9/13/07
This post has me thinking about things.
It tells me that 19% of you have concerns about finding the right boat, another 19% have concerns about dockage. Certainly these are issues you must address when considering living aboard.
But in the big scheme of things, these are minor issues. There are hundreds of boats available and dockage is everywhere. In fact, you could live on any boat I suppose and we have many slips in our marina open right now. The best place to dock is, well, on the hook.
Unfortunately I find that many people desiring to live aboard really just want to stay on a boat tied to a dock. Why I am not sure, its expensive compared to regular housing. But staying aboard a boat is just a small part of the big picture; the big part is the cruising, the exploring, the independence, and the freedom you get while resting on the hook in a far away gunkhole.
Yes, it's a state of mind. Leaving the world behind, knowing I have everything I need to sustain myself and my boat gives me that confident feeling of "look who's in charge now". I can come and go as I want and have few restrictions. It takes me back to the Swiss Family Robinson days as a kid when the coast was undeveloped and pristine. I pretended to be a 1600s, European explorer while hiking over the large sand dunes. I would look out over the sea and wonder just how far the ocean was across and what lay on that very point across the water. It was magical!
Spanish philosopher Jose' Ortegay Gasset once said, "Tell me the landscape in which you live, and I'll tell you who you are." That pretty much sums it up.
Till next time,
Mike
If a man must be obsessed by something, a boat is as good as anything, perhaps better than most E.B. White
