For nine months of the year, we live in a small village 200 miles above the Arctic Circle in Alaska. But during the summer, we come to Seward, where we live aboard our 35-foot Island Packet sailboat. In the not-too-distant future, we hope to make this sailboat our full-time home. Its two small staterooms (bedrooms) and comfortable salon (living room) are cozy and comfortable in the best possible way. We even have a small fireplace - a fuel-sipping Dickinson Newport diesel heater providing a cheery flame as well as warmth. The galley's two-burner stove is enough to allow us to turn out gourmet meals - many of which feature the "catch of the day" from our home waters on Resurrection Bay.
With a boat powered by wind and with relatively small living quarters to heat, light and clean, we consume very little energy. Because space is limited, we find that we are prompted to carefully evaluate each new item we bring into our lives - whether the item is new cookware, equipment for the boat, or a piece of art. Our days are filled with acquiring new sailing skills, photography, fishing, breathtaking scenery, and watching all kinds of wildlife from sea birds to sea otters to whales. Our neighbors up and down the dock are wonderful.
Eventually, we hope our home will take us all over the world - powered by the wind and solar panels, harvesting many of our meals from the sea, and free from the expectation that we fill a large home with things we neither need nor want. Read more about our life onboard Bandon (as well as our life in the Arctic village of Point Hope) at donachyblog.wordpress.com.