Schoolwork

Whenever Kap and I were asked, "What about School?" our reply was, "School, what's school?" in a very innocent fashion.

We did have our schoolwork. However, dads philosophy was "If you can read, then you can learn anything you want when you want, and arithmetic is important and needed for everyday life." Hence we did our correspondence school subjects of Maths, English and Typing. We also wrote a diary each.

Apart from our formal education, our lifestyle covered some other subjects found in the school curriculum to various degrees.

Geography is part of our life. We are immersed in it daily, whether it be the formation of a sandy atoll in the middle of nowhere, the effect of weather on the ocean, or how land masses change the weather. Extinct volcanoes were explored. Storms were followed with trepidation, and barometers were checked daily. Crossing Current lines in the middle of nowhere made for interesting scavenging. Buckets would be thrown overboard to capture those items caught in the current. This was often jellyfish or rafts of eggs. Stones, rocks, coral and shells were picked up and examined on beaches. Why and how did islands appear in the middle of the ocean? Admittedly we did have a lot more questions than we had answers.

History, some ancient, some new, some being made, but everywhere we looked, it surrounded us. Continent or island, history just oozed out of the cracks. Especially once Franda II reached Egypt and the Med. For example, of the 7 wonders of the ancient world, Franda II visited the site of 6 of them. Egypt, Turkey, Greece and the newly created country of Isreal held so much history it was absorbed by the young sisters via osmosis.

Home Economics was covered many times daily. We sisters had somehow just slipped into the role of cooking. We planned the meals, prepared, and cooked them. We also often baked cakes, slices or puddings. We cleaned all the dishes used to mix or prepare the meal before serving. However, we all took turns at the dishes, but I feel Kap, and I did more than our share. Cleaning also fell to my sister and me. This mainly consisted of sweeping the galley and salon floorboards daily with a child-size broom. Weekly the carpets in the cabins were swept with a hard bristled brush to pick up the hair and fluff stuck to them. The walls below the hatches would often require wiping to remove the salt. We carried a sewing machine on board so we could repair sails. Mum also taught us to sew and make our own dresses. Knitting was also a skill that Mum taught us. While on night watch, in the dark, I knitted myself a pair of gloves using only two needles and my imagination. I also enjoyed crocheting and crocheted a bikini that became my favourite. I also taught myself macrame and created a plant-pot holder, which took pride in the saloon backlit by the "Endeavour" windows.

Physical education was a big part of the day. Just standing or even sitting on a moving vessel uses many muscles. Additionally, more energy is expended when changing sails or winching on sheets. The hauling in of large fish, chin-ups on the ratlines, or just skipping on deck are other ways I kept fit while at sea. However, when we were in port, we had other options, from walking ashore to windsurfing, scuba diving and swimming.

A language per se was not learnt, but in every different country, words were acquired, greetings, thanks, How much? and numbers, just the basics to get one by in the markets. Both my sister and I learnt quite a lot of Hebrew while in Israel. I was not fluent, but Kap nearly was.

Biology was covered to a degree. Both my sister and I loved examining the gut of the fish we caught. On request, Dad would keep the skeleton & stomach for us. After he had fileted or steaked the fish and it was all below, we had use of the fish board. Sometimes Dad would peer over our shoulder and help name some parts. We would poke and prod using our fingers, identifying the heart, liver, kidney, intestines, stomach, row, swim bladder, gallbladder, urinary bladder, and anus. If the sea was calm enough, we used a smaller knife than Dad's fish knife, carefully cut the gut lengthwise and gently spread the tube. Meticulously we would spread the contents on the board. We were always fascinated with what they had been eating, but small crabs surprised us the most. I just don't imagine crabs swimming around in the ocean. How do they come out here, and where do they live. Small fish were easier to understand. Also, we examined the rafts of eggs pulled onboard by the bucket load. It amazed us how many billions there were and how many different species were washed together by ocean currents.

