Mark & I have been liveaboards before. We purchased our boat in 2008 and spent 3+
months sailing from North Carolina to Texas.
That was an experience to say the least and a topic for another post. At that time we needed to get back to land to
finish our house and get it on the market.
It only took three months to get back to the boat full time. While living aboard we had everything that we
had owned while in the house, that wasn't on the boat, in a storage unit.
Fast forward two years.
Just when it was time to get ready to cruise we received an offer that
we couldn't refuse and returned to land for three years. It was a strange transition, now we had two
fully functional homes 1500 miles apart, both needing to be cared for, both
full of our stuff.
When we were aboard
full time we knew that almost everything had to be thought of in advance. The dog is going to have to be walked, better
get moving early. I’m going to need to
be walked, don’t wait until the last second!
Little things like “I just ran out of underwear” become a big deal; we really
should have carted all of our laundry up to the boaters’ facility a couple of
days ago.
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Google Earth view of our "T -Head". The yellow line leads from our boat to the facilities. The path box shows it's .15 miles one way to the bathroom and laundry! |
On land that’s not the case.
The dog needs to go out, no problem, open the door and call his
name. No need to plan a personal potty
break either. Friends all think that
life aboard a boat is such a romantic notion, little do they know that the most
basic things that we all take for granted become serious points that need to be
planned and perfected.
So here we are again, back on the boat for the past seven
months. This time we've sold or given
away the bulk of our land junk. It has
taken a lot more time to get back into the swing of boat life. There are so many things that I miss from
land. My king size, pillow top mattress
is a biggie. As boat mattresses go our
queen bunk isn't bad, but man do I miss being able to spread out and not hear
that I’m crowding my hubby. I also miss
night time bathroom trips that don’t involve climbing over your partner.
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Not my actual plant but a good representation of the final result! |
Fresh herbs, on land I had a huge herb garden and tomatoes
and peppers and zucchini, well you get the idea. I attempted a single basil plant here on the
boat. That poor thing really deserved to
go home with someone that could keep it alive.
In a couple of weeks we will be house/dog sitting for good
friends followed by a 10 day trip to home to Chicago for a family reunion. We’re looking at a good month off of the
boat. I have to admit I’m a little
worried. I love my little floating
home. I can’t wait until we can finally
cut the lines and head out to cruise, but that isn't where we are right
now. We are tied to a dock in a nice
enough marina but not living our dream.
The challenges of day to day life on the dock don’t have the rewards
that cruising promises. Am I going to
want to come back after a month?
Probably, but the old normal was a lot easier than this new one.
I’m sure all will be fine and I’ll celebrate a joyous return
to this fine yacht. So in the mean time
I will live life the way that I always have.
Taking what today gives me, hoping and planning for tomorrow and
enjoying whatever is thrown at me to the best of my ability.
We learned a lot about ourselves in the 2 1/2 years we spent in that area. We came to CC area from Kansas on a road to be world sailors. We some things about what we were not and what our priorities really were. So, here we are back where we started. Happily and looking forward to our next bareboat charter to one of those far flung Caribbean destinations that we one day wanted to sail to. In many respects I envy you but also appreciate the obstacles and uncertainty. Cheers. Chris
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