It’s surreal to even write this: we’re officially living on a boat.
So much has changed this past year. Not only did we get married, but we’ve quit successful careers we enjoyed and worked hard to establish, sold our home, and pursued our dream of living full-time on a sailboat. Oh, and we started a business, which is a huge leap all in itself. But apparently, that wasn’t a big enough change, so we traded a house on solid ground for the literal ups and downs of life on a catamaran. Goodbye, safe and comfortable. Hello, adventurous and unpredictable.
These past months have been chaotic, to say the least. Every day has been non-stop. It’s been the kind of season when you cross one thing off the to-do list, then add three more. In the middle of packing and moving, we took all-day classes to get our Captains Licenses. We’ve been fixing things on the boat while also juggling work projects. And then, Moving Day itself, with all of the back-and-forth trips, carrying boxes, remembering to eat—it’s been a lot.
In the middle of big life changes, there’s often not much time to reflect. This post is a chance for us to slow down, take a breath, and process the leap we’ve just made. It’s also a way to reflect on the things we found to be a crucial part of this process.
Mark the milestones
We’d been carrying boxes for what felt like hours. Car, boat, car, boat. Down the stretch of dock, arms and backs aching, the weight of this day pulling us toward exhaustion. But on our very last trip from the car to the boat, I (Emily) said to Cole, “Hey, let’s take five minutes and watch the sunset.”
We sat on the end of the dock, our legs dangling over the water. The sky was a burst of color, that peach-gold-pink that’s so striking during Florida summers. And as we looked out across the marina, the sun dipping past the horizon, the emotions rushed in. We worked so hard to make this dream a reality, and now it had finally happened. Months of work, and there we were—and we were actually kind of terrified.
Acknowledge the fear
Everyone wrestles with fear and self-doubt at some point, and maybe it’s our turn. If you’ve ever jumped from a great height, you know what the freefall feels like: a weird mix of exhilaration and terror. It’s also the part of the process where it’s definitely too late to change your mind.
I (Emily) often have my mini freak-out moments first thing in the morning. I wake up, realize where I am, and think, “Oh my goodness, we’re actually doing this.”
It’s hard not to see the risks we’re taking—and we’d be fools to go into this without any concerns. We’re leaving behind a comfortable life with a home and careers and chances to invest, and instead, we’ve bought something with depreciating value. And not only are we taking a risk by starting a business, but it feels like everything else is on the line, too: our home, our finances, and in some extreme cases, our lives. One wrong move backing the boat into the slip could cost us $10,000—and one bad storm out at sea could have even more serious repercussions.
All of this is nerve-wracking, but we know it’s all going to be worth it.
Remember your why
When you tell people you’re buying a boat and sailing out into the Caribbean, not many of them ask why. I mean, sun, water, beaches, adventure—why not?
We wish more people would ask us why, because our why is what keeps all these fears and doubts at bay. If we were only in this for the sun and water and beaches, we would’ve bought a much smaller boat to enjoy on the weekends. (That’s actually how we spent most of our weekends, anyway.)
No, we’re after much more than that. We can’t wait to explore these different countries and expand our knowledge of their cultures. We’re excited to meet people from all walks of life and to tell their stories.
We may have felt scared while watching that sunset, but we also felt incredibly blessed that this dream has become a reality. We want to use this vessel, our voices, and our platform as a way to bless others—whether that’s through a simple sunset photo, or our videos giving people glimpses of places they’d otherwise never get to see. A question we want to ask ourselves constantly: “How can we use our blessings to bless others?”
In some ways, that’s already happening. We recently launched the first video on The Adventure Crews YouTube channel, and we’ve had multiple people message us, saying they can’t wait to follow our journey. We’ve even had some people who are in the boat-buying process reach out and ask for advice. For others, it’s been inspirational—“If they can do it, we can do it”, and that’s one of our biggest hopes, that we can inspire people to stop talking about their dream and actually go out and do it.
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If you’re in the middle of an exciting-yet-slightly-scary new venture, we hope you’re encouraged by this post. Our advice? Take a five-minute break from the chaos to mark the milestone, to stop and reflect. Then look your fears full in the face; be realistic about what you’re taking on, and think through every practicality to maximize your chance of success. But don’t forget to remember why you started this journey in the first place. Hang on to your why, and don’t let go. Because it really will be worth it.
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