If we found an item floating, an old fish buoy or piece of warp, we would drop the sails and have a nosey. These bits of jetsom would host a whole small ecosystem. Starting on the item with algae, weed and barnacles. Then there were the tiny crustaceans, shrimps and crabs. When I looked further away from the flotsam, I saw small fish. Even further out, the bigger the fish progressively became until I glimpsed a Dorado, shark or other predators. Where do all the small critters come from? And what happens to them if they do not find something to attach to or hide in? Again more questions than we could get answers for. We could have done with Google!

Some areas of woodwork and metalwork were rehearsed to a fine art. If any part of the hull was scratched to the metal, it was dealt with as soon as practicable. The scratch was washed in fresh water, dried, ground smooth, sanded and undercoated. The following day more sanding and another coat of undercoat. On the third day, it would be sanded and top-coated. A lot of effort for a scratch, but Dad insisted we keep the hull free of rust. If the scratch was in the cabin, we could just seal it with paint and, when a few were accumulated, fix them properly. The wood varnish was similar. We would varnish it yearly. First, though, we would sand and patch any raw timber. Then when these patches had been sanded and varnished a few times, the whole rail or cockpit would be lightly sanded and coated twice. We always seemed to be repairing or maintaining things on the yacht.

The daily diary insisted on by Mum was not written daily. Sometimes it would be closed for a week. The "catch-up" stories were not well documented and often mundane. However, if something extraordinary happened, it was often recorded that day with interest.

So, in fact, we girls really did have a very rounded education, or so we like to believe.

Although this life afloat and travelling may sound fascinating to others, it was just everyday "life" for us girls. With the dull daily routine that children find themselves in the world over. However, we did have more freedom from school and different experiences than most children. In other ways, our freedom was curtailed. We never went uptown alone. Kap and I always shopped together. However, in some countries, this was deemed not safe enough, and one of the adults would accompany us uptown.

"Classroom" was not attended regularly by any means. Sometimes a week could pass by without texts being opened or thought about. On other days, a week of Math or English may be completed.

In 1976 when Franda II ventured away from New Zealand, "correspondence schooling", as a whole education, was only offered to government employees. The packs of work were sent out fortnightly and returned fortnightly for marking. That would not have suited Franda II in any way. They could not imagine being stuck at some port awaiting the arrival of schoolwork. It was certainly not going to be delivered regularly in the diplomatic pouch!

So Franda II left New Zealand with three years worth of Maths and English for Kap and Five years for me. One lot of typing & shorthand lessons. Oh, and of course, the answer books!

We were usually good at getting our schoolwork done. Admittedly it was easier when travelling in the company of other children. We could work away together, between having fun swimming and playing on beaches.

We were only sometimes up-to-date, but we would finish the year's work by the end of the calendar year. Although Mum was a primary school teacher, she had little to do with our schooling. In fact, we were left alone to our own devices and timetables. Mum and Dad seldom told us to go do our schoolwork. Instead, they were more likely to remind us to write in our diaries. If we needed help not supplied by the booklets, we would help each other. I would help Kap with her maths, and she would help me with my English.

The portable Brother typewriter was very useful once we had mastered it. We often used it for official documents in triplicate! However, I found the keys very hard to press, especially the "a" and the ";" keys. My little fingers were just not up to it!

In Israel, I set up a desk at the small dressing table in Mum and Dad's cabin. This way, I did not have to sit in the main saloon and be disturbed by the goings-on. I sat there daily for 3 months and succeeded in completing a whole year of maths and english. By this time, Kap had finished all her books.

Towards the end of 1980, I met George on an American yacht in the Tel Aviv marina. He was attending Tabeetha school, and his mum recommended it. George and I chatted about schooling for a while, and I became quite interested. I returned to Sharm el-Sheikh and Franda II to see if my parents would allow me to attend school? They finally acquiesced, and the next 8 months were spent at Tabeetha School Jaffa Israel.