Today’s entry has nothing to do with boating … or a lot to do with boating. I’ll let you decide.
I’ve been bothered all day by a comment a friend made while we were golfing yesterday. I’d rate him as one of my top two or three friends. He mentioned another couple he and his wife had been hanging out with, and described the guy as his “new best friend.” An innocent comment, and not even remotely the kind of comment I would ordinarily care about, or even think about.
However…
It started me thinking about how often we had seen him and his wife recently. My guess is twice in the last year. Roberta and I spend most of our life either living on the boat, or traveling. We’ve become somewhat boating-centric, and people who aren’t into boating don’t have much in common with us anymore. We seem to talk about different kinds of things. They’re talking about local Seattle politics, while we’re focused on how to clear customs in Guatemala, or get a Visa for Siberia.
And, unfortunately, boaters tend to have kind of a funny relationship even with each other. You meet people, anchor together for a few days, become friends, but then don’t see them again until two years later when you happen to run into them again, somewhere, in some remote bay. It’s a different lifestyle than what my parents knew. We lived on a street, and had the same neighbors for several years, and everyone knew each other, and we had most everything in common.
Retiring, and moving aboard a boat, for six or more months a year, has more of an impact on your life than I think most people understand….
-Ken W
PS I’m not complaining. We cruise because it’s what we do, and what we love.. but, there’s no denying it: spending half your life on a boat, as we do, does impact your “normal” life.
I’ve been bothered all day by a comment a friend made while we were golfing yesterday. I’d rate him as one of my top two or three friends. He mentioned another couple he and his wife had been hanging out with, and described the guy as his “new best friend.” An innocent comment, and not even remotely the kind of comment I would ordinarily care about, or even think about.
However…
It started me thinking about how often we had seen him and his wife recently. My guess is twice in the last year. Roberta and I spend most of our life either living on the boat, or traveling. We’ve become somewhat boating-centric, and people who aren’t into boating don’t have much in common with us anymore. We seem to talk about different kinds of things. They’re talking about local Seattle politics, while we’re focused on how to clear customs in Guatemala, or get a Visa for Siberia.
And, unfortunately, boaters tend to have kind of a funny relationship even with each other. You meet people, anchor together for a few days, become friends, but then don’t see them again until two years later when you happen to run into them again, somewhere, in some remote bay. It’s a different lifestyle than what my parents knew. We lived on a street, and had the same neighbors for several years, and everyone knew each other, and we had most everything in common.
Retiring, and moving aboard a boat, for six or more months a year, has more of an impact on your life than I think most people understand….
-Ken W
PS I’m not complaining. We cruise because it’s what we do, and what we love.. but, there’s no denying it: spending half your life on a boat, as we do, does impact your “normal” life.
One Response
Ken,
Non boating people cannot relate to boating people due to lack of interest or a lack of understanding about boating. We have found there are actually very few “real” boating people. We spend about four months a year on board cruising. We go to our boat almost every day when not cruising. We have only three close friends that do the same thing. This post is being written in the Port of Sidney. One of these three friends is cruising here, one is further north and one is waiting on grandchildren to shove off. These are people who eat, drink and dream about boating and really do it.
Four months a year is one third of your year.
By the way we have the same situation with friends, a short discussion on world events and then what.
It’s not a bad thing to be a boater, just different.
Bob
M/V Messin’Around