The Uncorked Fitness Center

I was worried about staying in shape while leisurely boating this winter but I have since realized it won’t be a problem. You see I have a personal trainer, Captain Tom. Here’s an average day at The Uncorked Fitness Center.

We wake up. Within 10 minutes Tom has accomplished his two major morning goals; drinking coffee and that other morning event that seems all too important to all men. (hint: rhymes with ship) So with that, he is winding in the power cord and pulling the lines. The Captain is ready to cruise and evidently it doesn’t matter whether the First Mate has finished battening down the hatches, putting away the coffee maker, or walking the dog. We call this The Morning 50-Foot Dash. If I win, all is good. If I lose, it generally leads to a verbal boxing match.

We start cruising up on the bridge. In his eagerness to get to sea Tom has preset nothing so he begins a set of drills that goes like this: “damn, I left my coffee down below”, “have you seen my sunglasses?”, “where’s the chart book?”, “I thought I had a pair of reading glasses up here”… this is my aerobic workout on the Stair(for)Master.

The course is set so we can get out of the frigid morning air and go down to the lower station. The Captain takes the helm (see pic left), getting nice and comfy in his Starship Enterprise-esque chair and observes, “we didn’t have breakfast – aren’t you a little hungry?” This means it’s time for Galley Lunges, as that’s the only way one can balance on an inclined floor while running across 2-3 foot rollers. Then there is this amazing outer thigh exercise that I call the “Loaded Diaper Walk” that I have to do to climb the incline and deliver the Captain’s meal.

Tom has mentally planned our day and as I clear away the last of the galley mess he announces, “I called our friends and told them we’d meet them in 2 hours.” Okay, that leaves me no time at port to make the bed or take a shower, which means I now begin a series of deep stretches in order to hold on while making the bed and then off to the head for a very robust little routine I call “Shower Yoga” That’s all the visual I’m providing.

I’m back up to the salon. Captain’s still in his cushy chair and with a twinkle in his eye he says, “isn’t it 12 o’clock somewhere??” Back to the galley for “Bar Squats” Not a bad idea though, the mimosas are yummy.

Finally settling in with a book. “What?” Captain needs a bathroom break so I diaper walk to the helm. Hey, this is one comfy chair. I may need to take a Power Squadron course when we get home and let Tom have the morning workout instead.

We made it to Cape May, finally. We are crossing the bay to Lewes to visit Patty and Martin White. That one will be an overnighter. But off to Virginia Beach in the a.m. Provided the winds stay calm.