Location: Falmouth Harbor, Antigua
Hello, blog readers of the world,
On this relaxing Easter Sunday, some of us swam, some read, and some exercised, while others watched movies or spoke with family back home. In this blog, however, we are going to explore a few of the many differences between life aboard and life in our land-based homes. I have come to appreciate these differences and find myself missing them whenever I spend significant amounts of time ashore. There is the gentle rocking that helps you fall asleep at night, the sound of lapping water against the hull, and the occasional flying fish you find on deck in the morning. There are endless opportunities for sunrise and sunset views, close living quarters which help you build friendships quickly, and the extra workout you get every time you have to pump the head. I have also become very aware of just how many resources we use on a daily basis that we take for granted on land. For starters, you really begin to appreciate just how much energy we use in our daily lives. At home we plug things in, we turn things on, and we let things run but the only way most of us realize (or pay attention to) how much energy we have used that month is when we get a startling bill in the mail that has more zeroes than we are comfortable with. Here, we are limited by the power we create using the generator each day, and a sure-fire way to upset Steve in the morning is using the electric kettle to heat up water for your coffee. Other things we readily use, such as water, or create, such as waste, on land are quite hard to ignore onboard a boat. The trash you create stays on board until you can do a trash run, and in some places, those aren’t allowed, so you really start to understand how much waste we create each day (and hopefully start to reduce it). In terms of water, we have to use energy to make it with our handy water maker that desalinates the seawater that we float in. Use too much water, and you are forced to use more fuel to run the generator in order to make more water. Okay, I’ll step down from my conservation soapbox now, but I do hope that people who spend time aboard boats can bring these lessons back home with them, and we can all work together to use fewer resources and create less waste.
I hope everyone was able to have Zoom meetings with their families today like mine enjoyed.
Lolo
Photos:
1-2) Kasey impersonating the Easter Bunny for her nephews’ entertainment
3-4) Falmouth Harbor being sunny and warm and wonderful
5) Amanda and Lolo being Amanda and Lolo
6) More conservation reminders 🙂