Who lives aboard?

I recall years ago when Justin and I decided we wanted to live on a boat, thinking of what kinds of people lived on boats.

What we imagined and what was reality were entirely different truths.

In our imaginations, divorced, rich, retired men would be our new neighbors, with little room for any sort of conversation that we'd really connect with or relate to. We thought there was little chance we'd actually make any friends while living aboard.

Less than two seconds after stepping into the marina, I realized how wrong we were. I had joined the group Boston Liveaboards and had been e-mailing him back and forth for a week or two prior to us moving onto The Fitzcarraldo. Mike was....wow. He was just a regular guy....and he was our age! I was amazed.

Mike quickly became a good friend and it was one of the very first nights we lived at the marina that he invited us over for drinks. We quickly met Melissa, Nicola and Jim - also liveaboards...and none of them were rich old men! We were absolutely amazed, and it quickly came to be that the majority of the people we met were in their 30s and if they weren't, they all acted like they were in their 20s. Marina living brings out the youth in people. This is a group of people who all wanted to, and are, "living the dream". No matter the background, everyone can relate to accomplishing a huge goal and let's face it, we all have had problems with the head at some point and when there is nothing else to talk about, we can talk about toilet troubles.

In the years we have been here, we have learned quickly that age is irrelevant, and that living aboard is about sharing common interests, living as a community and helping anyone who may be in need. We also expect that we will be helped with no questions asked. It is about trust, love and respect...and a LOT of fun.

With that being said, here are some pictures of us having a good time at Constitution Marina, the place we call home.

Gollum

You may not be aware, but we own a cat. Many people in our marina who have been there for three years don't know this.

Gollum came to us about 4 1/2 years ago as a strange, nearly hairless beast living under my car in Michigan. I love animals, so I instantly began feeding her, giving her water, and slowly gaining her trust. The last one took awhile, and even when I felt I could trust her, she still scared the crap out of me with the noises that came out of her. She sounds similar to Chewbaka or Gollum from the Lord of the Rings movies.

Gollum decided on Monday night to wander out of the boat - a very rare occurrence. Because she is often in hiding and sleeps her days away, we didn't realize. It wasn't until the next day when I realized she hadn't touched her food that I knew something was wrong. I looked all over the boat, but she was nowhere to be found.

I ventured further and started looking in the water, expecting to find a fuzzball floating in the water. There were a couple other people who noticed me looking and after explaining that yes, we have a cat, they started looking too.

I was just about to give up when suddenly I caught site of her, next to a dinghy stored on the dock less than 20 feet from our boat.

I'm sure she had a COLD night, but she seemed happy to be back home and I'm sure she'll never venture out again.

Pirates of Halifax invade Boston!

Or something similar to that anyhow. Pirate themed tour ship Liana's Ransom usually tours Halifax, Nova Scotia. She is on her way south to warmer climates to give tours over the winter, and she has decided to stop here in Boston for a few days. We met a couple of the crew members and they were very nice. Must be quite an adventure, sailing south a pirate ship for the winter!!