Animals In Captivity: 3 Misconceptions About Boat Life
Misconception: When you live on a boat, you are free to do anything, anytime.
Truth: The ability to move about the world, untethered to school calendars and social norms is freeing. The vast expanse of water surrounding us each morning looks boundless.
And also, our entire life is contained in a small area. Rosie reminds me daily that she can no longer run outside and meet up with friends. "I just need to be with someone besides MY FAMILY!” she howls. No one escapes to work or school. Even though I can see land every morning when I wake up, I can’t just go for a run. In the minutiae of daily life, especially as spring was a long time coming, we lived within a finite space, stepping on each others’ toes in the kitchen, escaping to corners of quiet, eating every meal together at the same table. I am, unfortunately, highly sensitive to the sound of chewing.
Misconception: Every day on a boat is like vacation.
Truth: The scenery is beautiful and the weather is nice. The activities are amazing and the sightseeing is historic. Waking up in a new place each day is rarely boring.
And also, if we treated living on a boat like a vacation every day, our lives would be chaos and we’d wake up on a sugar high or hungover, sunburned, uneducated and broke. Therefore, within the confines of our captivity, we enforce a fairly strict daily routine to keep us all from going crazy. We set alarms to wake, some of us exercise on the boat, the kids do homework and morning chores: in such a small space, beds must be made! We apply sunscreen constantly and hide in the shade. We plan our day around getting out of the boat, getting in movement and completing tasks related to living, such as the never-ending quest for groceries. We track the constant drain of boat finances and repairs, map out the next voyage, update logbooks. In the evening, the kids have school and are in bed by 8pm. The next day we may be in a new place, but the routine starts over. After all, we have to keep the animals sane.
Misconception: The time we get to spend together is all invaluable quality time.
Truth: We are together all the time. We are each other’s best friends and only friends.
And also, basic rules of economics apply: higher quantity = lower value. In fact, we often have too much time together and very little time alone or with others. On land in Annapolis, family dinners were important. By dinner time on the boat, we would each prefer a table for one, please. Finding the balance while limited in freedom of movement is remarkably difficult. Looking back, the time since we moved onboard has flown by, and I am incredulous at how fast it feels because the hours and minutes often feel so long. The parenting and spousing is relentless. Sometimes we have nothing left to talk about but the weather.
Luckily, unlike animals in captivity, we have endless access and submission to the weather. So I guess, in that sense, we are free.
