Onboard Fitness

“The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that about 72 percent of men and 64 percent of women are classified as overweight or obese.”
It has been said that boating, like piloting a large plane, is 99 percent boredom and one percent sheer panic. While there are some sailors who leap from port to starboard, hauling halyards and winching sheets, for the most part we are a sedentary lot afloat. Even on a sailboat there’s usually not a lot of action, and even less on a powerboat. So what’s the best way to stay in shape when there’s little space for exercise, and all that food and drink to enjoy?

North American guidelines recommend that between the ages of 30 and 50, males should take in 2,100 to 2,500 calories, depending on activity levels, while women (with a smaller frame) should be in the range of 1,800 to 2,300. Older folk (and most boaters are in that category) should reduce those numbers by 200 calories. Sadly, the evidence around us suggests that this just ain’t happening.
But there’s some good news. While most people seem fixated on controlling intake (diets), the alternative is considerably more attractive. By boosting energy output, you can maintain or lose weight, build muscle, and control the spread of cruising flab! And still enjoy those recipes from Roxanne Dunn’s Galley.

Walking 10,000 steps a day is something everyone, everywhere, should aspire to. It may sound like a lot, but it’s just an hour of brisk exercise. Walking is better than going to the gym, more effective at burning excess fat, is non-impact, takes you to interesting places (unless you’re on a treadmill staring at yourself in a mirror) and is absolutely free. Yet, strangely, most people would prefer to go on a diet or join a fitness centre, than walk regularly.

Most boats don’t encourage walking because there are obstacles such as lines, or general deck clutter. Further, most modern powerboats have surrendered safe side decks in favour of wider saloons and staterooms. We’re lucky. Our trawler has side decks both wide and deep (one of the reasons for buying it) that allow circuits on rainy days. Make it a fun competition: place 30 raisons and 30 cranberries in a sheltered spot, and each time you do a circuit, eat a raison. She gets the cranberries. See who finishes first. No cheating.

Ashore, walk away from the marina. Walk roads. Ask about trails. Walk to the furthest supermarket, not the nearest. Make walking an integral part of your time on land.

Hiking is just walking with some up and down involved. The shores around the Strait of Georgia have many trails of many lengths, to suit many ambitions, varying from the easy (like a walk around Montague Harbour Marine Provincial Park), to the more difficult (like a hike to the highest point on the Gulf Islands—Warburton Pike—from the Saturna Island ferry terminal).

Think outside the box. At Princess Louisa Inlet at the head of Jervis Inlet, a popular trail leads from the dock up to the miner’s cabin and waterfall, about an hour’s climb. For some reason, most hikers turn back at that point, yet three hours beyond, the ridge opens out into one of the most spectacular panoramas anywhere along the coast, plus the trail to get there improves after the waterfall!

Start small, but get out there! There are numerous guidebooks specifically dedicated to hiking the Gulf Islands, Howe Sound, Vancouver or Vancouver Island including Hiking the Gulf Islands: An Outdoor Guide to BC’s Enchanted Isles, by Charles Kahn, 103 Hikes in Southwestern British Columbia, by Jack Bryceland and Mary and David Macaree and Backroad Mapbook: Vancouver, Coast & Mountains, by Trent Ernst and Russell Mussio. Keep in mind that these guides are not really tailored to the boater, although many trails start at the coast.

Cycling The challenge with cycling is that you need a bicycle. Sounds obvious, of course, but small, folding bikes suited for the marine environment and made of stainless steel (like the Dahon Mariner) are not cheap, you usually need at least two, and you require somewhere to store them when not in use. But the benefits are huge: you cover vastly more distance, which maintains interest, the exercise is low impact with a steady cardio-vascular output (very good for you) and, if you have a pannier, you can bring your groceries back on return.
Cycling is most attractive around the shores of the Strait of Georgia. Further north, roads are scarce, and there’s the possibility of running into a bear. But south of Desolation Sound there are plenty of paved roads (sadly, also lots of hills) that provide excellent exercise, plus there’s something very uplifting about turning your back on the marina scene for an hour or two, clearing the head and working up a good sweat.

Many of the Gulf Island marinas have bike shops nearby where machines may be rented. A growing number of marinas also offer courtesy bikes in return for a small donation. Sointula is one, and the chance to ride the paved road along the south shore of Malcolm Island, past farms and old boat ramps, should not be missed.

Swimming Disregarding forced swims (in a wetsuit) to inspect hulls, untangle propellers, or clean out thru-hulls, swimming is usually fun, but in our region is generally temperature dependent. The coast has many fine sand beaches where swimming can be enjoyed during a few select months of the year, and protected bays and inlets around Desolation Sound are noted for their warm water.
Bathing off the swim grid (so that’s why it’s so called!) is a treat that should be encouraged early in a cruise, so the crew get into the habit of doing it every day. Having a freshwater wash-down afterwards also helps, and offsets water used in showers taken below.

