Last spring Ben and I were in the WUSB (SUNY Stony Brook) radio station to discuss our upcoming summer sailing and filmmaking plans. Then, in October Habanero invited us back for a follow up interview on her show “Whatever Floats Your Boat” radio show. We talked about our film project, One Simple Question, and the trials, hardships, successes,  and triumphs of our northward journey to see an iceberg this past the summer. It was a great follow up, and a pleasure to be on Habanero’s show again.

Click below to listen to the October 21, 2011 radio broadcast.

Click here to hear the broadcast from last May.

I met Jaja and Dave Martin this summer and was very excited to learn of their world travels aboard a small sailboat. The Martins are unique cruisers in that they not only sailed away from the “destination” places in the Caribbean, and toward the cold arctic, but they also did so with three young children. They began their travels aboard a boat even smaller than my own pocket-cruiser and didn’t stop traveling until almost two decades later. My guess, is that they still haven’t stopped traveling, but are only taking a break.

In this podcast, I talk with Jaja about traveling with children, what drove them to keep going, and if she has any advice for my journey.

INTERVIEW WITH JAJA MARTIN

You can find out more about the Martin family at their website, Iceblink Sail. There you’ll find articles written by them, be able to purchase their book or DVD, view photos, and learn more about their incredible journey.

Jaja and Dave were generous enough to invite Ben and I (and our OSQ director and camera crew) into their home for dinner and inspired conversation. I feel lucky have met them. Even in just the few times I have spoken with them, already I have gained so much!

photo credit: Dave and Jaja Martin (iceblinksail.com)

Living aboard a boat has never been solely about sailing for me. In my hopes it has always persisted as an avenue for diving fully into a new and uncertain way of life and by doing so, perhaps encounter my own ideology. I turned to the sea to look for an answer to some of the unease I felt when I first began exploring my country as an adult.

“A person who is going to make a fruitful inquiry into the question of the best political arrangement must first set out clearly what the most choiceworthy life is. For if that is unclear, the best political arrangement must also be unclear.”-Aristotle

My exploration of Simple Living has gone deeper than reducing stuff, spending less, and living in a small space. It is more than just enjoying nature, or taking time to smell the roses. It is not my manner to run up the flag hailyard any political party, presidential candidate, or policy. But, with all the friction in today’s political and social discourse, I find that I must view it from a simplicity perspective.

Simple living is not separate from politics. In fact, an interest in simple living has often been central to political discussion. Ben Franklin, The Nearings, Aristotle, Thomas Jefferson, Gandhi, and Jimmy Carter are all examples of people who have inspired me toward simplicity, but have also brought that same discussion to politics.

“If we are seriously looking for approaches that will actually change the lived experience of mainstream life in this country, we have to go well beyond personal economies….we have to change social policies.” –Jerome Segal

When exploring a new ideology, the personal experience is always at the nucleus. I began by purging myself of my excess things, and fitting the rest aboard a boat. From that starting point, I changed the way I engaged in many other aspects of life; the books I read, the food I ate, where I shopped, even how I vacationed. And all the while I was creating a set of ideals around my lifestyle aboard Daphne.

At some point, I began to look beyond myself at how these values harmonize with the collective values of American culture. For simplicity to be possible to me, it must also be possible for other Americans who desire that path. It isn’t easy to live simply in today’s culture. I wonder if Simplicity needs to be more on the minds of our political leaders in order for it to thrive as a viable and sustainable option for most Americans. I took the opportunity during my TED talk to briefly introduce Simplicity in the context of America’s current public sector because I often question its practicality today.

I’ve heard it said that it takes a community to raise a child and prepared him for adulthood. It would seem the same would apply for nurturing a way of life and making its success possible for those that desire it.

Fifteen years ago I celebrated Thanksgiving at Grandma and Grandpa’s house with Aunt BK, Mom, Dad, Alicia, Marissa, Nick, Tony, Angie, Uncle Denny, Karen, Mike, Aunt Fay, John Michael, Shane, Richard, Linda, Katie, David, Laure, Jeff, and often many others. The Schirripa family is a loud talking, game playing, song singing, laughing, and loving group. Family gathering were always full of good cheer and good times.

