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In the SF Bay Area, I lived on a sailboat for about 5 years. Living in a constricted space like that definitely takes some time to get used to, but I enjoyed t
by willwagner 17y ago
In the SF Bay Area, I lived on a sailboat for about 5 years. Living in a constricted space like that definitely takes some time to get used to, but I enjoyed the experience quite a bit. Sailboats are great if you want to break the habit of keeping a lot of possessions; I had my own rule that I would always be able to get the boat ready to sail within 30 minutes which meant that everything I owned always had to be either tied down or stored in a cabinet somewhere. Keeping a space that small clean was pretty easy.
I was a liveaboard in one of the marinas in So. San Francisco, so I did all my showering, etc. using the public facilities. One perk I gave myself was using cleaners for getting my clothes washed, which regardless of where you live, is pretty awesome.
I hadn't ever sailed prior to buying a boat but I spent 4-6 weeks taking group lessons and reading up on boats, and by the time I was done with my class, I had purchased a boat and was moving in. There is a lot to learn not only on how to sail but deciding what type and model to purchase.
The winters kind of sucked; it can be a little bumpy and really noisy when there is a storm, and walking 500 feet or so to the public bathrooms each morning in the rain isn't all that fun. The rest of the year was great though and I did spend quite a few years sailing around the bay on weekends.
Sailing is definitely a cool sport for hackers who like to know how things work and get optimal results. It's an interesting mix of science and history.
I'd definitely recommend it for a single person in high tech if they are so interested (unless they have a propensity to get seasick).
- blackguardx 17y agoWhy did you stop? Do you still have a boat?
- willwagner 17y agoI ended up getting married and starting a family. Financially, it didn't make much sense to keep the boat if I wasn't going to use it often, and I was ready try some new things, so I ended up selling it.
- jsares 17y agoI used to love sailing on Lake Erie but once I started doing it seriously in the Pacific my sea sickness kept getting worse and worse to the point it was impossible. I really hope to find a cure one day or have it reverse itself (which I guess does happen). Anyways congrats on following your dreams!
- pasbesoin 17y agoI don't have first hand experience with them, but I've heard good things about ginger (yep!) with regard to motion sickness, and the British Navy supposedly (per an "outfitter" catalog selling them) has elastic wristbands with a plastic tab/point that presses against an acupressure point in the wrist. Mums had a 27' sailboat for a while, on Lake Michigan. I was only out on it a couple of times. I found the "keep your eyes on the horizon" suggestion quite useful; going below, out of sight of the horizon, was not a lot of fun.
- antipaganda 17y agoThe acupressure wristband works great, until you realise it's a placebo. Then the fucker stops working. I speak from experience.
- zandor 17y agoVery cool! I'm thinking of doing something like this myself next year or so while studying. The local marina offers cheap boat space in the off season, and I found someone who is willing to lend me their sailboat. Should be pretty cheap housing for a student if you have the opportunity. Would you mind sharing some more tips, experiences or fun stories?