Living aboard is a dream many share and more and more are achieving. As jobs become more flexible, home offices become more powerful, and people demand more from their lives, the trend is on the rise. Many thousands of people from all walks of life live on all kinds of boats, forming a diverse community with a wide range of personal interests and experience. It is a lifestyle that transcends economic and social boundaries. A sailor in Seattle described the liveaboard community in his marina as comprised of engineers, nurses, mechanics, naval architects, entrepreneurs and salespeople.
There are families with young children who liveaboard, there are retired couples, single men and women, college students, and nine-to-five professionals. They live wherever there is water on all kinds of boats — of all sizes and makes. They live on lakes and rivers and oceans, north and south, east and west, in all kinds of climates. Some live in marinas, some live on the hook, some cruise, some stay put, leading different lives in different places. What they hold in common is a fierce independence, love of the water and a spirit of adventure. They are a community, albeit a diverse one, bound by their unique lifestyle.
So where do you start? You can find a lot of help in books, magazines, on the Internet or taking courses. Best of all, walk the docks, visit boats, talk to other who are living aboard. Most boat owners like to talk about their boats and show them off. You will find, by the way, that the boats you tour will start to blend together in your mind. The more sailboats you see, the harder it will be to remember the particulars of each. If you can, take a video camera to record your visits. You'll fall in love.
Once the dream of living aboard begins to take shape, reality intrudes with the question, "What will it cost?" One answer is, "How much do you have?" It can cost as much to live on a boat as it does to live on land — it all depends on your lifestyle. Some people cheerfully eat macaroni and cheese, others won't leave the dock without a pasta maker. Some live for a month on what it takes another to pay the cell phone bill.
Living Aboard surveys show that most fulltime liveaboards have retirement or investment income; others, however, choose to begin enjoying their boats while still working, keeping their jobs on land and commuting from their boat. A select few move their office or business aboard. And some take their retirement in pieces, cruising until the money runs low and then dropping anchor and obtaining temporary jobs to refill the cruising kitty.
Moving aboard is a big decision for anyone, but things really get complicated when children are involved. Parents who are faced with that decision have many questions: What will the kids miss? What will they gain? Will closer family ties compensate for leaving behind that best friend? And what about their education? Will college admissions officers understand that the kid who studied biology on a boat has firsthand knowledge that can't be learned in a lab?
Families who raise children aboard swear there is no other way to do it. These "boat-schooled" kids learn to be curious, independent, responsible, and above all they're not addicted to television. You would add that boat-schooled children have the extra advantage of the rich experiences that come with living aboard.
Family pets are another issue. Cats generally do very well and, in fact, cats aboard ships are a time-honored tradition. Dogs, however, take some special accommodation, which, if you are cruising, may be a mild understatement.
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Would you like to encourage kids to get involved?? Watch this video "French racing in the Doarnenez Bay". Watching this video never fails to make me happy and should get the blood rushing in the most sanguine of kids. It's never too early to get kids and you into sailing, the skills and teamwork that you and they will learn will stand in good stead their entire life.
Fair winds,
Lynnis :)
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