Thoughts on Being a Landlubber Again

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

Dirt People Scare Me

I am certainly wary of them even here in Australia

[daletournier]

Mate I hear you, after 12 years living on a boat I'm now a land lubber, I do miss waking up on the water.

The upside is when the weather picks up I just roll over.

My friends and partner have little faith, they dont believe I'll last....they're right!

[daletournier]

Originally Posted by Simi 60

I am certainly wary of them even here in Australia

I'm realizing you have good reason to be wary.

[carstenb]

Originally Posted by Simi 60

February is almost behind us

Indeed - see how lethargic I get when on land?

[Mike OReilly]

Wow, I can't compete with the poetry and prose in this inspiring thread. But I can share my own little tale of Covid-forced landlubbering.

I left my boat in Newfoundland in the Fall of 2019, fully expecting to return the next Spring. Then the world fell apart and Newfoundland decided to lock its borders and keep almost everyone out. Since then I've been forced back into a full-time land life that I wasn't planning on and didn't want.

Even though our boat is our only home, we've been making a life of 1/2 the year cruising and 1/2 doing other stuff. So for the past year-and-a-half now the "other stuff" has become all stuff.

I can't complain too much. We have good family and friends who have helped us through, and given us a roof when we needed it. We're still managing to find the occasional house sit here in Canada (which is what we normally do in the winter). Last summer we got our little motorcycles on the road and drove across much of this big country of ours -- back when Covid was at a low and travel was OK.

So this is my new landlubber life. Not nearly as jarring compared to you carstenb, and a few others. But it has been an unexpected adjustment, and one that I don't expect to change until 2022 at the current rate.

[hzcruiser]

Originally Posted by sailingabe41ds

Best post of the year....

Abe

Agreed! Thanks so much for sharing this with us, Carsten!

[redhead]

Originally Posted by carstenb

REdhead,

Capri is in Port Angeles - where are you? We sailed the San Juans last summer when we arrived from Hawaii - Wonderful sailing and it si like sailing in the Swedish/Finnish archepelagos - although in the Baltic there are no tides to think about

We are up in Blaine. Literally 100 yards south of the International Marker. At low tide I could probably walk to BC. As the saying goes here "It's not the middle of nowhere but you can see it from here".

[Papasail]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Wow, I can't compete with the poetry and prose in this inspiring thread. But I can share my own little tale of Covid-forced landlubbering.

I left my boat in Newfoundland in the Fall of 2019, fully expecting to return the next Spring. Then the world fell apart and Newfoundland decided to lock its borders and keep almost everyone out. Since then I've been forced back into a full-time land life that I wasn't planning on and didn't want.

Even though our boat is our only home, we've been making a life of 1/2 the year cruising and 1/2 doing other stuff. So for the past year-and-a-half now the "other stuff" has become all stuff.

I can't complain too much. We have good family and friends who have helped us through, and given us a roof when we needed it. We're still managing to find the occasional house sit here in Canada (which is what we normally do in the winter). Last summer we got our little motorcycles on the road and drove across much of this big country of ours -- back when Covid was at a low and travel was OK.

So this is my new landlubber life. Not nearly as jarring compared to you carstenb, and a few others. But it has been an unexpected adjustment, and one that I don't expect to change until 2022 at the current rate.

Hey Mike!!!

You and yours are officially invited to Maine!
As stated earlier in the post, I just moved up here last fall, and my original hope was to sail to wonderful places, until CoVid did it’s thing.
I have a Farm on 60 acres, with a pretty fabulous barn, in Unity, Maine. I don’t use the upstairs at all, and there are 2 bedrooms and a private bath, that are fitted out fairly nicely.
I have been familiar with your posts for quite some time, and know you as a level-headed, thoughtful and fair, if not kind, person. I am just as eager as I can be to immerse myself into the sailing world, and the sailing community. That time has finally arrived for me, and I now have the pleasure of building that life in earnest. Long term friendship? You bet!

*Please note that this is a real offer, and short of you & yours feeding yourselves, this offer is unconditionally (free), short of yammering-on about boats, and seeing what trouble we can generally get into If you are as peaceable as I think you are, I see no reason why this couldn’t be a lengthy stay.

To also note, SV Delos had been up here (and were already good-and-gone to Boca Raton), but I reached out to them as well, though their Father politely declined-ish, ‘cause, Ya Know... they’re like (eye-roll) famousé now: [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

Make contact,
Make plans,
Come on down!
Bill Williams

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Papasail

Hey Mike!!!

You and yours are officially invited to Maine!
As stated earlier in the post, I just moved up here last fall, and my original hope was to sail to wonderful places, until CoVid did it’s thing.
I have a Farm on 60 acres, with a pretty fabulous barn, in Unity, Maine. I don’t use the upstairs at all, and there are 2 bedrooms and a private bath, that are fitted out fairly nicely.
I have been familiar with your posts for quite some time, and know you as a level-headed, thoughtful and fair, if not kind, person. I am just as eager as I can be to immerse myself into the sailing world, and the sailing community. That time has finally arrived for me, and I now have the pleasure of building that life in earnest. Long term friendship? You bet!

*Please note that this is a real offer, and short of you & yours feeding yourselves, this offer is unconditionally (free), short of yammering-on about boats, and seeing what trouble we can generally get into If you are as peaceable as I think you are, I see no reason why this couldn’t be a lengthy stay.

To also note, SV Delos had been up here (and were already good-and-gone to Boca Raton), but I reached out to them as well, though their Father politely declined-ish, ‘cause, Ya Know... they’re like (eye-roll) famousé now: [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

Make contact,
Make plans,
Come on down!
Bill Williams

Wow Bill... I don't know what to say. Thank you very much for such a kind and considerate offer.

