Jill and I watched as Porter climbed up on the seat of the nav station and flipped on the anchor light. It’s a job that he takes seriously and is one that he’s become used to doing on a near daily basis. The only problem with that night was that we were at a dock. We explained that to him, but after five days straight at anchor, he’d just grown used to completing his evening task.

This time of year, five consecutive days of anchoring out seems to be our sweet spot before stopping for a night or two at a dock to complete any combination of showers, laundry, provisioning and topping up Yahtzee’s fuel, water and batteries. As the days get longer and warmer, that number will increase, but right now it’s working well.

Due to this near constant motion, coupled with the fact that we don’t have a permanent slip to give the boat regular baths, Yahtzee’s beginning to look a little grubby. Her decks are tinged gray from soot and dirty boots, and more spots of green seem to be showing up each day. She desperately needs a freshwater scrub and wax. And though my near daily deck scrubbings with saltwater help knock off some of the crud, she definitely looks like she’s been out cruising for a while — which is fitting I guess.

Truth be told, I’ll take the grime, because I’d much rather be out cruising than languishing in a slip somewhere. I’d rather be exploring anchorages than sanding, varnishing, waxing and polishing. And I’d rather be sailing or motoring than sitting and stroking our boat in a marina or on the hard while jabbering and day-dreaming about sailing. I’m just grateful to be out here, and can put up with some soot and dirt.

After spending more time in the Gulf Islands and then hopping through the San Juans, we crossed the Strait of Juan de Fuca on Wednesday and are in route to some of our favorite central sound cruising haunts (along with the Seattle Boat Show). Though the wheels of motion keep Yahtzee rolling along, I’m thinking that a stop for a good cleaning might be in order when we get a little sun and some time to put elbow grease into her.

Yahtzee may not be the belle of the ball right now, but she’s happy in her winter cruising groove and that surely goes a lot further than vanity.