I would sleep in the attic of Grandma and Grandpa’s house, and after a long lie in bed I would wander downstairs, sit down in the living room, and enjoy the baton twirlers, Radio City Rockettes, and marching bands of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. One by one, people would arrive bringing desserts and yummy food. The cheesy potatoes were always a favorite, and each year it seemed as though more and more people brought cheesy potatoes. At dinner time, a prayer was read and the adults squeezed themselves around the table in the dining room, while the kids sat in the basement. I was still eating in the basement, even in my 20s. Nick always wondered when he would be promoted to the adult table, as he was the oldest, but we preferred him to eat with us anyway. After dinner the men would enjoy the football game in the basement, the women would stay in the living room, and the kids would play a game of Ollie Ollie Over in the backyard.

The following day, me, my sisters, mom, and Grandma all went shopping.

“…consumption is merely a means to human well-being, the aim should be to obtain the maximum of well-being with the minimum of consumption…. ”
-E.F. Schumacher from “Small is Beautiful”

Now, more than a decade later, things have changed. Grandkids have their own kids, sisters have moved far away, cousins are married and have two families, and Grandma, the light of the party, has passed. Its been years since we had a Thanksgiving like this, yet I still look forward to it, expecting it to always be the same.

And other traditions change too. Today, the day after Thanksgiving, the stores are mobbed with customers, aggressive buyers pepper spray each other, and people have even been trampled to death by enthusiastic shoppers. Today is called Black Friday, but it is also called Buy Nothing Day.

Buy Nothing Day is an international day of protest against over-consumption.

Today I walked through Emily Dickinson’s home and learned about her poetry. Now I’m spending the afternoon painting ornaments with Ben’s niece. Later we will watch “The Neverending Story” while finishing off the pumpkin pie.

How are you celebrating Black Friday?

How are you celebrating Buy Nothing Day?

Leave a comment below to share your ideas of creative ways we can celebrate the holidays without over-consuming. Thanks for sharing!

Here is a video response to a question posted in the comments by a blog reader. It was fun to make. Send some more questions, and I try to post a video response!

From Windcheck Magazine, October 2011

“The easy way to see an iceberg up close is to climb aboard a sightseeing boat, but Teresa Carey and Ben Eriksen earned their ‘berg – and savored a taste of the purest water in the world – by sailing a 28-foot boat all the way from Long Island to Newfoundland…with a cameraman and a cat! This intrepid couple is also making an independent film about adventure sailing, simple living, and happiness.”

Click the cover to read the full article from Windcheck Magazine: The Payoff

Don’t forget to click the “back” button on your browser and leave a comment after you read the article! Or visit the website for One Simple Question to find out more about the film, make a contribution, or join the Facebook community.

One of the top reasons that people get divorced is money. One of the top reasons people commit crimes is for money. And one of the top reasons people who read my blog or see my videos say disparaging or hypercritical remarks to or about me is…you got it… money! Here are some of my favorites:

“How many Americans could actually afford a 27-foot sailboat much less consider such a lifestyle of simple living? It is simple all right, simply incredible and egotistical in its lack of work ethic.” -Dr. Ileana Johnson Paugh, Canada Free Press

“Such a pretty boat. You must not live so simply to afford that boat. You live in such luxury.” -Nancy, from an email sent to me

“She looks like a rich kid” -stuntmanmike714 Youtube

“too bad most of the american population does not have the safety net of wealth/parents to do something like this” -ceelo4, Youtube

“…it would be nice if she would come clean about how she pays for this…I’m guessing dear old dad may be footing the bill while daughter sails around and finds herself.”  -Owukid, Youtube

Well, Owukid, guess what…I’m about to come clean!

People often ask me how much it costs to live on a boat, and every time I give them the same vague answer, “The cost of life afloat varies as much as the cost of life ashore.” So today, I can only attest to how it worked for me.

The secret I found to affording life aboard Daphne is in three simple rules:

Rule # 1: Work my ass off.

The highest paying job I have ever had was working as a waitress. This certainly was not the most rewarding job, nor the least stressful, but waiting tables in the right location can be financially rewarding, especially if you work two shifts each day. Of course, the hours are long and tiring. There isn’t much time to spend the hard earned cash, so more can be socked away for cruising. The most intrinsically rewarding jobs I have had were in education. I worked for non-profits with at-risk teens, with children who have autism, and at private middle and high schools.

When I moved aboard Daphne and began to travel, with the exception of about three months, I had at least a full time (or several part time) jobs at each location I was at. I seldom was without work. I was not always excited about the jobs I was able to find, and was even less excited about having to search for a job. However, in the two years and three months that I was aboard Daphne I had seventeen jobs from housekeeper to social media marketer, or dance teacher to sailor. I also made some extra cash by selling handcrafted items through my online Etsy shop. Blog readers who felt that my blog was enjoyable or worthwhile often purchased from my store or sent a gift donation to show their support for my blogging efforts.

