We all make choices in life that are right for us, ours was to move on a 40 ft sailboat with our 5 year old grand daughter. We gave up a dirt dwelling home that was stability for our family, knowing our dream was to wake up to gorgeous sunrises and end our day with water filled sunsets.

We had a 5 yr plan, sell our home and move to the Eastern Shore of Maryland and pursue our search for a boat. We sold our home in one day, found a rental and started our search, three years later we found our dream boat. We had done our homework and knew a Gozzard built boat was the one for us, we found a Bay field 40 cutter/ketch that suited all of our live aboard needs. Side by side quarter berths and a full head with a huge 2 seated shower. So , again we got rid of everything we owned and moved on the boat names Adventuress.

Did we think of living aboard during the Winter, of course not. . .did we stop to think about the water being turned off on the docks. . .of course not. We were the only liveaboards during the Winter at this marina, we were on our own with a 5 yr old!

We moved on our floating dream home in mid October, the rains came as well as 40 mph winds. . . we learned to quickly how to pull the boat over and quickly jump aboard before the winds took her to the other side of the dock. The next step was to tie bungee lines to the pilling across from us so that if our grand daughter slid across the finger pier she would shoot back on our boat, ( never happened but we were prepared).

Our grand daughter was attending a private school 50 miles one way from the boat at that time and my husband was working in Washing , DC. He left the boat at 4:30 am and we needed to be exiting the boat by 6:45 am. Never once did we consider low tides or high tides, and they came.. . .Ava ended up missing 32 days of school that year, thank goodness it was kindergarten. Along with high winds came two snowfalls of over 1 ft. each time. For heat we used an electric ceramic heater, warming blankets for our berths and two little electric boat heaters one at the bow and one aft. The boat stayed a balmy 58 degrees, which is quite warm in such a small space.

I can honestly say the only hardship we encountered during that Winter in Maryland was cooking. The snow acted as an insulator so we were snug and warm, but when you are used to cooking on a gas grill you need to have an alternate plan. Neither of us had used a 2 burned propane stove, we learned quickly . . .however I went right out and bought a griddle and a crock pot. . .we were back in business.

We knew the only way to learn the In's and Out's of  our sailboat was to move on her full time, Ava saw this as an adventure and was completely happy. Our meals were simple, we had warm clothing hanging everywhere, not to mention our two cats that lived aboard also. We shoveled docks instead of sidewalks, we walked to the bath house to take showers in 32  degrees and below at night, we were in bed at 7:30 in the evening. We carried  4, 25 gallon jugs of water to fill our tanks once a week,(100 gallon tank) and never ran out of water.

We learned to live in small surroundings with a TV that got very few channels, we read and put together many puzzles and laughed a lot.There is not one inch of our boat or one sound that we can not tell you what it is.

We have now owned the boat for 3 years and love every experience, our plans are to head south next Winter. . .but we still have a few Maryland Winters to conquer.

. . . and so the work begins. To recap our life on a sailboat. . .no matter where or what we call home, it is an Adventure. When we found Adventuress, we knew she was meant for us, but did not know if she was ready for us! My advice to anyone buying a boat, plan to stay on board before you take off, get to know the in's and out's, there are noises that you think only Jaques Cousteu could explain, they become second nature.

Picking up your feet as you walk down the dock,(not strutting like you own the Titanic) there are boards that need to be fixed that you aren't necessarily looking for. Tides become your main focus, on a day to day basis, they are not your friend, unless you are secured to a floating dock. Weather, (that is a topic alone) condensation is something you would not even consider, however if you have ever owned a Jeep you know what I am talking about.

Privacy. . .there is none so get used to it. It is so important for you to like the humans you share your living space with. Storage, boats have plenty you just have to learn organization skills. I can tell you, those who live and travel to warm climates have it easy. Clothes can be rolled and stored in multiple places, we live in Maryland so layers and huge coats are not easy to roll and store. We had two huge snow storms, over a ft of snow each time. There were four wind storms with gales over 65 mph. , we hardly left our berths. You still have to eat , learning to prepare food during these conditions is an art.

Pre pairing the boat for a Winter on the hard is a sad time but every so often it needs to happen. Since the boat fared well on the Sassafras River there is  minor cleaning to be done. I popped barnacles off the instant the boat was pulled. Painting and waxing will be done rather quickly, the teak we stripped during the Fall is waiting to be finished, the new scroll work for the bow is being made, and a full Clorox cleaning below is on the list. By May she will be ready to be moved to her new/old home with us back aboard.

I can honestly say, I would not change one thing about our experience. The name of the boat was going to be, Running with Scissors, appropriately so. This is how we handle everything, take off running and learn as we go. Adventuress was and is her name, life is an Adventure and we welcome every obstacle, ( wish we didn't have as many) and share the outcome no mater how big or small.

Now that Spring is in our back yard the work will begin, we know for sure there are new friends awaiting us at every anchorage and we value the friends we have already made living this phenomenal  lifestyle. . . .

Fair Winds To All. .. .