me to be a feminist.  They want me to believe that women can do anything and be anything.  They want me to tell them that I have to work harder than others.  They want me to tell them that I go out there and kick some sailor butt.

Except, for me personally, those things aren't all true.  I can't (in good conscious) tell them that.

I don't think that I've had to work harder.  I don't have to kick sailor butt.  I think that I'm not more of a feminist than a stay at home mom.  Here's the doozy....I don't think sailing is a good fit for most women.

In fact, most times, my ROAR probably sounds more like a meow and....who the 'eff cares?!

What's it like to be a woman sailor?

It's like you have a job.  It's like you wake up when your alarm goes off and you have to get your ass out of bed.  It's like you're hungry so now you better go get yourself something to eat.  It's like this guy is a dick gosh, it sucks to work with dicks.  It's like I like to paint my toenails pink - so I do.  It's like who the 'eff cares.

I'm going to start talking more about being a lady sailor because it's time.  Because I know now, more than I've ever known before, that being a lady sailor is just another thing to talk about.  Because I know now, that being a lady sailor doesn't have to make you a poster girl for feminism.  Because I know now, that being a lady sailor doesn't have to mean anything I don't want it to.

Because I know now more than I've ever known before that it doesn't matter whether you can ROAR loudly.  Sometimes I meow and it's 'effin fierce.

This was one of those posts.  The ones where you can't stop writing but you are super duper nervous about what people will think when they read it....so you don't proofread it and you hit publish anyways.  This was one of those posts where you have to make an italic disclaimer that these thoughts / opinions / feelings are yours alone and should certainly not be confused as anything other than just that - I'm sure there are many, many lady sailors that would totally disagree with everything I've just written.

The New Look

I'm very pleased with the Nautie Mermate's make over!  This past October Nautie Mermate turned one years old!  Miss Ivy calls her my blog baby....and I think she might be right!  I decided that since I had made it a year (successfully blogging almost everyday) I was going to take things up a notch. 

I'm just starting to reach the point where I'm getting comfortable having people read my blog.  I know that may sound ridiculous but, for the most part I know everyone who's visiting the site.  It gives me a bit of freedom to say whatever I want, or not edit when I'm sleepy, or not worry about my grammar - because I know that you'll all love me anways!  I have new readers now!  (Hi Bridget!)  People I don't know!  While this is majorly exciting it's also a little nerve racking.  I have found (especially onboard a ship) that a little nervous energy can be a miracle worker when directed properly - it may make the difference between getting it done and putting in a little extra effort.  I decided that Nautie Mermate required something extra.

I began working with Lauren (who helped me get set up initially) back in October.  One of the benefits of having cool friends is that you can go over to their house make a mean pot roast and have mini design sessions!  We came up with a few 'mock ups' (or ideas that we had put together).  I took them home with me and then I sat on them for a few months.

What blew my mind is how what I thought I wanted didn't look anything looking like what I ended up loving!

Here is a bit of a background on why I chose what I chose....

I wanted the site to look nautical without being cliche.  Which is why I opted for the oriental style waves in the background.  I've always had a thing for oriental wave patterns - my favorite artist is probably Hokusai - and so I gravitated towards these waves immediately.

I have received a couple requests to bring back the chart of Hilo (which was in the upper corner of the original Nautie Mermate).  I was sad to see the original Nauti Mermate chart disappear it just wasn't working out.  You'll all have to live with oriental waves for awhile!  Take that!

I also wanted the site to look feminine.  I am, afterall, a chick at sea.  Pink has been my 'signature color' for quite sometime now.  When I left Hawaii for Maine my Bestie and I got matching hot pink jansport backpacks for college.  We also had matching lobster claw keychains.  Ever since I picked up that backpack pink has been a 'thing'.  Maybe it was because I realized that in the dead of winter hot pink can pick your mood up in a heart beat.  Now, if there is an option available I'll almost always choose the pink one.  I also learned that on a ship - no one will steal your shit when it's pink.  Those pink work glvoes?  Still where I left them!  My pink water bottle?  Gone?  Nope!  What no one ever believes is that it's not really my favorite color....my favorite color is probably chocolate brown.  It just didn't feel write to have a blog of my own without somehow incorporating some pink! 

The image of me (the mermate) on a swing near the ocean isn't going anywhere.  For some reason this photo is 'it' for me.  I want to always be having that much fun.  I want to always be in my favorite dress.  I want to always be near the ocean.  I love that photo.  I especially love how it now looks like a polaroid.  I deem it cute.

