In the two months since we moved aboard time has both sped up and slowed down.
We no longer are counting back to our move-in date worrying about what an imposition we are being to whomever we are living with. Instead we are counting back to our move-in date and wondering where the days have gone. Summer is over and Fall is here. We have spent nearly every evening in our cockpit: watching the sunset, looking out over the lights of lower Manhattan and enjoying our zillion dollar view. Really and truly living our dream.
The first few weeks were pretty uncomfortable. Between cleaning, organizing, throwing out, cleaning more, unpacking into crowded spaces and shuffling around it was less than ideal. But when I could sit and relax and remember why we were doing it I was calm and happy… there’s something about a boat.
Nothing happened how I thought it would. Organization was slow and in stages. Many things we thought we couldn’t live without got tossed back into boxes to be taken to charity. I pared down to 4 of everything in the galley: 4 glasses, 4 forks, 4 plates… It was a revelation that just because we have something doesn’t mean we need it. The trunk berth took a long time to clear out from all the stuff from Delivery relocation.
If we had bought a new, empty boat the process would have gone a lot more quickly. As it was we had to organize existing things (much that we have since gotten rid of) in order to have a place to put the things we were bringing in. Nothing happened at the pace I wished it to. I was frustrated that we didn’t have a whole chunk of time off to get our lives in order but still it was fine… there’s something about a boat.
There were a lot of bugs in those first days. I was an itchy mess, choosing to wear pants to do an important presentation at work so no one would see my mosquito-bitten legs. I took a lot of antihistamines. I was miserable except when I was on the boat, then I was hot and sticky and surrounded by bugs but very, very happy.
There’s something about a boat…
Sailing Devilfish 