Sailing is a recent passion for me, though I’ve had a love and fascination with boats and water since childhood. I used to hang around the cobles (open inshore fishing boats) on the east coast of Yorkshire, England, when we went on holiday to Filey every summer. And I travelled solo for more than two yeas in a canoe through the Amazon rain forest. Now I live much of the year aboard my 32-foot sailboat called “Kuan Yin”.
Adapting to live in a small space has required quite a few changes and getting rid of a lot of stuff! All possessions have had to be cut to a minimum. For example, there’s only 14 feet of book shelves on the boat, so all the books that couldn’t fit had to go. All the CDs had to go on the ipod. Clothes have been cut to the bare minimum; the same with shoes. I’m more indulgent with tools because you never know when the boat might need them!
These are small, but vital, changes necessary to successful living aboard. Of far more importance in adapting to life afloat is a change in expectations and acceptance of certain limitations. In exchange, one gains so much.
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