We’ve been planning this purchase and transition to a cruising lifestyle for over a year, but the plan didn’t include buying the boat until February of 2021 at the earliest. Enter COVID-19.

We weren’t sure how the pandemic would impact the availability of the sort of sailboat we were planning to buy (a Leopard 46 catamaran), and we already had a bit of anxiety about whether we’d be able to find our new home in time for the rest of our plans, so when the number of listings increased on YachtWorld, we began to evaluate our options seriously.

Remembering back, oh many years ago now, our son had a classmate whose parents were going to take him out of school and sail around the world.  At the time, I thought that those people had lost their minds and I wondered if it was even legal.  There had to be some rule against that. There must be some law against just kidnapping your own children, shanghai yourself some wee deckhands, hoist a few bedsheets and off to the horizon you go.  Blimey mate, they must have completely been off their rocker. Yet somewhere in the deep recesses of my own thoughts, was a wiggling notion of how cool (is that dating myself?) it would be to just scurry myself aboard a craggy old windskiffer, hoist the main sheets, and let the wind carry me away. Being a fan of author Patrick O’Brien, the whole notion was deeply entertaining yet so far off the weather gauge from my reality that it quickly bobbed over the horizon and was gone like a green flash and a wink of an eye.

I have adventured in many places over the years. While it is true that not of one of them has been like another, there have been a few I have been incredibly fond of and have even visited several times.  Hawaii is certainly one of those places, as the warm tropical climate is not only pleasing to the heart and tends to warm my soul, but I find it serene and relaxing. It’s one of the few places on Earth where I have thoroughly enjoyed sitting under a shade tree with the cool ocean breeze wafting by, watching worries exfoliate from me like a long forgotten second skin as I emerge newly refreshed.

I feel great about the move to a less cluttered life, focusing on less stuff and more experiences. I love that we’re currently going through our things and getting rid of the duplicates, and so many items that we haven’t seen or used for years. A wonderful side effect of this is that we’ve uncovered useful and comfort-bringing items that we wouldn’t have enjoyed if they’d remained hidden behind the extra stuff, like La-Tee-Da fragrance lamps. They’re pretty, have a nice aroma, and we will give them away when we sell this house. But for now, we can enjoy them.

I’ve always felt that as we accumulate more things, it is much more of a burden, since with more stuff comes the need for more space to store it, and less of an opportunity to be able to access it, or even to remember you have it . It’s a ridiculous result of excess, and I’m so happy to be heading in the right direction.

Not only is my perspective on tangible things different after we started thinking about living on a boat, but my attitude about many other daily activities has changed. We started riding bikes more, partially because it’s almost summer, but also because I know it’s only going to be 1 mile away from where I live for a short while, about 2 years. I may never be back here, and I’m so glad that we’re taking advantage of the beauty in this area.