On August 12, 2013 we launched our newly purchased steel sailboat, which we had aptly named Monster, and this launch date also coincided with our first wedding anniversary. It was a very exciting time in our lives. It’s now 5 years later, and we still are celebrating! Our dear Monster has been afloat for, I repeat, five years, it’s somewhat hard to believe. It’s interesting now to reflect on the past years… how far and how little we have come.

It is also quite timely that our CBC news interview aired to coincide with our anniversary. Honestly, we are quite thrilled with how the interview was portrayed both in the video and the written article. I’ve heard it was even broadcast on the radio. It was a carefully considered debut of our Son, his name and face shared with every viewer, reader and listener. It was a catch point we carefully pondered when we were initially approached about the interview. It was incredibly important to us that our Son be part of the whole process, and for him to be able to share his views and insights. He wanted to be a part of it all. In hindsight we couldn’t have done the interview without him. But, don’t expect to be seeing those baby blues of his too often, this is quite likely a one of.

What strikes me now however about this whole interview experience is how cringe-worthy and misinformed many of the responses and comments were on the respective social media pages. We are passionate people, sharing our passion and our experiences of the sea with our Son. We are ultimately living our dream as we are all to often reminded how life can be far to short. Seriously now, is the government really out to get us for living an alternative lifestyle and wishing to share said lifestyle with others? It only takes a quick google search of phrases such as ‘tiny homes’, ‘living small’ and the like to see that there is a huge movement across the globe about people living in a similar manner and sharing it, particularly on social media. Have you taken note of the proliferation of You Tube Sailing Vlogs? News outlets often pick up these types of stories, we are not the first the first nor the last to be part of such an interview. It’s simply human interest to see how others live. We long ago made the choice for experience over material goods, and this interview experience has only deepened our desire and resolve to sail away. The whole intent of the interview and why we chose to partake was to create a feel-good story, but in typical fashion so many only saw the negative. The world news is full of enough negativity as it is. We thank each and everyone of you that reached out in a positive manner, you are our community! Your support quite literally means the world to us.

And… back to our 5 years afloat. There are still many projects on the list, but yet there are many we have also crossed off. Our epic haul out last fall being one of them; a hull survey, the steel work, the paint job were huge on the to do list. Sure, we still have a lot of cosmetic work to be done. Our brightwork is anything but bright, we desperately need a new bimini to house our solar panels. There’s a roll of upholstery fabric in our companion way down below just waiting to become our new settee cushions. There are days that Monster looks like a big old live aboard sitting at her dock. The shoes and hoses, umbrellas and toys just strewn about the deck. There truly is a Monster inside, a spirit that wants to set her canvas and sail. That spirit is us. In due time we will restore Monster to her gaff-rigged glory, which means a new boom, gaff, and sail. And therefore a new sail cover to match the sun patches that need to be replaced on our head’sls. It’s all about priorities.

I’ve often felt that fostering imagination in children lends itself to growing up to be an adult with dreams. We all ought to live out our dreams, as where would we be without them?

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