A year.
Specifically, a cruising year.
What a difference it makes.
Larry Webber aboard Catriona (one of our buddy boats from this summer in the Bahamas) hit his one-year cruising anniversary this past week and got me thinking about this. Larry logged just over 3,000 miles in his first year, from Maine to Florida to the Bahamas and back to Florida, all single-handing. As we talked about what this year has been like, it hit me again just how big that first-year learning curve is and how much easier things get around the one-year mark.
On the surface, it’s knowing your boat better. Knowing the lifestyle. Far fewer things are brand-new.
But there are other things such as learning how you prefer to cruise. Learning what you enjoy and what frustrates you. Experience makes such a difference. But it’s also a mental shift: getting used to living on the move, becoming comfortable with more uncertainty, learning to live in sync with the weather.
It’s not uncommon to struggle in that first year. We sure did! For specific steps you can take to make it easier, check out my free mini-course: Overcoming that First-Year Learning Curve.
Hang on: you can do this!
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Carolyn Shearlock has lived aboard full-time for 17 years, splitting her time between a Tayana 37 monohull and a Gemini 105 catamaran. She’s cruised over 14,000 miles, from Pacific Mexico and Central America to Florida and the Bahamas, gaining firsthand experience with the joys and challenges of life on the water.
Through The Boat Galley, Carolyn has helped thousands of people explore, prepare for, and enjoy life afloat. She shares her expertise as an instructor at Cruisers University, in leading boating publications, and through her bestselling book, The Boat Galley Cookbook. She is passionate about helping others embark on their liveaboard journey—making life on the water simpler, safer, and more enjoyable.
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