What I wish I had been able to articulate before welcoming people onboard (not that previous guests did anything wrong) and could benefit future guests

ELEMENTS 🌊

Being closer to the elements may seem a romantic escape from one’s urban lifestyle, feeling the sun on one’s skin, the wind in one’s hair and the waves under one’s feet. But all these elements you might enjoy one second and find hostile the next. On the boat you won’t be able to evade them, merely shelter as best as you can, but it may still feel uncomfortable at times. It may be too hot or too rocky, or both!

Indeed, the boat is never still. It moves, constantly. Whether sailing or at anchor. It might be a gentle nudge rocking you to sleep or aggressive pushes waking you up and requiring you to hold on to something when moving around. It might not bother you or could make you feel drowsy to utterly sick. To fight motion sickness (which is treated by the body like poisoning), sleeping is a good solution, and you might want to watch out for aggravating factors known as the three Fs in French (faim, froid, fatigue), or in plain English hunger, cold, tiredness. We also have buckets on board should you need one. 🤢

UNCERTAINTY 🧭

Besides, no matter how much we plan and prepare the boat and ourselves, many factors fall outside our control. Number one example: the weather. No offense to meteorologists, but reality often differs from forecast, and we need to adapt according to what the weather gods serve us. This may challenge initial plans and mean moving even though we were enjoying a particular anchorage, change destination if under way, and sail for way longer than expected or in rougher conditions, or simply being cooped up inside trying not to step on anyone’s feet and get on anyone’s nerves.

SPACE 🌌

Obelix, despite its name suggesting ample volumes, remains a confined space. And true, the four of us have lived quite comfortably on it for years, and we’ve had up to four extra guests on weekends before, yet its promiscuity calls for a heightened awareness of self and others to negotiate space respectfully.

There are no bed or bedrooms but berths and cabins. And apart from the aft cabin where one can stand and change reasonably without hitting a knee or an elbow, the other berths are just big enough to sleep in. They are not your usual rectangle shape of standard dimensions either and might require some creativity to find a comfortable position for the night or a cat nap.

Besides there is a golden rule on a boat: “A place for everything and everything in its place”. We’ll try to arrange some space just for you so you can store your things, it would be great in return to keep scattering them to a minimum, so that nothing gets lost.

HELPING 🙏

Too many cooks in the kitchen. This is all the truer in a 0.6 sqm galley where trying to assist might not always be that helpful. What I personally find taxing when it comes to feeding the crew is anticipating people’s needs and wants, and plan ahead what to cook (and when). If you really want to help, why not volunteer to take care of an entire meal for us (we’ll be happy to disclose all the ingredients and accessories we have in stock)?

DIET 🍉

Both by ecological conviction and practicality (small fridge, no freezer and anchoring in remote places for several days at times), our consumption of animal protein is probably below average. Let’s chat if the idea of not eating meat at every meal is too foreign.

HYGIENE 🧼

Depending on who you ask, “La vie de bateau, c’est la vie de château” (Life on a boat is high life) or “La vie de bateau, c’est la vie de crado”( Life on a boat is hobbo life). And we do have some hygiene conundrums.

Water being a resource we value and want to spare, we intentionally don’t have any electric tap (so that one cannot leave the water running inadvertently while brushing their teeth for example), nor instant hot water. The taps are all activated by foot pumps. When you pump the water runs, when you stop, it stops! And the closest thing to on-demand hot water is obtained through the low-tech process of boiling water on the gas stove first and storing it in our giant thermos.

As a natural consequence, there is no shower as you’re used to either, and that is not a treat we indulge in every day (instead we swim in salted water, wash in salted water and rinse with fresh water, or do a quick cat-bath with a wash cloth) . However, we still have the possibility to enjoy a shower onboard, and even a hot one every now and then. Let us show you how to set it up if you fancy one (or read it here).

MARINE LIFE 🐬

You might have seen countless videos and pictures of marine life on the blog, however, we unfortunately cannot guarantee sightings of dolphins, orcas, whales, sharks, or turtles, nor fish (be it for snorkeling purposes or protein intake), but we love having more eyes to keep a watch!

TOURISM 🏺

We may want to pretend otherwise at times, but we are not a tour operator. When you come and visit us onboard, we do know the boat inside out, the place we’re visiting, on the other hand, is likely to be new to us too. We value your input on activities and attractions of interest we can plan together.

SOBRIETY 💳

We have been travelling for more than a year and although it might look like holidays to you, to afford this lifestyle, we live frugally. We don’t drink, eat out or spend on fun activities every day, nor do we spend many nights in marinas. So be mindful that your budget (and expectations) when visiting us for a few days might outpace ours.

And you, fellow boat owners or boat guests, what are the topics you discuss before committing to a sailing trip together?