Living on a Boat, One Month

Well, it's been a month since we moved on board, time for a little reflection. Four weeks of living almost continuously in 42 feet of space. Actually 42 feet is a bit misleading as that is the length of the boat so it is really smaller inside, but that measure does not include the deck which we also 'live' on which adds another 40+ feet of space - nothing compared to a 3000 square foot house, but the view is better. Space could be considered a less than good (that would be 'consultant speak' for bad), but actually it hasn't been too much of an issue. So what are the 'less than goods' and the 'goods / greats' so far?

Less than goods - Water, weather, wind and heads (I promise not to go into any specific detail here!)

Water in that we have to be soooooooo careful of it, which coming from the American and English Abundance mode is an adjustment. There is not an infinite supply which comes from 'somewhere' when you turn on the tap. There are two hundred gallons and when those are gone, we have to pull up anchor and go someplace to get more or we have to 'jerry-jug' water to the boat which involves going to get water in the dingy and bringing it back to the boat in 6 gallon jugs. If you consider that the typical American family uses 300 gallons of water a day, this is an adjustment. Steve figures we're down to about 7 gallons a day. Is this adjustment really a negative? Not really, just a very, very different 'way of working'.

Weather and wind I'll put together because they run together.

Weather in that we need to pay so much attention to it and having spent so many years not paying much more than attention than, "Is it going to rain today?" this is a learning curve. I don't feel that I understand enough about how the weather works or the 'process of weather'. There are patterns of how weather flows, high and low pressure systems, wind directions, etc., which are understandable and predictable. Weather doesn't just happen. And we pay attention to aspects of weather that we never even thought of before - wind direction, wind speed, air temperature, water temperature, tides (high, low, high), sea and bay wave heights, where the Gulf Stream, rain, sunrise, sunset, pressure. That's just the beginning of what you need to know. So that definitely an area where I'm feeling like a novice and am embarking on a program of study. I think it will be interesting to understand how the air moves across the earth, the patterns and changes created through interactions in temperature, and why we're experiencing what we do.

Wind makes NOISE, sometimes ALL THE TIME! We listen to it whooooing in the mast and the rigging, we use it for power (that is when wind is a good thing!), and we watch to make sure it doesn't blow us so hard that our anchor drags. Earplugs are often a requirement for a good night's sleep!

Heads, ugh! That's probably the area one pays the least attention to in a house and one where much focus is on a boat. Leaking, pumping out, maintaining so they don't... - nuf said!

Goods / Greats - the travel, the learning, partnership

There's one thing about traveling at 5 miles an hour - you don't miss much! We have time to observe the world as it's going by. We've seen stingrays leap out of the water flapping their wings, dolphins, fish and birds. The night sky is a whole new vista for us (after having it dimmed by city lights for so many years). The nomadic existence we love (not really surprising!). If we like a place, we stay. When we get tired of it, we pull up anchor and go. Since we have no specific plan or itinerary, there's no pressure to be some place at a certain time so we just travel along as slowly or quickly as suits us.

Virtually everything is new and we are constantly learning. This applies to the equipment, the lifestyle and the places we go. As Steve said in his entry, it's been a long time since we've been complete novices at anything and being the 'industry expert' changes your perspective. It's humbling to realise how little we know about this lifestyle, but a great confidence builder each time we figure something out or understand a new concept.

Bill and Joe said it very well, we're stronger together than apart. We're finding this to be very true. We discuss and analyze everything from the weather, to how to fix things, to what we've discovered in our reading. Steve is the captain and you'd think after running a thousand person business, that would be no sweat. I think in many ways this is harder, because the responsibility is not money, it's lives. We are settling into individual areas of expertise, but there's still a great deal of cross over and learning about the other person's expert areas. I mostly drive the boat and am becoming more and more familiar with the way it responds in different types of situations. Steve mostly sails and handles anchoring. I do most of the cooking and provisioning, along with much of the IT, communications computerwise, sewing and organisation of 'stuff'. Steve handles the majority of systems including engine, plumbing, electrical, radio and GPS. Weather we both listen to and track. Steve likes to pour over charts planning routes and anchorages, with a follow on discussion with the two of us to do the final plan. Steve was master of the dingy until yesterday, I need to be able to drive the 'car' too so we did a trial run. The partnership you need to do this well is critical. We've always worked together very closely both through literally working together, working in the same field and in our marriage, but this takes it to whole new levels - a big plus in my book!

My night pictures are not what they should be, particularly on the boat, but this is a shot of Christmas carolers boating through the marina around all the boats decorated for Christmas!