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Once Upon A Sailboat

May 26, 2013 by Melody

One year ago this weekend, we officially traded in what most people would consider a comfortable life back in Nashville for life aboard a 35′ sailboat. I wish that Chris were here to celebrate our “first cruising anniversary” together, but he’s helping to deliver a sailboat from Bermuda to the Chesapeake, so it’s just me and Jet.

How quickly a year passes, yet it feels like a lifetime ago…

I was utterly giddy with excitement last May as we loaded most of our worldly possessions onto our new home. Not only were we moving aboard, we were sailing  from her dock in Panama City Beach to the Chesapeake Bay for the summer which is a pretty long trip, especially for our maiden voyage on a new boat.  As excited as we were, however, we had spent enough time on boats to understand that there would be many non-glamorous aspects to living aboard full time  so we agreed to give it a year, thinking that would be enough time to settle in, figure things out, and really see how we felt about it.  Now that a year has passed, well, I can’t speak for Chris, but I don’t think you’ll ever get me off a boat.

 

melody-with-red-stripe
May 2012: Toasting to our new life

 

I’m a different person now. I’ve grown. Since stepping outside of the comfortable bubble that I had surrounded myself with before, I’ve been rewarded with more wisdom, awareness and strength. I’ve developed a deep appreciation for simplicity and a more minimalist lifestyle. Chris and I have both shed our skin, so to speak, and while it leaves us raw and exposed at times, we become stronger in the end. There are times, such as losing my Mom, when I wouldn’t have been able to hold myself together without the strength acquired through this journey. We’ve made lifelong friends in our travels – I mean, some of the best friends you could imagine having, and we’ve become closer as partners, lovers and friends this past year than we’ve ever been.  When Chris and I first met in 2006, he introduced me to sailing and we had these romantic talks about one day moving onto a sailboat and just traveling around together. It seemed like a pipe dream way back then, and now… here we are.  I can say that all in all, through the triumphs and in spite of the trials, it’s been the best year of my life.

This morning I came across an old poem I wrote in those early days, before I had ever even sailed on an ocean, before I called a boat my home, and reading it makes me more excited than ever as we get ready to leave Ft. Lauderdale to go out to sea again on the way to our next destination.  I’ve said it before and I’ll probably say it a thousand times… I am so incredibly grateful for this life.

A BOAT… A LOVE STORY

Would you carry me
Over thresholds of distant shores
Where sand and footprint
Have yet to be introduced…

Where time is but a word
In a language I no longer remember
And all the world sleeps
Except you and I…

Where the sun becomes my friend
But it’s the moon who knows my secrets,
And the fish tell stories
About how they got away…

Where the wind holds my hand,
Blowing me sweet kisses
While skies of azure
Make love to the ocean
On a horizon that winks, taunting,
“You can look but you’ll never touch.”


© 2006 Melody Puckett

Melody on bow in the Gulf of Mexico
Melody on the bow in the Gulf of Mexico
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Filed Under: Musings, People, Sailing, Vacilando - a Cal 35

Comments

  1. danniehill says

    May 26, 2013 at 8:30 pm

    Wow, Melody. That is a poem of an old salt– with feelings. You have chosen well pretty lady!

    • Melody says

      May 26, 2013 at 9:15 pm

      Thank you, Dannie! A friend once told me I must have been born with salt in my veins… I always loved that. :)

      • danniehill says

        May 27, 2013 at 11:31 am

        The truth is we all have the same salinity as the oceans within us, but only a precious few recognize the pull. You are one of the lucky ones. I would really like to read more of your poems.

  2. Dana says

    May 28, 2013 at 10:36 pm

    I Love that poem and following your journey…I have such admiration for the alternate path you’ve both decided to take, however long it lasts enjoy it now, kudos to you guys and please keep blogging :)

    • Melody says

      May 29, 2013 at 2:13 am

      Oh wow – thank you, Dana! We will!

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ABOUT US

CHRIS: Singer/Songwriter and author from Philly, (and also the author of this blog), transplanted to Nashville, took a break from the music biz and somehow convinced his girlfriend (now wife) to live on a boat and began writing books. You can check out his music on iTunes or his books on Amazon.

MELODY: Thought her husband was crazy for wanting to live on a boat, but never one to shy away from an adventure, decided to play along and fell in love with cruising. She blogs about how to make money while cruising at Saving to Sail and helps solopreneurs build 6-figure digital product businesses at Soloprenista.

JET: Dutch Shepherd rescue who traveled more miles in his 14 years than most people do in a lifetime. Refuses to vacuum his own hair and instead insists on shrimp tails and belly rubs. (Update: Jet crossed the Rainbow Bridge on Sunday, May 23, 2021 but will always be our favorite crew member and is dearly missed.)

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