less is more

i made a new friend today. there’s this wonderful, little sailboat at the docks i’ve been admiring everyday as i walk down there to stare out into the watery world. she’s maybe 20-25 feet long, with sweet old fashioned lines, a simple, straight forward rig and a cabin that could be big enough for one bunk and perhaps a small galley and no more. her name is “madcap” and it’s looked like there’s been someone living aboard her. at night i see the the light on in the tiny cabin. i’ve felt a strange longing to meet the person who would own/live on this beautifully simple boat.

today i stopped as i passed madcap and had a nice conversation with skip, the owner! great little conversation. we talked much about sailing in maine, which he has done quite a bit of. someday we’ll sit together and pour over charts to hear tales of the seas and harbors of that area, which skip loves. also we discussed a lot about how nice it is to live life simply. he said he’s got a pendant from his family that he’s going to fly from the boat as he sails her. it says, “less is more.” amen to that!

the ironic thing is... he is a yacht broker who sells a brand of sailboats called island packet boats... i took a look at one docked a few boats away from his. he even let me board it to take a look around the very roomy cabin. huge! luxurious. 650+k of luxury... i said that owning that boat didn’t seem like it’d be much like simplifying. he smiled and said, “it’d really simplify your bank account.” too true. as i walked away i told him i’d rather own madcap than the island packet. he said he would too.