The Joys of Living Aboard a Sailboat

Whenever I tell new acquaintances I'm a sailor, and that I own a small twenty-two foot sailboat in which I live and cruise three months at a time, I generally see dreamy-eyed looks coming back.

"Oh, I've always wanted to sail," they'll say.

They then dutifully recite with a wise look in their eye the old adage: "A boat is a hole in the water into which you dump endless amounts of money." And then they'll tell me that sailing is a difficult skill to master, or even worse, a dangerous or at least scary activity. Maybe they would rather dream about sailing than actually doing it.

Well, I'm here to proclaim how easy it is to fulfill that dream. For me owning a boat constituted an economic necessity. And at the time, I didn't even know how to sail.

I bought my first sailboat in 1991. It was a twenty-six foot sloop, large enough for me to comfortably live in. That was my purpose: to move out of a $600 efficiency into something less costly.

I was working temporarily in Washington, DC. and my home was 100 miles away. Commuting every day was impossible as my hours at the job sometimes extended late into the night. Home on the weekends were wonderful romantic episodes.

I paid $5,000 for my boat, built by Seafarer in 1978. Fiberglass boats can last forever with little upkeep.

I became a live aboard sailor, renting a slip in a marina on the Potomac River, not far from where I worked. My monthly rent, including electricity, came to $250. I lived on my Seafarer three years until retirement, thus saving $12,000 in rental expenses. I then sold the boat for the same amount I originally paid!

That in itself was remarkable. But even more remarkable is the fact that in a few short months I became a quite capable sailor. And I did this mostly on my own. Learning to sail is a very natural process, like learning how to ride a bike. But still, I read books and practiced several evenings a week. And occasionally, a friend with sailing skills would come out with me and show me some fine points.

The most pleasant surprise from these early sailing experiences was my discovery of the inner peace and contentment that come from this lifestyle. I've been sailing now for fifteen years, have owned three boats and have sailed down the Atlantic coast to Florida, have crossed the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas, explored most of the Chesapeake Bay and the Florida Keys, and I never cease to enjoy the rhythm of moving over the water.

I never tire of the five mile an hour pace. After all, this is the rhythm human beings have experienced for thousands of years. Before the automobile and the train, we have always moved at this pace. On foot, on horse, by boat.

Maybe this is why people have dreams of sailing.