The trinkets were photographed by yours truly. 

I love orchids (yes, even though they look like lady bits).  When I'm home in Hilo I go to the farmers market and buy about two potted orchids a week.  Sometimes I buy cut flowers too but, I mostly buy orchids.  My Mom gave me pink plastic plant markers - when I go to work I take all my orchids over to my parents and my Step Dad keeps them alive.  He has a magic touch with the orchids and has quite a collection.  When I'm home if any of the orchids bloom that have a pink marker then they get to come down to my house.

I also love jewlery.  Especially jewelry that reminds me of home when I'm off on adventures.  The white coil below the orchid is a necklace that I found in a thrift shop when I was bee-bopping about on the Big Island.  There was an iconic jewelry store in Hilo back in the day called Ming's.  They mostly made chinese style gold jewelry however; in the 20s they did a lot of work with ivory.  This necklace has little ivory beads that are carved into the shape of pikake (jasmine) blossoms.  Ming's made this style of necklace very, very popular and now you can find it all over (although it is no longer ivory).  My necklace is a choker and the clasp is in the shape of a pikake leaf.  I love it.

The pendant resting on the orchid is a little trickier to spot.  It is a tahitian black pearl clasped by an octopus.  This is my most special piece of jewelry.  My Mom gave me this pearl as a graduation present from the Maine Maritime Academy (MMA).  It's a little extra special though.  Every year MMA has a ring dance.  The Juniors all purchase a class ring - there is a big formal - and a 'ring dipping' ceremony.  Your ring gets dipped into water from the seven seas and is blessed.  I was on the ring dance committtee and spent a fair amount of time writing people requesting water from the seven seas (various research facilities and vessels).  I'm not much of a ring wearer and I asked my Mom if instead of a ring I could maybe get a black pearl.  She said, 'Well, I wasn't going to tell you this....and I had been saving it for graduation...but, I picked out a black pearl for you and have been paying a little bit on it every month.'.  It was an amazing moment.  When I got to see it I was really touched that she had picked one in an octopus for me - the octopus is a very important symbol in polynesian navigation and voyaging.  He is at the heart of many myths and legends but ultimately each tentacle represents a specific group of islands in polynesia.  Long story short, I was able to take it to ring dance and have it dipped in water from the seven seas.  Needless to say, I love it.  (In fact, I'm wearing it as I type.)

There is one more new item - it's not all the way up and running yet but, on the sidebar you can now find a map called 'Where I've Been'.  If you click on it you will be directed to a page where you can select pins on a map - each pin will correlate with a specific post about where I've been!

There you have it!  The new look in a nutshell (okay, fine...that wasn't a nutshell....the post was loooong!).

Nautie Tidbits :: Time Flies!

• Sometimes it seems like I'm barely keeping track of the days.  I'll suddenly realize the date isn't what I expected it to be.  February 6th.  Sheesh.
•  We're in port and I didn't make it ashore.  Sad face.  It's been foggy and yucky and apparently the launch boat doesn't operate in such conditions.  I got all ready to go ashore with my travel buddy and then the boat just didn't show up...go figure...
• I've been extraordinarily cranky.  I almost feel sorry for my shipmates....I probably would feel sorry for them if I wasn't already so cranky.
• I ate all the chesse that I bought in La Spezia, Italy.  I had to hurry and finish it - I mean, I was in La Spezia almost a month ago!  That being said, not having my own personal stash of cheese is going to take some adjustment. 
• We're still working kinks out of the new and improved Nautie Mermate site.  Someday I'll sit down and tell you all about the design process and what I was thinking when I helped create the 'new look'.
• I haven't forgotten that there are still Nautie Friends Ask requests still out on the street. 
• The ship is out of hot cocoa and it's oddly distressing.  There are no oranges either.  What am I going to do without a mocha or orange goodness?!  I mean, really!
• I need to do laundry something fierce.  I hate doing laundry on the ship. 
• I've been watching a lot of movies at the end of my day to wind down.  Yesterday (after the boat was a no show) I started watching Thor and then I stopped it about 20 minutes in.  I think it might be the worst marvel comic turned movie ever.  Then I put in Water For Elephants which wasn't as good as the book but was the perfect pick for a foggy slightly blah day.
• I haven't used my camera in days.  Hopefully I'll get back on the band wagon shortly!
• That's it...I'm out of tidbits.