Lake swimming is a great way to exercise for two reasons. Most lakes involve walking to access them, which is a bonus, then of course there’s the benefit of freshwater bathing. There are a surprising number of small lakes around the strait—many not shown on charts, some on public land—that warm up quickly and offer a superb finish to an afternoon’s stroll. Stuff a swim suit and small towel into your backpack and be spontaneous. Many lakes are isolated and allow private skinny dipping, if that’s your thing.

One of my favourites is the one-hour hike under tall trees from the west end of Waiatt Bay (Octopus Islands Marine Provincial Park) to Newton Lake, a 700 metre long stretch of water surrounded by forest. A white granite slab at the north end provides the perfect place from which to swim, and much of the hike is within Small Inlet Marine Provincial Park.

Rowing/Kayaking Just as it surprises me that people drive to the gym and then sit on a exercise bike for half an hour, so too when I see people fire up an outboard to set crab traps within a few hundred metres of their anchored boat. Row the dinghy! It’s quiet, it’s great exercise, and your neighbours will silently thank you for doing it.
When it comes to sea kayaking, I must admit to a bias. I’m not really a boater; I’m a kayaker who ran out of places to kayak using a car, so I bought a mothership. From a kayak you see things that you will never see from a fishing machine, or even a dinghy. A kayak can squeeze through gaps into places that no one, other than otters, can ever reach, and you will come face to face with wildlife (deer, bear, fish, birds) that would have fled minutes earlier of you had an outboard running.

The kind of kayak you buy determines in large part what you can do. Refer back to “Kayaks on Board: Choosing the Best Kayak for your Yacht,” and the companion article, “The Case for Inflatable Kayaks,” in the July, 2007 issue of Pacific Yachting to help you pick the right one. But the right kayak is only half the story. You must have a quick and efficient method of getting it off and back onto your vessel. Make it complicated, and you won’t kayak every day because of the effort. Similarly, having to store a kayak in an awkward location onboard will mean you spend time untying, lifting and launching it, and this can be used (again) as an excuse not to do it.

We find that we hike more south of Quadra Island, but north of Dent Rapids, where trails are few and bears many, we kayak every day. Of course, kayaking only strengthens the upper body, but it’s surprising how different your pecs feel after as little as a week of regular paddling.

One of the benefits of a kayak is being able to land in interesting spots. Besides, after two hours you need to stretch the legs. When approaching a northern beach, always remember Hudson’s Law: Land in the middle of the beach, never at an end. Why? Because if you’re surprised by a bear, you only have half the distance to run back to your kayak!

Yoga With the rise in popularity of yoga and all things Lululemon, more people are discovering the benefits of practising this form of exercise that emphasises flexibility and flow over strength and power. Space is always limited onboard, and no one wants to practise on a dock in full view of others, so compromises are necessary. Balance positions should be done with care, on calm days, with a fallback (no pun intended) position. There’s nothing worse than an unexpected swell during a sun salutation or headstand.

Much of yoga is about breathing and finding your inner core. The same can be said for many other forms of exercise, but in yoga it’s stressed as one of the key principles. Get your breathing to synchronize with the gentle movement of the boat; perhaps three breaths to each slow rise and fall of the swell that is lifting the vessel. Make the boat’s imbalance an addition, not a subtraction to the rhythm of the routine.

Weights Walking and hiking strengthen the lower body but do nothing for the upper muscle groups. A set of weights bought from a sports outfitter can provide a host of excellent upper body routines that won’t turn you into a hunk, but will keep the arms and shoulders supple, and take very little space. Like yoga, only do routines when the deck is level. Losing your balance when swinging 10 pound dumbbells can lead to injury. Place the feet well apart, keep an eye out for unexpected wakes, and concentrate on breathing. Like yoga, develop a rhythm where you breathe out during the working stroke, in on the recovery.

We use just one pair of eight pound weights. Start by doing 15 repetitions, then rest. Repeat. Then use them for alternate muscle groups doing another two sets of 15 reps. Over a period of a week, increase the repetition count to 20. Then go back to 15, but do three sets, increasing over time to 20 again.
There are many books showing different weight-bearing exercises. It’s really quite surprising how many ways there are to work your body. Just build up slowly, day by day. If something hurts, there’s a reason. Back off.

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Remember, this is about staying fit, not getting fit. And the benefit at the end of the day is that since you’re active, you won’t have to skip the evening drinks or count those calories (100–150 in a can of beer, 85 in a glass wine, 100 in a shot of whisky/vodka). Instead, stay flexible, toned and enjoy boating the way it should be.