Our Own Private Space ... Forget It! When we tell people that we'll be living on a 30 foot sailboat ... full-time .. as a couple, the responses seem pretty consistent. The eyebrows raise and we're told, "That's tight quarters for two. You're not going to be able to get away from each other" ... as if we've not given this any thought. We know that living on a 30 foot sailboat in marital bliss will be a challenge, but private space ... we don't need it!
Ken and I are currently living in a house, and we rarely go into separate rooms to "get away". I'll retreat to my "zen den" a few times a week for exercise and we'll get caught up in our chores around the house, but other than that our time at home is spent together. In fact, we often feel that much of our home is wasted space.
If we do need to have some privacy while cruising, we do have a master bedroom (v-berth), a guest bedroom (aft cabin), a living room (salon) and a roomy patio with beautiful views (cockpit) to escape. As far as privacy in the bathroom, well there's no modesty between us! I must admit the bathroom door is never shut unless we have company. I would think that our lack of modesty is a good thing since the "head" in our sailboat is not much larger than a matchbox and it isn't a place we'd want to stay any longer than necessary.
From what we hear, we'll probably need to be more concerned about our private space from other cruisers! Stories of cruisers with binoculars and anchorages packed with boats come to mind. I guess we need to get a good pair of binoculars so we can stare back! We do love to people watch. =) Actually, we don't think we'll mind others nearby ... just not so close that we can hear their conversation! (We don't want them hitting us with their boat either but that's another topic). I've read that it gets pretty packed in the Virgin Islands. I wonder ... just how packed is it? Will we have to whisper? Will we be able to take a cockpit shower in our "birthday suit", or will we have to do others a favor and shower in our bathing suit?
It's our understanding that there still are places that have isolated anchorages for those times we need our private space. While we don't plan on traveling to a lot of those places in a Catalina 30, we hear that the Bahamas is a good option. I guess I'll have to go there to get rid of tan lines!
Hasta luego ... until then. Mid-Life Cruising!
Note: Here are the previous posts from this series. Check them out and feel free to give us your advice. We've really enjoyed reading your comments!
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4 comments:
I read your post and laughed out loud. Cheryl, you crack me up! Your comment about "living on a 30 ft sailboat in marital bliss would be a challenge" started me off laughing. Then I could actually picture you using binoculars to stare back at your neighbors.
I have only one dispute with what you wrote. I don't think you would be doing your "male" neighbors any favor by showering in the cockpit with a bathing-suit. Just my opinion!
Private space comes in many forms. One goes ashore while the other stays on boards and reads or fixes something (hopefully at the therapeutic pace). One is on watch while the other is napping or reading (often it is smart NOT to ask for help on little things, if your partner is clearly soaking up some alone time). Perhaps your partner is on the bow, just zoning out; don't join them every time... unless asked. Allot separate storage space. We've not found personal space to be a problem on 2-week cruises.
Showering in the dark can work--they can see an outline but no more, and what do I need light for? Of course, I was doing this once, cruising with only my 3-year old daughter, and she helped me by turning the light on....
I will be watching for reports on other cruisers, and I expect details!
Thanks Pat for your kind thoughts! I'm trying to fight gravity! LOL! Drew ... showering in the dark sounds like a great idea!
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