No one provided my sustenance. I do not have a trust fund, inheritance, financial support, unemployment, or independent wealth of any degree. I also don’t expect to have this in my future. What I earned each year varied wildly. However, according to Wikipedia, I never once earned as much as the average middle class income for a single female of my age and education level. (which incidentally is 20k less per year than that of the male). Without telling you my exact average yearly income (which I don’t know off the top of my head anyway) I can guess that I flow between lower middle class and working class.

I afforded the boat by taking out a loan. There certainly are cheaper boats, but the Nor’sea came with a long history of stories and wishes that I share with my father. When it was time for me to buy a boat I didn’t consider any other boat, so a loan was necessary. The cost of the monthly payment is about the same as a small apartment. In fact, it is about the average cost of a one bedroom apartment in Columbus, Ohio or Omaha, Nebraska and less than half the cost of the average one bedroom apartment in Boston or San Franscisco. I decided I would rather be paying off a loan and eventually owning my boat outright than paying rent on an apartment. I do not pay bills for heat, water, electricity, internet, or other bills associated with an apartment. Because I don’t pay for these items to be delivered to my home without complications, I have to alter my life from what is conventional in order to have the utilities I need and want.

Rule #2: Reduce expenses by living without luxuries.

Its easy to imagine that people who live aboard boats have many of the amenities that shore life has but with the added luxury of cocktails at sunset, tropical destinations, and freedom.

These are some of the luxuries I live without:

Community
Car
Electricity (for the first 16 months until I purchased a solar panel. Then I lived with minimal electricity)
Refridgeration (for the first 16 months)
TV
Internet (I find internet at the library, McDonald’s parking lot, ferry terminal, etc.)
Hair dryer (for lack of power)
Shower
Weekly Yoga class
Freezer
Security
Dock
Garden
Hot water
Running water
Health Care
Predictability
Residency (and therefore access to some benefits)
Washer and Dryer for clothing
Flush toilet
Kitchen appliances

 Rule #3: Embrace an unorthodoxed lifestyle that sometimes lacks in comforts and ease.

I began to realize that America does not recognize nomadic people shortly after I purchased Daphne. I was at the USCG office to document her. When asked what my physical address was, I replied, “my boat.” It turns out, in order for Americans to “count” you need a physical address. Without it you can’t vote, drive, check out books at a library, get a P.O. box or a bank account, or pay your taxes.

It didn’t take long to realize that owning a boat costs a lot! I saved money by cutting out expenses that are typical of boat owners. With a few exceptions I did not rely on docks or moorings. This meant I couldn’t shut the door on the weather and feel secure. Instead, I stayed up all night monitoring the conditions as Daphne tossed about on her anchor. I did my own maintenance and engine work, which meant that any engine or maintenance issue that surfaced took twice as long to resolve because I was learning the skills of caring for a boat along the way.

The first day of making landfall in a new place was always a reconnisance mission to find the grocery, a shower, laundry, and toilet. A great anchorage is one where all these things are within walking distance. Yet sometimes I found myself pushing a grocery cart down the street for miles or not showering for weeks.

Some of the luxuries that I formerly took for granted while living ashore such as warmth, a shower, running water, and a toilet, required extra work living aboard. Aboard Daphne I couldn’t turn up the thermostat so my home would be warm when I returned at the end of the day. Instead, while bundled up in wooly clothing, I primed and lit my primitive kerosene heather, and drank hot tea while waiting for the cabin to warm up and the shivers to go away. I wash my dishes in salt water. I often wash my body and hair in salt water as well. And aboard a boat you can never simply flush the toilet and make it disappear. For that reason, I mastered the art of timing my large deposits with a trip ashore for groceries.

During the early days of owning Daphne I did not have electricity. I quickly learned which fruits, veggies, cheeses, eggs, and milks would last longest unrefrigerated and did without the rest. My computer went everywhere with me so I could charge it up anytime I saw an outlet. And I often fell asleep with my headlamp still on my head. With a solar panel I had more options. I could power the refrigerator and lights most of the time. I monitored the battery level closely and charged my computer or turned on the tunes when the sun was at its zenith.

The table, converted to a bed, converted to a tool bench.

Spring cleaning didn’t mean garage sales and dust bunnies. Alternatively, I was stepping the mast, de-winterizing the engine, and deconstructing the winter cover.  Aboard Daphne I have my own version of a bed and back porch. I slept in a sleeping bag because my bed doubles as the dining table and the counter top doubles as a two-burner stove. Dinner parties of more than four required guests to share a plate for lack of space on the table. And when I want to enjoy my favorite dessert of a frozen coconut fruit bar, I have to eat the entire box in one sitting for lack of freezer.

