I remember when we were first talking about living aboard and cruising. Basically, it’d be like being on permanent vacation, right? I couldn’t imagine wanting to do other things.
Fast-forward a couple of years and we were getting itchy feet. Friends were talking about an inland trip they had taken, and suddenly, instead of wondering why they had left the boat for a week, I was wondering how we could do the same.
It wasn’t that I didn’t like the boat or our cruising lifestyle. Or even the work on the boat. No, it was simply that I wanted to do something different.
I think that people who are attracted to the cruising lifestyle – wanting to go new places – tend to want to not only go places they can reach by boat. Or even if they could go by boat, sometimes want to get there faster than the boat would allow.
And so we take a vacation from the boat.
Over the years, we’ve taken “vacations” to visit family and friends, spend a summer camping through the US west, go to Africa, and travel inland to interesting sites near where we were cruising. We’ve done weekends away for a birthday treat, or to see a concert. Friends have taken cruises and even done a bareboat charter in a totally different part of the world.
Just like living ashore, sometimes a vacation is just what you need!
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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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