Well…we bought a boat

Meet Marguerite

So the place to start, I think, is to be honest about how all of this really begins.  For me, I’ve always loved the ocean.  I know that my father had some experience as a child with boating across open seas from Florida to the Bahamas, and that he and my mother toyed with the idea of buying a sailboat when we were kids.  From there, the idea of sailing as a lifestyle was just an idea that was planted somewhere in my mind, but never really nurtured to growth until I met someone else that understood my deep love for open water.  I doubt it starts this way for everyone, but for me, it was the love of the ocean and the encouragement of this dear friend that finally told me what I’d always longed to hear: “Yes, of course you could do that!”

You see, lots of seemingly well-meaning people will tell you “for your own good” that you must simply be “more realistic” and that you can’t just go “cruising about the world” “completely free from any grown-up responsibilities”.  They will tell you to get a job that you like and perhaps, you can spend a few precious vacation days a year doing this thing which means so much to you.  For some reason, we’re told that it is in our best interests that if we want desperately to travel, (my first love) and spend time by the ocean (my other great love…the one that truly makes me feel whole), we should invest in our education, go to college, and if we’re lucky, we’ll be able to spend a tiny portion of our lives feeding this passion.  Well…that sounds positively wretched when put like that, doesn’t it?

If you’re fortunate enough, sometimes you can find someone that understands the longing to take to the open sea and see the world, they’ll lovingly tell you about all the things you’ll have to give up in life to do it.  You can’t have a family on a boat, or a good career, you’ll never accumulate all of those important things, like a house (with a hefty mortgage) or a car (with its own little payment plan and intoxicating impact on the environment) that give the stability that everyone needs at some point in their life.  Perhaps we should take an account of what we truly value…if you place a premium on family and career, for example, why would you limit yourselves to the knowledge and experiences that living in a single, stationary dwelling brings?

And so, my love for the sailing life began simply with a single, wonderful human being who said, “Why not?  Yes, of course you could do that!  You should do that!”

Now…let me let you in on a little secret.  At the time, I had three school aged children and was going through a pretty nasty divorce.  I had a mortgage, a car payment, and a job I had committed myself to in an effort to attempt to pay for it all.  And circumstances being what they were, I really couldn’t “do that”.  I wasn’t in a position to just up and leave.  Not yet.

But this is why it is so important for you to know where this all really starts.  Very few people, save those that had the pleasure of actually being born on a live aboard, just up and join the sailing community and embrace its lifestyle, and leave.  There are months, and more often years, and occasionally small lifetimes that lead up to that sweet, sweet moment when you can finally go.  BUT THIS IS A PART OF THE ADVENTURE AS WELL!  This is where it starts!  From the moment my precious friend said “do it” I began day dreaming.  My day dreaming led me to big picture thinking, and the potential long term outcome became the new guide for my present decision making.  I didn’t just buy things, I bought things with the idea that it with either help or hinder me from meeting this new goal.  And I began to read…and I mean read at a furiously rapid pace…trying to take in all that I could to make sure that I was as excited as I was telling myself that I was.

I said all of that, I suppose, to say this: almost five years to the month that my lovely, dear, sweet friend (am I clearly expressing how much of an impact this person had on my life and my way of thinking?) told me to “go for it”, I just bought my first boat.  A lot has changed over the last five years.  I completed my Masters and am currently working on my PhD.  I remarried and obtained two more sweet children in addition to my three, as well as having another child (11 months ago) with my new husband…that’s right, we have 6 kids.  6 kids.  So help me God, 6 children.  We both own our own businesses on top of all of that and…we just bought our first sailboat.

Believe me, there’s lots more to come and so much more to say, but first, I want you to know what someone should have already told you: “Yes, of course you could do that!  You should do that!”  There is no reason for anything to hinder you.  And if you can’t go today, that’s okay too.  Don’t let that stop you from beginning to think in the direction of your dreams, for those thoughts lead to decisions, and those decisions to actions, and those actions to the realization of dreams.  Please know that if you have that deep and longing desire to go out and see all that this world has to offer, than “you could” and “you should do that!”  Five years goes faster than you think and this life will pass you by before you know it.  So wherever you are in your journey, take heart that it is possible to live the freedom of the cruising life without losing everything you hold dear and without becoming an irresponsible or unrealistic drain on society.  It is possible to have all that you really want and need.  “Yes, of course you could do that!  You should do that!”

Peace and blessings,

Mindi