Free Two-Day Shipping, Please?

How do things get so complicated? Somehow, we think that we should have access to the things that we need when we need them. But sailing has continually taught me that availability is a luxury not to be taken for granted. The lesson has been retaught over and over again when things inevitably break or need to be replaced, it is never a simple task. Customs, import taxes, shipments to teeny islands - there is no Amazon.com prime 2-day shipping out here.

Our most recent shipping adventure was a doozy, though. We are in desperate need of a new mainsail. The one we have now is tattered and torn, it’s fabric is peeling and drifting away in the breeze like flakes of molting skin. In fact, we desperately needed to replace it a year ago, but again, shipping a 40 kilo package to the outer islands Papua New Guinea wasn’t really an option, so we’ve made due.

s/v Perry arriving, but no sails... :-)

Now that we are nearer civilization, it was time to buy Field Trip some new duds. Mark carefully researched and picked out a new Northsail 3Di mainsail and genoa, excited to try some of the latest high-tech materials that are on the market. He finalized the order and, after multiple delays and even more delays, it was ready for us to pick up in Malaysia. The problem was, we weren’t in Malaysia. Initially, we had planned to ship the sails to Darwin, Australia, where our friends on SV Perry generously offered to pick them up and bring them up to Indonesia on their boat - special delivery. But the delays in production caused us to miss the boat on that plan... literally.

Now, the number crunching and creative thinking came into play. How much duty would we have to pay on the sails (30%-40%) if we shipped them to Bali? Gulp. Okay, scratch that. What if we sailed up to Malaysia? That’s 1500?? miles from where we are, and we don’t necessarily want to sail 3000 miles roundtrip to get back to Indonesia. Scratch that, too. What if we flew to Malaysia and picked up the sails and brought them back as luggage? That sounds feesible. Mark could even bring along one of the kids to increase the baggage allowance. Bingo. The tickets were booked and details were checked regarding weight and size allowed. Of course, all of this was happening less than a week before we were scheduled to leave the boat and fly to the US for a few months. So, yeah, we had loads of free time to be jetsetting across SE Asia, right??

While Michael and I stayed on the boat packing the 6 huge duffle bags of stuff to take home and prepping the boat for our time away, Mark and Elizabeth took the ferry to Bali from Lombok, hopped on a plane to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and then on another plane to Langkawi. I love it when a plan comes together, but past experiences had left me skeptical. Could it really be this simple? Was all this going to work out according to plan? Of course not. Where’s the fun in that?

My phone rang as I wrestled to zip up an overstuffed bag. Mark, discouraged and exhausted, quickly said, “I can’t talk about it now, but its not happening. They won’t let me bring this sail back on the plane unless I can separate it into two smaller bags. They just don’t get it. It’s been a nightmare.” From past experience, I knew better than to ask any questions, and instead assured him that we were fine and that things would work out. “I’m sure this old sail has another year in it, and it’s mostly downwind sailing from now on anyway, right?” He was surprisingly calm about it all. I imagine, like me, he had a shred of doubt about this all going smoothly. Perhaps we’ve adjusted our expectations. We’ve come to terms with the inaccessibility that comes with this lifestyle. Mark had done everything that he could to get those sails on board. But sometimes, you’ve just gotta roll with the punches. Instead of going balistic, he quipped, “Well, looks like Elizabeth and I got a Daddy-daughter trip out of this whole deal! Better make the most of it!”

Mark and Elizabeth's hotel in Langkawi! ;)

Date night in Langkawi, Malaysia

Breakfast at the hotel! 

Sailing offers many lessons, but patience has to be one of the forerunners. Nothing happens fast, nothing is particularly easy, plans change with the wind, but we can decide how we respond to the setbacks and challenges. This situation just proves how far we’ve come in learning patience. Things will work out. Winds will ease, currents will change, storms will pass, and we’ll sail on... or motor for now. Who needs a mainsail anyway?