I was thinking this morning of what I intend to take from home for Christmas week aboard Siskiwit. That brought up memories of 1992 when Rachel, Brooke and I were purging all our excess things, putting the house up for rent, placing the car on blocks, giving so much to Goodwill and Salvation Army and fitting the rest aboard. From that starting point, we changed in many other ways: the books we read, the food we ate, where we shopped, the days we spent at anchor and the one day a week along side. Rachel and I never slept ashore in a year, though Brooke did manage a few weeks at a dude ranch with her grandparents and cousins. And all the while, we were creating a set of ideals around a live-aboard lifestyle. Simplicity was easy because that’s what we wanted. However, we found its not easy to learn that way of living and to easily carry it forward once we swallowed the anchor and moved off the boat. The great discovery was how easy it was to return to simplicity when I moved back aboard from 2000–2005 and consulting remotely for YoungAssociates.
