Be Our Guest

Our mentors told us, “You will have lots of people say they will come visit you on this journey. They won’t.” They weren’t wrong. This is not a guilt trip post but a reality of this lifestyle. People’s lives don’t stop or slow down. The rat race is real. Lives are busy and things are expensive right now. Even for us, slowing down is one of our greatest challenges.

We think it’s brave for those who want to go on passages or hang out at anchor with us. We also are so grateful when people want to see us but want to stay in a hotel. Regardless of circumstance, we love sharing our journey in any capacity; but both put demands on us. This lifestyle is not conducive to being on a schedule but sailing on a schedule is what is required when we have guests.

First and foremost, we have to ensure that we are able to be at the place we planned on meeting. Wind direction and weather play a considerable and unpredictable role in our ability to be somewhere on a schedule. When my ten-year old niece came to visit in New York, not only did we need to find a secure anchorage with shore access, but navigate the logistics of transportation to and from the airport. In this case, it consisted of:

1. Dinghy from boat to public dinghy dock

2. Walk one-mile to Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) train

3. Get on the correct train and off at the correct stop

4. Find and walk to bus stop

5. Take bus to airport and exit at correct terminal

6. Do it all over again, in reverse order, to get back to the boat with ten-year-old niece

We did this all over again when my sister’s brother came to stay on the boat and do some short hops with us. Though he was an adult, he is a very young adult visiting the big apple for the first time.

In preparation of your visit, we do a deep clean, wash the sheets and pillow cases at a laundromat, find a place to dump the trash, make sure we are fully stocked with food and drinks, and anything else we can do to make you feel welcome and comfortable in something, often anxiety provoking, unfamiliar, and compared to what you’re used to, uncomfortable. On average, this comes out to about seven miles of walking to achieve all these tasks; usually (hopefully) not in one day. We have been invited into some messy and uninviting boats. If you are going to be in a small space, it should be pleasant one, and we do our best to provide that.

With that said, we don’t want anyone to feel trapped and we don’t want to feel trapped with you. If the plan is for you to do some sailing with us, we plan for bail out spots, so that if you need a break, and a hotel with unlimited water and an automatic toilet, that you have access to that. We understand that this lifestyle is not for everyone and that it is most likely not what you conjured up in your mind.

NOT REALITY ON THIS BOAT

This is not a luxury yacht or catamaran. It’s a 1983 Ericson sailboat. We don’t have air conditioning or a heater. At anchor, it rocks back and forth if the water is moving or the winds are strong. You will feel the elements. And depending on where we are you may not have cell signal or wi-fi.

Josephine is 38-feet long and 12 feet wide. Some of you may have closets bigger than our entire living space. To accommodate a guest, we have to do quite a bit of rearranging. In addition to ourselves, we also stow away two inflatable paddleboards and two folding bicycles. Throw in an extra body and their luggage and you’ve got some tight quarters. Before coming aboard, there are some things you can do to prepare:

1. Pack functional clothing; things that can be layered, a rain jacket, and a bathing suit

2. Expect to wear something more than once; pack light but bring extra underwear

3. Pack functional footwear – shoes you can walk long distances in and shoes that can get wet

4. Bring a hat – lots of time will be spent outside

5. Bring a book and download audiobooks, podcasts, and music – sometimes reading can be nauseating hence the suggestion to download things – and download because cell service may be nonexistent

6. Bring earbuds

7. Bring bug spray and sunscreen

8. Bring body wipes – daily showers are not always available

9. If you take medication, please don’t forget it

10. Bring cash – ATMS may not be available and not all places accept credit cards

11. Don’t be modest when we ask if you want anything from the store before your arrival; say what you need – your comfort and happiness are important to us – if its super specific, bring it along

12. We may ship things to you; supplies can sometimes be hard to come by in more remote places so please leave room in your luggage

In the one year we’ve been out, we’ve had three guests aboard Josephine and the pictures can speak for themselves.

Some things to keep in mind is that this is not a vacation for us. This is how we live. We look for free things to do, like hike, snorkel, and ride bikes. Most of the meals will be cooked on the boat. Blake does breakfast and grilling and I do everything else when it comes to cooking. Our budget does not allow us to eat out every day. One evening my niece wanted to take over the galley (kitchen) and make us her favorite marinated cucumbers. If you want an opportunity to whip up a meal or snack, the galley is all yours.

When you come for a visit, it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Our friend, Summer, came for a visit while we were in Maine. She did four days on the boat and three days in a hotel, with a one-day car rental. This was a bonus for us because she graciously let us shower, sleep over, use the Wi-Fi, and ran us to the hardware and grocery stores. And for the record, this was planned, she did not need to bail out. Summer was excellent crew and saved us from running over lobster pots more than once.

At the beginning of her visit, she asked me if I missed any of the comforts of land-life and nothing came to mind. Well, nothing came to mind until I spent the night in her hotel room then it all came flooding back, the ability to walk out the front door and go anywhere; unlimited and clean drinking water; a toilet that you flush versus manually pump water in and out of…we both miss the ease of life on land in the United States. On the flip side, we’ve got some pretty cool advantages with life on the water.

Our next destination is Panama. We hope to see you along the way!