Can you believe we’ve lived on our sailing catamaran for three months? Every morning, it hits us again: we’ve traded in our solid foundation for a home that roams, one that literally has no foundation. And as we prep for our upcoming sailing adventure, we’ve realized how much security we’ve found in being tied to the dock—and how, soon, we’ll be leaving behind convenience and security once again.
For now, we’d like to give you a little taste of what it’s been like living on a marina.
Welcome to Dock Life.
What We Love
Although our living quarters are much smaller than before, we’re still enjoying the convenience of being close to land. It’s incredibly easy to access fresh fruit and veggies at a reasonable price, and we love being able to drop in at Ace Hardware whenever we need a new battery or piece of equipment. We’ve been taking advantage of the marina’s amenities, too: the laundry room, the stale-yet-functional weight room, the on-site restaurant. It’s no big deal to fill up our water tanks, and if we don’t feel like cooking, we can pick up great food from places like Rodney’s Jamaican grill (we’re going to miss those delicious beef patties!).
What We Love a Little Less
Some things about life on a dock are a little less convenient. The walk to the car is no small distance, and if you forget your keys or wallet, you’re definitely getting your daily steps in when you have to walk all the way back to the boat. Taking our Australian Shepherd, Dixie, to a place where she can run around is at least a quarter-mile walk each way. Although it’s definitely helping us exercise, it’s not so great when it’s raining—and in Florida, rain is often a complete deluge.
One thing we definitely won’t miss once we set sail: the marina blasts a loud, grating noise through its speakers as a bird deterrent. It’s all day, every day, during daylight hours. If you think the sound of actual birds squawking is annoying, wait until you hear this noise in the video. It makes real birds screeching sound like a lullaby.
Newfound Friends
One of the best parts of dock life has been getting to know our neighbors. We haven’t even started our adventure yet, and already we’re meeting such interesting people and hearing their stories. We’ve also learned a lot! We’re still so new at life on a boat, and learning from others’ expertise and advice has been invaluable.
Check out the video to meet some of these incredible people. It’s amazing what you find out about a person once you get to know them past the initial “Hi, how are you?”
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Life at the marina has gone by so fast, and as we make our final prep to leave this newfound security, we’re feeling both excited and anxious. But is life without risk and adventure even a life worth living?
Stay tuned for next week’s video where we go to school—Captain’s School. We’ll also start the bittersweet process of saying goodbye to our family.
