Well, surprise revelation: it’s not all pink champagne at a rosy sunset. In the run up to changing our lifestyle we were afraid we might get bored – never happened. Thought we’d have nothing to do – what were we thinking!?
If you’re planning the leap you’ll be realistic and know that many aspects of your life will be the same as on land. Instead, we’re focussing on what we’ve experienced to be the biggest differences in our lives as full-time cruisers.
OUR BOAT-LIFE IS A LIFE OF…
FREEDOM
O’ what a mighty unconstrained concept, weighted with expectation and as fleeting as the froth on a gently breaking wave!
In the years preparing to leave jobs and land-life, the dream of a life lived with ‘freedom’ was a constant impetus. It’s the freedom to be without a role, to escape to a place without walls. This act of escaping takes courage. We now enjoy freedom as a sense of utter independency and choice.
After decades of deadlines and delivering to other’s expectations, it takes a while to get used to this feeling of liberation. To do or not to do? To go or stay? Now, we only do what and as much as we desire. With no obligations to each other and plenty of tolerance for the other’s rhythm. If it takes Lorenzo two weeks to repair the head (toilet on a boat) or I take three weeks to write a blog post, then that’s how it is. Unless I feel like it or enjoy it, it wont get done.
Interestingly, these are liberties we struggle with when other’s take them, like the sail-maker who doesn’t show up for four weeks to look at our torn sail. Which, incidentally, shows that ‘freedom’ has no place in business life. Unless – yes, whack me – you’re in France.
We navigate slowly and in isolation, on our home and with all our belongings.
TRAVEL
Wanderlust and voyaging is significant feature of our sailing life. The excitement of arriving in a new place, experiencing new cultures and tastes, speaking different languages! In this first year, while Covid has confined and restricted many ‘landlubbers’ from journeying in comfort and without fear, we’ve been able to sail off to new countries and unspoiled islands, enjoying unfrequented beaches and bays.
I used to travel a bit for work; wasting hours waiting in airports, snoozing on uncomfortable plane seats and catching bugs in stuffy trains. Now we move almost anywhere we want avoiding queues, the mess that is mass tourism and too many other people.
As soon as we enter territorial waters of a new country, we raise the courtesy flag (of our new host country) and that stays up until we enter new waters. If arriving at a marina in a new country, we clear in showing passports, insurance papers and boat registration. Here in the Schengen Area this is uncomplicated with our Swiss and Austrian nationalities. Otherwise, when on anchor in a bay, we’ve often seen Marine Police or Customs boats checking boat papers though we have never been controlled. (These days, authorities can very easily check our AIS to see where we’ve been and how long for.) As we sail under the Swiss flag on a non-EU VAT vessel, we can stay in the EU for up to 18 months before having to leave to a non-EU country to reset the Temporary Importation clock. We can then re-enter the EU with our boat and remain for another 18 months. Travel has never been so pleasant and easy.
Nothing beats that wonderful feeling of arriving somewhere new after a long passage and knowing you accomplished the journey by wind and your own effort!
Are we in a hurry? Probably not.
HAVING TIME & TAKING IT
The greatest luxury we have comes at a price. It may take a while to get rid of feelings of impatience, but this’ll come fast – you just don’t have as much control as you’d like to imagine. Our pace is fluid, the seas and oceans linking everything.
So there’s time to wait for the right weather, time to stay a little longer in that peaceful bay. Time to sail slowly rather than start the engine. Time to wait for parts to be delivered. We all need to eat and cook and buy food; cleaning is a chore whether you’re in a house or on a boat. The biggest difference is that on a boat this all takes much more time. Which we have.
A siesta after lunch when it’s hot, an afternoon nap when it’s not.
SLEEP
As long as we want, as often as we want and whenever we feel like it. Haven’t slept this much in my whole life – it must be all the fresh air! A siesta after lunch when it’s hot, an afternoon nap when it’s not. If our bodies ask for it we’re off to bed early, gently rocked into deep sleep and we wake up late or when the sun dapples on our cheeks through the curtains.
One day my friend Teri was set to arrive at dawn at a rocky turquoise water cove in Ibiza and we had to pick her up by dinghy. That’s the only time this entire year we’ve set the alarm clock. (And yes, of course we were all lulled into an afternoon doze later in the day).
