I am having a low liveaboard day, seems like no one understands why I liveaboard

[GILow]

Goosebumps,

I have spent the last four weeks working up to 16 hour days, right through the Christmas holidays, every day except for Christmas day and New Year's Eve.

Today my best staff member finished up to move on to a new job in pursuit of his career.

I am facing a weekend of at least 12 working hours each day, while my wonderful family tip-toe around me and try to avoid making me grumpy.

On Monday I face a total uncertainty about the systems I am building, and what will work and what will not.

Our new puppy is now 12 weeks old and has not yet been for the first sail she needs to make the boat a normal part of her life.

I had to turn down an invitation to sailing on a Duncanson 36 tonight because I have so much work to do.

Please believe me when I say... "I ENVY your low liveaboard day." But I DO understand why you live aboard.



Matt

[Ribbit]

Cabin fever is not unusual this time of year.

I suppose I started off where I live as "the weirdo in the woods" ("How can you live there? It's HAUNTED!") with my closest neighbour over a half mile away through the woods, until all my neighbours got to know me. If driving down the road and a neighbour is coming the other way, and you haven't seen them for ages, maybe even as long as yesterday morning, then it is obligatory to stop, wind the window down, and chat for as long as it takes, which could be hours.

The weirdo's are the ones in such a constant rush that they don't understand the fundamentals of being neighbourly, and they even get angry and upset when they come across neighbours engaged in the essential business of chewing the fat (I rapidly held my own in this serious business, hence my Avatar name).

At first, people (everybody) were curious about me and that I had moved in to become one of their neighbours, and to measure me up as to whether I was fit to become a part of the community. They would ask me about myself, and after giving a full history, when it tallied with what their neighbours had found out, over time they became satisfied with my 'qualifications', and were made fully aware that if ever they needed to make use of those 'qualifications', they only had to ask (e.g. when the farmers had a new field numbering system imposed, and they didn't know where to even begin to start with it, because it was Latitude and Longitude surveying stuff, they all came to me to do it for them, and being neighbours, it was free of charge).

So to me, an island community, or a non-city anchorage, would revolve pretty much around the same philosophy and outlook on life.

There isn't enough money in the World, to be able to buy even an ounce of such stuff.

So put on your coat and hat, get off the boat (eta: obviously don't do that if you are offshore, or if you have to swim), and start being neighbourly (it's a rapid cure for cabin fever).

[Goosebumps]

Originally Posted by Ribbit

Cabin fever is not unusual this time of year.

I suppose I started off where I live as "the weirdo in the woods" ("How can you live there? It's HAUNTED!") with my closest neighbour over a half mile away through the woods, until all my neighbours got to know me. If driving down the road and a neighbour is coming the other way, and you haven't seen them for ages, maybe even as long as yesterday morning, then it is obligatory to stop, wind the window down, and chat for as long as it takes, which could be hours.

The weirdo's are the ones in such a constant rush that they don't understand the fundamentals of being neighbourly, and they even get angry and upset when they come across neighbours engaged in the essential business of chewing the fat (I rapidly held my own in this serious business, hence my Avatar name).

At first, people (everybody) were curious about me and that I had moved in to become one of their neighbours, and to measure me up as to whether I was fit to become a part of the community. They would ask me about myself, and after giving a full history, when it tallied with what their neighbours had found out, over time they became satisfied with my 'qualifications', and were made fully aware that if ever they needed to make use of those 'qualifications', they only had to ask (e.g. when the farmers had a new field numbering system imposed, and they didn't know where to even begin to start with it, because it was Latitude and Longitude surveying stuff, they all came to me to do it for them, and being neighbours, it was free of charge).

So to me, an island community, or a non-city anchorage, would revolve pretty much around the same philosophy and outlook on life.

There isn't enough money in the World, to be able to buy even an ounce of such stuff.

So put on your coat and hat, get off the boat (eta: obviously don't do that if you are offshore, or if you have to swim), and start being neighbourly (it's a rapid cure for cabin fever).

Thanks for warm advise. Pf course you realuze my statement about low liveaboard was retoric, I couldnt be happuer anywhere else than on a seaworthy spa ioys xat with basic comforts on the hook and socializing around East African fishing communities.

[Lizzy Belle]

Originally Posted by Goosebumps

When you liveaboard on the hook on the land, small vessels passing, all seem to think you are doing something out if
the confirmist ordinary. In extreme case I had islander community suggest that I was after eating their children.

There are liveaboards and there are cruisers.
Are you also cruising or "just" living aboard?
If you're a cruiser, it's easy to move along if a place isn't agreeing with you.
If you're a liveaboard who can't just leave, finding the right marina or anchorage might help.

When you posted your idea of a liveaboard helpline, I thought you were fine but wanted to help liveaboards that aren't doing well for whatever reason. I guess I missed you were maybe also asking for help? If so, I am sorry for that.

The marina where I am has a wonderful liveaboard community. The landlubbers living next to the marina don't like us "strange folk" much - we're not doing what everybody else is doing so there must be something wrong with us. Nobody likes to live in an expensive apartment with a bunch of vagabonds at their front door ...

