Living Contrast: House vs. Boat

Our Passive Solar Home, endless power, water and comfort
Left to the care of our Friend and House Sitter...Edward

Here we are moving out of our home and anticipating the accompanying change in perspective. Life on "land" as "dirt dwellers" vs. life on a "cruising sailboat" is interesting to compare. Now with one year of cruising behind us and with the second one on the door step, we can reflect and compare these two worlds.

#1. WATER
Imagine you and your wife living on five gallons of water a day! That would be for showers, dishes, flushes, and boat washing....yup....5 gallons a day is our conservative usage and, when we splurge, we let it rip and use 7 to 8 gallons a day for the two of us. In our home, we have shower heads that flow at 5 gallons per minute! Take a 10 minute shower are  you have used 50 gallons of water! In two showers, our boat would be OUT of water. When living in a house, when do you ever think about running water? NEVER, it is endless!

Living on a sailboat at anchor in the calm

#2. ELECTRICITY
At home, the freezer is kept at zero degrees and the refrigerator is kept at 38 degrees. The water heater is holding 80 gallons of water at 140 degrees ready for anyone to use at anytime. Lights are left on, computer networks are up and running, printers are left on, cable TV boxes, night lights, outdoor lights, and deck lights are all left on for effects and for convenience. WHY? Because POWER is endless. When do you ever think about electricity usage in a home? NEVER. On a boat, we use 12 volt power, imagine living in your car and everything you run must plug into a cigarette lighter outlet. I challenge you to think about that and try it for one day.

#3. SPACE
2700 square feet is a lot of living area and allows plenty of room for every one to have "their own space." Kitchen counters and the bar area flow into the open and well light living space. The dining room table seats 6 for dinner in actual chairs with backs, imagine that! Bedrooms have regular doors and closets for HANGING CLOTHES. Bathrooms are full size with showers one can actually walk into and close off. Toilets have a very unique feature with a flush handle and running WATER! What a concept. Compare this to living in the space of a walk in closet or the space of a small bedroom and you will begin to see the contrast.

Island Spirit sailing a nice breeze under autopilot

??? SO WHY LIVE ON THE BOAT ???

There is something very magical about the FREEDOM cruising provides. Imagine, waking up in an isolated creek, on anchor, hearing the birds as you proceed topside with a fresh brewed cup of coffee. On deck, you take in the sunrise or the early morning mist on the water as you imagine the day ahead. It is peaceful, quiet, calm, and relaxing. The two of you prepare a healthy breakfast and enjoy it while you plan your next passage or land side explorations. Once underway by sailboat, it is very beautiful; you may be traversing a salt marsh among great blue herons, or setting sails offshore for the next island get-a-way. There is no AM rush hour, no schedule, no beeping horns, no rapidly talking TV news caster or radio shock jock. There is peace and reflection. Calm discussions and planning. Listening and communicating. Dreaming and enjoying. LIVING...and when you drop anchor off a beautiful sand beach with turquoise waters, put on your snorkel mask and fins, and swim with tropical fish, you will know WHY you sail, why you left the house behind and why you left the rat race. There is no better life for us than exploring, discovering, and traveling with your best friend on a cruising sailboat....NONE...

SO LET THE ADVENTURES BEGIN AGAIN....off we sail to the Bahamas...

P.S. We will NOT miss the SNOW in the Northeast...