Sometimes a Life Change includes a Sea Change

We've been dreaming, talking, back-of-our-minds planning, about living on a catamaran for a few years... well, if all goes according to plan... it will be a reality in 2 months.

It is exciting and scary at the same time. In some ways it seem so natural. For most of my adult life (and maybe before), I've had in my mind that my ideal existence would be very minimalistic. I can picture myself living in a hut on a beach, sleeping in a hammock, and existing on a diet of fish and fruit. Living on a sailboat and circumnavigate the globe seems to me to be the epitome of adventure.

Since I was a kid, I've loved reading adventure books where people live off the land (or sea). One of my favorite books as a kid was "My Side of The Mountain" and I loved the movie "Swiss Family Robinson." I'm fascinated with plants and their nutritional and medicinal value. I love reading descriptions of how to make useful things out of found items and materials found in nature. I've always been drawn to freedom found in independence from human society and the harmony of interdependence with the natural world.

Of course, I've never lived on the beach or spent more than a few hours on a sailboat. I've decided to embrace the idea that lack of experience is a part of the adventure. I also think a catamaran will be not quite as challenging to live on as a sailboat - but that remains to be seen as well!

I am looking forward to complete downsizing. Sometimes I feel trapped by my "stuff." We initially planned to keep some of our favorite things in storage to return to after the boat adventure. The more we thought about it, the less sense that made. Why pay to lock stuff away for a future that is probably years away? Who knows what we will want, or where we will decide to be, or when we will decide to be back on solid ground? We are doing the ultimate downsizing - everything that we won't need on the boat and won't fit in a carrier on top of our Mini Cooper is going. It feels really good to give the stuff we love to friends and family who will also love it (and to hopefully sell somethings to help finance our new lifestyle).

Dave and I both had dads who were big on shaking things up, taking a few risks, and changing their scenery. My dad gained the nickname "Road Warrior" for his infamous long journey to distant places for very short visits. Dad's philosophy about life and travel was VERY minimalistic - he liked the challenge of roughing it - to the point that we used to joke with him about his accumulation of "suffering points." Dave and I are all for the keeping it minimal, but we aren't so much into the suffering points. Thus, Volare a beautiful Antares Catamaran.