Thing is, we don't need their understanding, let alone their blessing. They're on land, living their lives, and we're afloat, living ours. Some would prefer us gone, some don't care one way or another. We're fine with them living next to us We make sure we're good neighbors and give them no reasons to complain or have real issues with us.

TL;DR: you don't need everybody's approval or understanding. If you find yourself as one of very few liveaboards and live is getting lonely, try to move somewhere where there is a larger liveaboard community.
If there isn't anywhere to go, you'll have to decide if it's all worth it for you. If living aboard is making you unhappy, for whatever reason, maybe moving back to land is a better option - at least for now.
If not, make friends with people who don't care where or how you live -- or maybe do, but are willing to at least get to know you. You can take it from there.

And as a general rule: always be nice and neighborly. Usually, people become a little more accepting once they realize we're not all THAT different and, despite our living arrangements, we're just people trying to live a happy live and be good to the people around us - be they afloat or on land.
People fear / dislike what they don't know or understand. So if at all possible, help them to get to know you.

[SV THIRD DAY]

If f I cared what people thought of us.....
I would be broke and in debt with **** I didn't need just like them!

Society as a whole dislikes live aboards and cruisers for that matter because it shows people another way...holds a mirror up to them.

[daletournier]

When I come home ( like now) I have less and less in common with the people I know here. I focus on and think about things that they don't, and that's ok. It does result in less social contact and that's ok as well. A good friend of mine thinks im a little asperges! ...lol. I of course can do the social thing, I delt with the general public for years. It's just that I'm finding it more difficult to do small talk, I'd rather medium to large talk..lol. if people don't understand you , it just doesn't matter!
All paths have consequences and at the end of the day you just make the most of the path you've chosen. The upside of my life is , I don't mow lawns, wash cars or go to kids birthday party's. ..lol.

Sent from my GT-N7105T using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[boatman61]

Do you seriously give a ****..??
If so.. Why..??

[Goosebumps]

Originally Posted by SV THIRD DAY

If f I cared what people thought of us.....
I would be broke and in debt with **** I didn't need just like them!

Society as a whole dislikes live aboards and cruisers for that matter because it shows people another way...holds a mirror up to them.

You phrased it well! All non-conformism, applying to many cruising liveaboards, is frowned upon by people who for number of reasons don't risk anything to make life more interesting. Marina permanent resident liveaboards often will be very conformist being priductive in nirmal society. I actually have experienced even frowning upon liveaboards who realky cruise from these marina residents.

[carstenb]

Originally Posted by Skip JayR

Maybe you should start on Youtube a cooking channel show.... "How to make cooked, grilled and baken children" as headline of the series....

years ago, when I was younger and into the dating scene, some of the women I dated would begin to ask questions to determine if I was a suitable male to mate with rather than just have a few romps with.

One question they always asked was - "How do you like children?"

For some reason I got very strange looks when I answered, "Grilled is best, although fried with wild onions and mushrooms is also good"

Most of them dumped after that - wonder why?

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by SV THIRD DAY

If f I cared what people thought of us.....
I would be broke and in debt with **** I didn't need just like them!

Society as a whole dislikes live aboards and cruisers for that matter because it shows people another way...holds a mirror up to them.

How I see this is that the society as a whole is neither aware nor interested in our existence. This is (IMHO) a blessing: if they were, they would tax us to death.

And, to be frank, the 'another way' we live is possible only because 'they' are out there: cruising has boomed over last 50 years or so: exactly at the time when the society as a whole grew up to the size and efficiency that a bunch of suckers on the fringes do not really influence the status quo.

We are the society as soon as we dock her, as much as we are the mirror when we venture far offshore.

b.

[zeehag]

y'all KNOW that intensive care nurses eat their young, is that not correct???
as a result of this loverly lifestyle, we each have delectable recipes for these gourmet delicacies.
some were handed down generation to generation for millenia.....
co incidentally......

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by zeehag

y'all KNOW that intensive care nurses eat their young, is that not correct???
as a result of this loverly lifestyle, we each have delectable recipes for these gourmet delicacies.
some were handed down generation to generation for millenia.....
co incidentally......

Zee, I didn't know that about nurses... but tell me, if you eat your young, how can there be "generation after generation"? I don't get it!

Jim

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Zee, I didn't know that about nurses... but tell me, if you eat your young, how can there be "generation after generation"? I don't get it!

Jim

magic.
i think this is why i didnt do gud in math
always let one live.....

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by Ribbit

......................................

The weirdo's are the ones in such a constant rush that they don't understand the fundamentals of being neighbourly, and they even get angry and upset when they come across neighbours engaged in the essential business of chewing the fat (I rapidly held my own in this serious business, hence my Avatar name).

So true, too true. Heard this just the other day while chatting with some friends in a luthier's workshop (similar to rolling down the windows on the back roads, eh?). We were talking about the new embedded chip credit cards and one fellow said: "Yeah, I was in a store the other day and these two women were complaining about how much longer it took to get checked out with the new cards instead of the swipes of the old days."

Geez, these women need to get a life.:biggr in:

Regardless of type of card, ya still need to wait til they print out the damn paper receipt and sign it before you can leave.

Details...

[Goosebumps]

I guess this is one of those typical CF threads where one gets to know people better by their posts.