On a summer day, our capacity for inertia is boundless. We’re not alone I realised, as our friend Joe one day proudly conceded, after surrendering to the languorous joy of hot days in turquoise water; “We’ve reached new levels of slothfulness”.
The only people responsible for our life, systems and safety are us.
DUTIES
Admittedly, we don’t have many. The few obligations we have are to maintaining our boat and regulations relating to entering countries and interaction with authorities.
Our main duty is awareness. Sounds, smells, sights, movements. Our day-to-day is now endlessly checking things. The weather, the boat, next anchorages, tank levels, amp hours, regulations, where to go next, when to leave, what route to take.
Living in a house in Switzerland it’s normal to take resources for granted. On the rare cases something didn’t work, help was a phone call away. Now the only people responsible for our life, systems and safety are us.
You won’t be happy in this kind of life unless you enjoy being closely together. Very closely together.
TOGETHERNESS
One of the questions we’re most often asked is how do you stand cope being together 24/7 in such a small space? Seriously?! – that’s the best bit! We love being together. We chat, laugh, squabble, listen to each other and help each other. (Ok, helping usually means Lorenzo’s the one to get things out of deep compartments and Tania’s there to pass the Victorinox multi-tool when he undoubtedly finds something to fix down there.)
When we’re on a passage and one of leaves the 3-metre zone you’ll hear “Where are you going?!”- Sounds creepy and controlling but it’s also a matter of safety. We’ve both experienced the brief moment of panic and terror when we can’t find each other whilst underway. Man overboard??! (Lorenzo was getting fishing gear out of a forward locker and Tania was sunning in the starboard corner of the cockpit.) We’ve now learned to tell each other if we’re moving out of sight.
On a boat, our partnership has strengthened. We each have our responsibilities and look out for each other’s well-being in a much more essential way. We are happiest together so this life suits us just fine.
We’ve made friends who we’ll happily sail miles out of our way to spend time with again.
MAKING NEW FRIENDS
Sure, we’ve heard about the (dreaded) potluck. Glad to say this cruiser’s social ritual hasn’t happened yet. Nope, this is about friendship.
Sailors are a diverse cultural group with an important cultural commonality: we all love being at sea on our boats and share an intimate understanding of what sailing and boat life is really like. This forms instant connections that can surpass any differences to develop astoundingly quickly into a deep mutual affection and bond.
We’re new to full-time boat-life so this was new to us: how a neighbour on a dock, a message via our website or Instagram, can bring us to meet smaller boats and bigger boats, monohulls and multihulls, and their amazing owners. Visitors usually come over by SUP, or dinghy. And so begins a whirlwind of sunset drinks, boat-tours, help with boat-jobs, joint provisioning trips, shared excursions and open-hearted discussions over dinners that go on past midnight. Often spontaneous, always easy-going and filled with laughter! Oh, so much laughter.
We have made friends who we’ll happily sail miles out of our way to spend time with again. So it turns out the Neel 47 is a great social connector ! If we don’t ‘click’ that’s ok too – as a community we’ll always look out for each other and help whenever needed.
Nothing beats living on the water with a constant connection to nature.
EXPOSURE TO THE NATURAL WORLD
On a pitch black night, exposed to the unrestrained energy of a storm with 35 knots of wind and lightening flashing around us. Or swimming in the middle of the Atlantic ocean with absolutely no sign of civilisation within sight, just 3000 metres of water below and 1000 nautical miles around us. Yes, these are the times you feel intensely how insignificant we are.
When on anchor, we’re outdoors in fresh marine air most of the day. Birds and fish are our companions. Inside, when it’s windy, we sway to rhythm of gusts and howling. When it rains, our soundtrack is the pounding of drops on our roof. Our body clocks are set to daylight time, with sunsets and sunrises celebrated in wonderment at the beautiful colours, shapes and differences of our world. No day is the same.
So if you too are thinking of making this lifestyle change, wondering if living on a boat will be all you imagined it to be, we can reassure you and encourage you. The reality is better than we could ever have imagined. We are busier, happier and healthier. Some realities are also harder to deal with than we thought. But more of that next time!
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