And I live this way not because I have to, but because they are part of the cost in owning a boat on a modest budget. The challenges are great, but the rewards are greater.

It is possible to have many of these luxuries such as a freezer, shower, or hot water aboard a boat. Its also possible to feel more security by renting space on a dock or mooring. And some sailors also have a house, car, and community to return to after each voyage. But Daphne was all I had, and that made the dream possible for me. This is the most important thing to understanding how an individual of meager financial means such as myself could own a boat and travel a bit.

Building the winter cover for added warmth and protection from the snow.

Written at sea, 7/31/11 by LARISSA POWERS, camera woman for One Simple Question

I am on SV Elizabeth, cozy inside the cabin while Teresa reads in her bunk behind me. The sun strobes on the teak woodwork, having been dispersed by the sea’s surface and sent through a small porthole. It finally feels like summer on the trip that I have been fortunate enough to be asked to join and we sail today from the colorful town of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia around Cape Sable and across the Bay of Fundy to Jonesport, Maine.

In some ways, I am sure my friends and family imagine me enjoying a pleasure cruise, sailing from place to place, sampling the local fare. In some ways, it is a pleasure cruise. It is pleasurable to sit in enshrouded in fog, admiring the smoky quartz of water on an overcast day. It is pleasurable to move silently propelled by the power of the wind.

It is pleasurable to see the voyage through the lens of a camera in an attempt to capture its essence.

In other ways, the curiosities of sailing at sea have become commonplace and even wearisome on occasion. I’ve found it difficult to convey to my friends the nuisance that is attempting to cook when the boat is heeling over and taking waves to the beam. Or the way seasickness creeps its way back in after too many days at anchor. Or the lack of fresh fruits and vegetables that inevitably strikes when the only stops are in tiny Newfoundland villages that seem to subsist entirely on fish and canned and dry goods. Or the way my back aches after sleeping through a night underway, my muscles tense throughout in an effort to stay in my bunk. I think all of us aboard Elizabeth look forward to summer days in Maine, mostly anchored, during which we will actually live. Sailing continuously may be fascinating, but it doesn’t quite feel like living to me.

The unique experience of living aboard has impressed upon me a number of ideas that I will take home with me to my small landlocked home in St. Louis, Missouri. Other ideas have sprung from sampling Teresa’s ample supply of simplicity literature including works by Scott and Helen Nearing, John Robbins, David Shi, and Jerome Segal. After three weeks aboard, I finally compiled a list of goals influenced by my time aboard Elizabeth with Teresa and Ben. I wouldn’t go so far as to say my life has been tainted by the last three years of city living, but I do feel that I have consumed more and spent more than I ever did during my years in more remote homes like Lake Placid, New York, Becket, Massachusetts, or Limestone, Maine. The city presents more opportunities to lavish oneself with products and services that one otherwise might never think of. With these reflections in mind, I present to you my theoretical recipe for a simpler existence, effective immediately:

• Reduce debt as rapidly as possible

Debt seems like an unnecessary impediment to true freedom. I don’t feel liberated by my ability to spend money I don’t have. What seems more liberating is living owing as little money to others as possible.

• Set a household budget

In said budget, restrictions on how much money is spent dining out and on needless things will be critical. Budget will be designed with previous goal in mind.

• Restrict hours of TV watched to specific amount per week.

This goal was created recognizing that I will inevitably have days during the school year in which I will want to lay on the couch to be idly entertained, but that there should be limits to this sort of unconstructive entertainment.

• Go on an internet diet

If I had the wherewithal to log all of my time on the internet and what I did exactly, I’m sure I would see a depressing pattern of wasted time. Internet should largely be used to be constructive and creative.

I look forward to unpacking these goals along with the rest of my belongings when I return to the Midwest and I especially look forward to sharing them with my partner James, who has only ever been an enthusiastic supporter of my sometimes sudden and new-fangled ideas. Some of my goals will be instrumental in working toward the tiny sustainably designed and constructed home in mid-coast Maine that I’ve dreamed up for myself in the last few years, or in saving more money for a blissfully uncertain future. All of these goals, however, will help me lead a more fulfilling, creative, and constructive life. The cramped but serene spaces of Elizabeth are yet a daily reminder until my time aboard draws to a close and I know that inspiration will stay with me long after I disembark.

Written at sea, 7/31/11 by LARISSA POWERS, camera woman for One Simple Question

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