I'll PM you since I don't want to hijack carstenb's thread. But I just wanted to publicly thank you.

[Papasail]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Wow Bill... I don't know what to say. Thank you very much for such a kind and considerate offer.

I'll PM you since I don't want to hijack carstenb's thread. But I just wanted to publicly thank you.

You betcha, Mike!

Swing down for the fun of it, if it works out, otherwise I hope you establish a nice niche in the West! Everyone’s life has been so rearranged! Who knew!!

Bill

[winjamerk]

CarstenB -->Thank You!
It's not everyone who can put into words the feelings many of us have developed from spending time on the water. Like many, we find that our whole essence expands when bobbing along really feeling connected to a whole life experience, like no other. Your words really point out the loss of connection many feel after leaving the vessel, after a week, a month or after years so-connected. I have copied your post and will frame it in a conspicuous spot on our new-to-us 40 year old sailing vessel.



Thank You for posting your message to us all.

[Lance835]

So many decisions in life. I have found whether on land or at sea it is what I make of it. For the last few years I have been part time land and part time sea. I have a tug in Anacortes and my homes are in Florida and Alaska. I traded my sailboat for the tug since I am primarily focusing on the inside passage. The winds, tides and currents did not support my type sailing. Opposing 8 knot currents in a 7 knot sailboat is not very productive. Also it rains a lot, mosquitoes can be bad but the wildlife and scenery is second to none. With the tug I can sit inside and enjoy it all while keeping dry and warm without swatting bugs.

I also have a 32’ fishing boat in Alaska. We rarely fish from a boat and use it to explore the inside passage, Kenai Fiords and Kodiak. It is Trailerable so I do not have to worry about snow load when I am traveling. The boat has all the comforts of home, has a 36mph wot and 600’ of rode. The speed comes in nice to sneak across to Kodiak, Juneau or Sitka. The Gulf of Alaska can kick up pretty quick.

My house in Alaska has a large shop, which is where I store the boat or do my woodworking hobbies. I am also building a log cabin, very small, just to learn the basics. It will be a rental cabin when finished. We also have two other cabins and 5 RV spots we rent out each summer. When we are not here we have a house sitter who manages the rentals.

My house in Florida is very small but comfortable. We grow a lot of fruit and vegetables which we can each year. We have the home there because my two boys and grandchildren live there. The grandchildren love the garden. My boys have some bay boats for red fishing and pontoon boats for scalloping. Fun to do with the kids.

We have a 2002 fifth wheel in AZ which we use to get some sun in the winter or get medical attention since the weather is always the same. Plus we have a hiking group we enjoy.

I know I got a little wordy but my point is that for ME AND MY WIFE whether it is land or sea there is fun to be had. Change is important to us! Very important! By us taking a break from each thing we like to do it never becomes boring. In fact it is something to look forward to.

We also have a truck camper in AZ and another in AK we use to explore or vacation just in case we might get board. This year we will use the camper to shop for boats in the Fort Meyers area. For us life is short and there is more to life but sitting somewhere and doing the same thing day in and day out. However we have friends that live in a marina and others that live in a park model in AZ and love it.

Each his own. Like they say eat drink and be merry.

[sailorladd]

Lovely, heartfelt article, and I definitely can relate... The transition from sailor to landlubber takes a long time, and actually is never fully completed.

I lived onboard for about ten years and cruised for about seven, sailing from South Africa to the Caribbean islands and down through Panama to the Galapagos, up to Hawaii, then back south again, through the main Polynesian islands Tonga, Samoa Fiji etc, and on to Australia and New Zealand and back to Hawaii, where I have remained for almost thirty years.

I built my boat, cruised from South Africa, with and without crew, single handed five thousand miles upwind from Australia to NZ and back to Hawaii, and wrote a book about my adventures, and finally had to say that I had "done" it and have tried to make it to being a landlubber, but I struggle with it on an almost daily basis!

At least once every month I decide to sell up and get back on board (I still have my faithful old Deja vu), but something changes my mind after a couple of memory filled hours and I realize I would have to go through a major disaster in my life to force me back on board again... One reaches an age where creature comforts outweigh the desire to be at sea again....

I loved every SECOND of being a sailor, and there were some grim days I can testify!! But I would not change it, not one bit!!!
I built a little wooden cottage on a friends property and live very close to land, similar to living on a boat, well, not quite lol, nothing compares to living onboard, but I try to live as naturally as I possibly can, but again I say it is almost impossible to ever return to the "landlubber" condition once you have experienced time at sea in a small,vulnerable little sailboat in such a setting as the ocean.

[carstenb]

Originally Posted by winjamerk

CarstenB -->Thank You!
It's not everyone who can put into words the feelings many of us have developed from spending time on the water. Like many, we find that our whole essence expands when bobbing along really feeling connected to a whole life experience, like no other. Your words really point out the loss of connection many feel after leaving the vessel, after a week, a month or after years so-connected. I have copied your post and will frame it in a conspicuous spot on our new-to-us 40 year old sailing vessel.



Thank You for posting your message to us all.

Wow. Well what can I say?

I’m pleased you enjoyed

Thank you

[capnorv]

Almost fourteen years ago, we had to leave our boat after five years. We ended up raising a couple Grandchildren, who are now within two years of leaving the nest. Our boats bigger now, but the desire to live on the sea has never left either of us. We are now in our mud sixties, God willing and the creek don't rise, we have fifteen years of wanderlust. It never leaves, like a drug, we are still addicted.Granted, I can see the boat from my living room, but that's not it. The sea keeps calling.