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Why Move Onto a Boat 1

11/28/2018

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PictureHiding on a boat....
This is the first of a string of posts highlighting the reasons for moving onto a boat. I’m going to tackle one of the more complex items on my list first, and save the easy stuff for later.

Reason: Move onto a boat to change your life.
Many years ago my father had given me some advice that has always proven true, and helped me many times. He told me that if I ever needed a change in my life, all I had to do was move. He said it didn’t mater if you moved across the street or across the world. Just move and your life will change. With out fail, every move I’ve made has indeed changed my life, often throwing in a new perspective for good measure.

Now, my father’s words of wisdom didn’t mention anything about boats. In fact, I’m pretty sure that if asked, his advice would have been to avoid boats altogether. He was a practical man.

But boats have always been part  of my life (after leaving home), and years later I finally owned a boat big enough to live on. It was only big enough for one, but I believed that events in my life were leading me to a solitary life, so a one man boat would do.

I didn’t have to move onto the boat, there were other options I was considering, but the lure of living on a boat, being able to escape like a little boy in a pirate story, was just too hard to resist. I started fixing and remodeling my little hideaway, and my life begun to change.

So let me recap. A great reason to move onto a boat is to change your life, gain a new perspective, or maybe escape a little (or a lot).

These were my emotional reasons, and I think they were pretty good ones.

Do you need a change in your life? Do you like boats? Then stay with me and read on. When I’m done sharing our story, you’ll wonder why you didn’t think of it yourself.

I never did move onto that small sailboat. The changes in my life came quickly, some expected and some not, but all good. Turns out I needed a larger sailboat to share with a kindred soul. She also needed a change, some perspective, and yes, even a little bit of a pirate escape as well.

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What's With The Whole "Boat" Thing?

11/28/2018

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I found this on a boat in Sidney, BC
This topic comes up quite often in conversations with people we meet. They rarely ask such a big question though, instead going for a short opener like “So, do you live on your boat all the time?” Or even a more specific question like “How do you stay warm during the winter?”

I think many people would like to ask why we have chosen this lifestyle, but they don’t. Probably because they know the answer is complex, occupying more time then a casual meeting would allow. 

I’ve decided to answer the why of the thing, why we have chosen this lifestyle. But fear not! I wont write a hundred page entry. In an effort to get back into the habit of writing each day I’ll break it down into readable posts as I cover the specifics.

In discussions with Sarah, we’ve uncovered two separate questions that should be addressed over the next few weeks.

The first is “Why move onto a boat?” What were the reasons we even considered such a move and what did we hope to achieve?

The second is “Why stay on the boat?” This question covers many of the benefits that keep us on the boat but were not reasons for moving there in the first place.

I’ll start with the "Why Move", each post explaining a specific reason, but not in any particular order.

There may be quite a few entries, and I should be posting each day. I hope you find the information interesting and entertaining.
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Sailboat Salmon

11/27/2018

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Oh yeh, this is what i'm talking about!
One of the most interesting aspects of living on a boat is the idea, the very dream, of hunting for your food.

Most people know this by the more common name, fishing. 

I love seafood. All kinds of seafood. I don’t include the freezer version of deep sea something, the despicable fish stick. Give me instead a BBQ dog fish skewer marinated in a savory lemon sauce.

But now, for those who dream, imagine a fresh salmon, bright and silver, just caught from the cold Canadian waters. Silvery scales adorn the deck, thick fillets are placed in the cooler. Back at anchorage, in an hour, the fish becomes the dinner special. Cooked lightly to perfection, a masterpiece of flavor over a bed of rice, or perhaps left seasoned to Poke, savored on rice crackers adorned with goat cheese, perfect for a movie night, snuggled in bed.

Less then six hours from line caught to dinner plate. There really isn’t anything compared to it. 

Are you fortunate to have the fisherman in the family, out early hours to catch the silvery fish and fill the freezer with wonderful salmon?

That’s wonderful, but not what I’m talking about. We have no freezer for long term storage. We catch only what we can eat.

Living on a boat, fishing together, heading for a safe anchorage to clean and cook what the two of us have caught, that’s what I’m talking about.

We have harvested crab, salmon, dog fish and shrimp. All from our home.

If you have had the pleasure to hike in the backcountry, do a little fishing, bringing the fish back to a fire and enjoying a good meal, you can begin to imagine what it is like for us.

Our boat, our home, is our camp. In this small respect, we are once again the hunter-gatherers, like our ancestors. True, it isn’t just like them. After all, in 24 hours, we can resupply with frozen goods and canned delights. 

