10 Lessons From Living at Sea

In 2018 I sailed across the South Pacific Ocean for six weeks. It was a great time and I miss it until this day. There's really something special about living in the ocean for long periods of time. It can be really inspiring, and sometimes it can be really tough.

The challenges and rewards of life at sea are incomparable to anything else I have ever experienced; there are really low lows and really high highs, and everything in between is looking after your boat and reading books (pretty average stuff). For the past two years, I have been trying to find an outlet to share my experience, and my blog seems to be the perfect place!

Let's get started:

1. You will not create a revolution if you do not take risks: I did not know anything about sailing. I saw there was an opportunity to go to Fiji and New Zealand in a boat, and I did not think twice before saying yes. Maybe I should have. I was nervous and scared the day before boarding the ship; just me, my duffel bag, my shipmates, and a ship. A decision I will never regret.

2. Raise your sails: Or turn on the motor; whatever you decide to do, you have to keep on moving (unless there's a life-threatening storm). It's awesome to sail with full sails in a beautiful sunny day, but sometimes there is no wind and other times there's rain pouring down your face, and you literally cannot go anywhere. You probably have more grit than you think.

3. Take care of your home: Most things we did aboard were to take care of the Robert C. Seamans (our ship). We would have to do hourly boat checks, clean every night and day, deep clean every week, put up the sails, put down the sails, pick up the trash, stir the boat, cook, bake, cut onions in really small pieces, etc. Imagine every possible task performed in a forever in motion boat. This ship was our home, it was protecting us in our voyage, and our lives literally depended on its well-being. We owed it to the Seamans, and it didn't fail to deliver.

4. If you put others first, they will put you first: Maybe not in every situation, but definitely when there is a shared purpose and internal understanding of the environment. Not all my shipmates were my friends, but I know they got my back.

5. There are copepods and there are breaching whales: Copepods are microscopic and breaching whales are enormous. It was amazing to conceive the fact the smallest organisms on Earth coexist with the largest animals on Earth, and the ecosystem is flawlessly designed. The lessons we can learn from our ecosystems are never-ending. For example, why can't we create consumer products that end their lifecycle and do not become an existential threat to our environment? There's a place for everything, we just need to find it.

6. You can find the moon even if you think it isn't possible: There's a place called Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai and it looks just like the moon. It's an undeveloped volcanic island and probably the newest piece of land on Earth. We were there, in the middle of the blue water and the black sand. The point is, there are some really cool things out there waiting to be discovered. (Note: Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai erupted in 2022 and it’s gone now).

7. The world is so big, and wherever you are right now is so small: Do not tie yourself to what your reality is right now. The world is so big and for the most part unexplored. Ships amaze me and how they are able to take us to the most unexpected places across the oceans. They really are an incredible technology. Technology allows humans to explore, create, grow, and accomplish things in new ways; technology takes us to the next level. Take advantage of whatever is at your disposal and go for it. Deep inside there's only so much you can lose.

8. The sky is not your limit, but your guide: There is always an answer, you just have to look carefully. Do you ever wonder how indigenous people used to sail across the ocean without a GPS? Because I do. They carefully observed the cues in the sky, the changes in the wind, and the motion of the waves. The world is constantly feeding us with valuable information, and we need to learn how to understand it. You are never alone.

9. You can dance and you can jibe: Change your course, it's necessary. You will have to jibe, know that from the beginning. And if the jibe goes wrong, you will have to jibe again. Sometimes we have a set course, but unexpected things happen and that course will have to change. Stay aware of the conditions around you, and adjust as necessary.

10. Develop a habit of heart: Many things at sea were really tough. Waking up in the middle of the night after getting approximately 10 minutes of sleep. Rocking around in a bunk where your feet didn't fit. Staring at the darkness of the night for two hours when all you wanted to do was sleep. Drinking the most hideous coffee just like everybody else. Cleaning the back of the oven with a headlamp. Going down to the machine room in the midst of an unimaginable heat. We did all these things because we were operating as a unit; we replaced a habit of mind with a habit of heart.

These are some of the memories and lessons I recall from my voyage. I dearly miss everybody who shared this trip with me (if you're reading this, hello!). I will always cherish all the ice creams we ate, the stand-up meetings we had, the Tongan beers we drank, and the sunsets and sunrises only we were able to witness. In any case, the ocean is pretty cool, and it has a lot to offer if only we are willing to explore blue waters.

Some books that suit the ocean vibe perfectly (the ones I read, at least):

"Kafka on the Shore" by Haruki Murakami

"Longitude" by Dava Sobel

Cheers!