How to Live on a Boat (if Sailing is Not Your Thing).
That wind in the sails, it’s not whispering to me. Sailing is not on my list of hobbies. Yet, we lived on two sailboats for four years.
How did I do this?
Here are some tips, which may help you, should you find yourself in the same boat (intended).
All of our posts on: Boat Life @ No Texting & Tacking.
1. Love the crew.
As any parent, I would like to do what is best for my family, because I love them. Living on a sailboat brings much joy, even if hard at times (like, all the times).
I have written about the benefits of this sustainable lifestyle, and I believe it has made us a stronger family.
Sailing requires teamwork, trust and integrity, because our lives depend on it.
Sailing is an excellent lifestyle for teens, because it offers them a tangible way to feel useful and appreciated. It is also fun and comes with bragging rights.
2. Consider it an exercise in patience and resilience.
Certainly, we wake up one morning and realize we have to do things we don’t like. So, as hard as it may be, I put on my sailing-patience hat and give it the best I can.
Sometimes the best means just lowering my voice while yelling at everyone, out in the big blue ocean!
We have sailed both a monohull and catamaran.
I hated the passages on both.
Passages make everyone quite seasick aboard.
Imagine having a stomach flu, lying down waiting for the next episode… Now imagine someone shaking your room, while you have to raise yourself out of bed, stand upright, and hold yoga poses for three hours!
Yet, at the end of overnight sailing passages, after promising myself to sell the boat as soon as we reach land, my frustrations are dropped along with the anchor.
It’s really not so bad; the sense of gratitude for a safe passage is worth it.
3. Find the joy and beauty in it.
Raise your hand if you love, love, love sitting in traffic two times per day for 5 days, as needed, while job symptoms persist!
Too many of us keep refilling that prescription of wasted time.
So while symptoms persist, why not try to find something useful and more pleasant to do, while sitting in traffic?
Be inspired:
45 Epic Sailing Movies We Will Watch Over and Over…
81 Best Sailing Quotes & Captions. Stuff Boaters Really Say.
85 Beloved Sailing Songs (and Karaoke). The Only Playlist you Need.
A few things that have worked for me, in the car:
- Listening to Car Talk and sermons from a missed Liturgy;
- Trying to hit all the high notes of “Memory” (Cats)
- Tightening the abs and doing a Kegel (a physical therapist recommendation, I did not make that up)
During those darn passages, we are gifted the starriest of skies; the breath-taking sunsets and sunrises. We enjoy the occasional visit of dolphins; the quick stop and swim in the middle of nowhere.
During those darn passages I am also grateful for the honest and simple joy of leaving myself and my loved ones in the hands of God!
There is much sunshine in sailing; it would be even better if the wind didn’t make waves.
5. Think of it as a step on the bigger path.
Try to see the big picture, sailing is a step on the cruising path, not the path itself.
Actual sailing and passages are a very small portion of our time aboard. Most of our salty life is on anchor, mooring ball, or at the docks.
Sailing helps us move the boat.
Once that has been completed, we take weeks, even months exploring new neighborhoods and towns. Best of all, we carry our tiny home with us, wherever we may go, no packing and unpacking required!
But what if your crew loves sailing for the sake of sailing?
Take a day-sail trip, go fishing, turn the weekend into a sailing weekend. I am happy to wait ashore, or at a neighbor’s boat.
We have done it – dads go put the rail in the water, moms stay at the anchorage, or explore town.
4. “Just keep swimming…” (Finding Nemo).
If I can handle a couple of hours of it, I can handle a bit more, and then a bit more. Just keep sailing until we arrive.
The kind of attitude to adopt for any difficult tasks.
Keep going, because once you climb that hill, the view is spectacular.
If you want that view all the time, buy a catamaran 🙂
5. Own it!
Oh, absolutely! Just give me the helm!
Every time my shift is over, we have spilled a storm’s worth of wind (to prevent heeling), and our course has been adjusted to bring us closer to the shore (if possible).
Joe used to think I had a tendency to turn to starboard (right), but that theory fell apart when we headed north the US east coast, and the shore was to port (left).
In all seriousness, however, we plan the trips together, we watch the weather, plot the course, we even argue together! I am not there for the ride, I make my ride.
And so can you!
More posts about boating life
Pros and Cons of Living on a Boat. By Experienced Boaters.
4 Comments