But for a little bit, in our own world, we can share something with all those who have come before us.

We can fish, we can catch, and we can eat what we catch.

What more can seagoing fishermen hope for?

​
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As Promised; Winter Spirit

11/25/2018

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In my last post I wrote that I’d been promised a German Chocolate cake upon our return from the States. As luck would have it, the weather was perfect for a cruise to our favorite bay and a peaceful overnight sleep on the hook. So, away from any land and with great fan-fare, (and far too many calories), the made-from-scratch cake was indeed baked and promptly devoured. Yes, that is a chocolate egg on top.
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THE cake!
The two of us didn’t eat the whole thing. As you can see, the four layer cake was no small delight. Once back to the dock it was shared with all who came by. After the last morsel was gone I made sure to thank my Great Canadian Baker for the best German Chocolate cake I’ve ever eaten. (Thank you Sarah!)

Later that evening we toasted my stubbornness to live yet another year and I thanked all the magic in the world for letting me spend that time with Sarah on our magnificent sailboat.
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Yup, Canada looks like this mid November.
As of this post, our American Thanksgiving has come and gone. What does this mean for us? Certainly not black Friday. Though the days are short and cold, the passing of thanksgiving means it’s time to decorate the boat!!!!!
Like every good seasonal tradition, this one promises to be better then the last. The interior is coming along nicely.
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Seasonal Bling!
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Sarah made a great wreath for the bowsprit, new this year. Those are Jellies in the center. Everyone who knows Sarah will understand.

Next week we plan to catch a ride to the local hardware store for lights to decorate the mast and rails.
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Home Again

11/5/2018

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We stay at a marina for stormy days like today, a safe place to tuck in from the winter weather. The rain and wind provide a constant background noise, comforting when you stop to listen. Our day is spent talking and touching, staying warm while planning and dreaming of things to come.

If you’ve never lived on a boat, you may not understand. After hours and hours of rough water, days of calm seas, and anchorages both good and bad, you come to trust the little house, and know where the limits are. When you find a peaceful anchorage, where the winds are lite and the anchor holds fast, you relax in a way few people understand.

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Even on the dock, with a storm howling, you can ease down and smile because her lines are snug, and there is little danger the world will interrupt that wonderful, safe feeling of a well tended boat. Every sound tells of wind and wave, line and pumps, and you know them when right or wrong. You’re having a dialog with the world around you, the world you’ve chosen to live in.

And while warm and safe and dry, you are always reminded how close to the elements you are living. Water, earth, life. The distracting details that were important, sometime in the past, now ease away with each day. You think of writing, or painting or learning new things now that your attention is your own again.

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This week we head to Oregon, over land, without our home. We’ll reconnect with friends and visit relatives. I’m looking forward to the long drive south from Anacortes, down the middle of Washington and Oregon, then turning west to head up over the coastal mountains and down to the Pacific Ocean. 

Odyssey will be waiting for us, and in several weeks we'll return to her, to love and learn and create, to dream of things to come.

Besides, as soon as we get back, I’ve been promised a German Chocolate birthday cake…

​

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Tiny Homes

11/1/2018

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PictureAt Home In Odyssey
A recent visitor to Odyssey, one of the few invited inside our home in the last several years, surprised me with his lack of enthusiasm for the small space. In the past, we have gotten everything from surprised delight to wishful admiration, but the almost uncomfortable gaze from this visitor caught me off guard.

I have to admit that while in our home, all the space from your waist down is below the waterline, and that could be an issue for some, or maybe that the floor is often in motion. Besides that, how could one person, let alone two, live in such a small space?

Our boat, Odyssey, easily qualifies as a ‘tiny home’ at about 200 square feet of living space. I did a quick search and found a cute little house that size selling for about $110,000, without land. It was very nice. 
https://thespaces.com/voluminous-tiny-homes-designed-for-writers-hit-the-market-for-110000/2/

As we sail through the Pacific NW waters, I often comment to Sarah about the enormous homes, mansions I guess, built on the Islands, and how even a large family couldn’t possibly fill just a fraction of the space. The cost of maintenance alone would be more then some peoples rent. 

I feel very fortunate to have the beautiful space of Odyssey, and a love who is just as delighted to live in it as I am.

Have you ever built a fort? How about crawled inside a sleeping bag with a flashlight, closing it tight with a smile? Then you know the pleasure of a small space. 

Or maybe you’ve just forgotten.

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    Odyssey


    Live as if you were to die tomorrow.
    Learn as if you were to live forever.
    -Mahatma Ghandi-

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