Landlubber to Sailor: Live-Aboard Lessons From A Digital Nomad
A real-life story of a novice turned fully-fledged mariner. Like many sailors, Pippa had not planned on making a boat her home.
David and Pippa began their liveaboard adventure with no intention of ever moving the boat away from the marina. Five years later, they have caught the sailing bug, trading home comforts for a free and wild Spartan lifestyle filled with incredible seafaring adventures while saving serious cash towards property investment. Pippa is a seasoned mariner, planning trips further afield around Europe on a bigger boat.
The Hook: Savings On Rental Costs
Pippa was not interested in living on a boat—full stop. But her partner David convinced her that if they lived aboard a houseboat, they could make some serious cash savings on Bristol’s rising rents and afford to live in the vibrant city center among the youthful hustle and bustle that Bristol offers. As long as Pippa could bring her shoe collection and cat Opie on board, she agreed to window shop for boats.
Pippa and David began their boat-buying search by looking at traditional wood-clad gentleman cruisers. However, after viewing a houseboat and going through the numbers, it became clear that while in the formative stages of their careers, the princely sum associated with large cruisers was out of their budget.
When a sailboat was advertised for sale at a fraction of the cost, £7,500-£8,000 to be specific, David and Pippa decided to visit her in Neyland Marina, Pembrokeshire, despite having no sailing experience. "Our experience of boats stretched as far as taking a ferry trip," Pippa says earnestly. As soon as they stepped aboard Sudana, they fell in love with her. "She had a real personality. I had heard people personifying boats until I got a boat myself; I didn't believe it was true," says Pippa. "It's similar to riding a horse. Sometimes, you connect, and you can sense what it needs. Sudana is temperamental and stroppy at times. Some days, she will say no, it's too hard. I'm not going out today, but she's resilient."
Above: Pippa and David next to their sailing yacht, Sudana. Image via Pippa Shaw.
Meet ‘Sudana’ : A Black Masted Thames Mirage
Above: Sudana is easy to recognise at port with her towering black carbon mast. Image via Pippa Shaw.
The 28-foot sailboat Sudana was an attractive price for two reasons, firstly the boat was built by Thames Mirage, a boutique boat brand. Secondly, the boat was built in 1986. These factors drove down the market asking price.
Sold To The Lady At The Back
After falling in love with Sudana, they decided to take out a loan to finance the boat and made an offer to buy her and after some negotiating, they ended up paying £7,250. There was only one issue: sailing her home.
Luckily, the kind-spirited boat seller offered to give the couple a crash course in sailing and sail her halfway back. However, after purchasing Sudana, they discovered there was a two-year waitlist for Bristol Marina. Alas, Pippa and David were forced to relocate the boat to Cardiff temporarily. They left the former owner halfway through the trip, sailing alone into port and berthing a boat among treacherous waves, which was a baptism of fire. As quickly as the sails went up, they came back down and were totally reliant on the motor. Their inexperience led to a series of mishaps and panic-inducing close calls. "As we were coming out of Swansea, I honestly thought we might die. Somebody told us to point the nose of the boat into big waves, but we crashed against them because we were far too close to shore. I was driving into the waves when I got to close the beach. I didn't know you can't turn and take the waves on your side." says Pippa. They finally reached the harbor, they tied several figure-of-eight knots to tether the boat to the pontoon, having not yet learned how to lock off a mooring line, leaving an unsightly but secure pile.
Cardiff Bay: A Beginners Learning Ground Progress Makes Perfect
Somewhat serendipitously, Cardiff Marina was the perfect training ground for two sailing novices to master the art of sailing. “Cardiff Bay is like a big pond where you can practice sailing your boat behind a lock in a huge bay without worrying about tides. It is very sheltered, just what we needed,” says Pippa.
Fortunately, Sudana’s layout features a v-berth at the front and a quarter berth at the back, which Pippa and David use primarily for storage. One of her standout characteristics is how ‘beamy’ she is, measuring 10 ft wide. “From the outside, she looks mini, but once you step inside you get a better sense of her internal volume. Sudana is The Mary Poppins bag of boats,” says Pippa.
According to Pippa, one of the major benefits of owning a 28-foot boat is that most marinas will welcome them, even if they are busy, because they can fit anywhere. Also, if you get caught in inclement weather, you can take refuge in much smaller places to shelter.
Sudana features a towering black mast, a defining characteristic that makes her stand out in marinas and easy to identify at a distance. A bilge keel sailboat, Sudana is capable of standing upright on sand at low tide, which has proven helpful on multiple occasions.
Meet Opie The Cat: A Skipper On Standby
The third liveaboard passenger and much-valued crew member is Opie, Pippa, and David’s prized rescue cat. They installed a couple of cat flaps on Sudana to enable him to roam freely. He enjoys exploring local waterways and is curious to discover local ground, but he never ventures far from the boat.
When at sea, they pop a life jacket on him and ensure that he always remains safe and dry. The engine is sleep-inducing, and Obie often curls up at the beginning of a trip. “Unfortunately, he is often sick the first hour of every passage.” says Pippa, “But on the whole, he travels very well,”.
Above: Opie the skipper. Image via Pippa Shaw.
Maintenance and Refurbishment
Due to Sudana’s advanced age, she underwent a major refit last year. Pippa and David removed all the keels, reinforced the stringers and fiberglass throughout, replaced the bulkheads, stripped off the antifoul, and reattached and reinforced the stiffening matrix under the floor. The resourceful pair managed to complete the work themselves, with a little help from their friends. They also invested in a new oven and extended a shelf around the V-berth to fit mugs.
They have managed to pay off their loan and, generally speaking, have very few outgoings other than marina fees, fuel, and cat food. Before living on a boat, Pippa and David had no boat maintenance skills. However, they learned through YouTube tutorial videos, books, and fellow sailors' advice and expertise.
The Costs Of Living On Boat
Pippa and David have kept Sudana twice as long as they expected, and she has proven an excellent investment. Pippa and David only pay £450 monthly into their boat fund each, covering everything from repayments to mooring fees to gas, electric, and general maintenance fees. They also keep a float of at least £1000 for emergencies. “Investing in Sudana has allowed us to put aside savings for a mortgage, and we plan to buy an investment property over the next couple of years. Monthly expenses associated with living on a boat are often significantly lower than living on land.
Find out more about the costs associated with living on a boat by reading Living On A Boat Full Time: How Much Will It Cost You?
Adventures In The UK and France
Pippa and David wanted to explore their Stomping Grounds before moving further ashore. The map below marks Pippa and David’s cruising circles around the UK, the Channel Islands, and Regnéville-Sur-Mer in Northern France. This Summer, they plan to stretch their sea legs around the Caledonian Canals through the Scottish Highlands before embarking on a longer cruising trip in Southern France in the next couple of years.
Pippa’s favorite anchorage thus far is The Isles of Scilly, an archipelago off the Cornish coast in southwest England with 200 islands and rocks, of which five are inhabited. The wild islands are covered in flowered heathland fringed by sandy beaches.
"The islands are very wild and beautifully rugged. It feels like a slice of untouched magic. Sudana has quite a small draft to access the bay’s nooks and crannies. The sea is wild here, and the islands are known for its many shipwrecks. We were chased by a pod of dolphins which was my favorite highlight." says Pippa.
Above: The Scilly Isles. Barbecuing on an untouched beach. Image via Pippa Shaw.
Above: Beach On St. Martin's Island, Isles of Scilly. Image via Pond5.
Above: This map illustrates where David and Pippa have been cruising. Image via Pippa Shaw.
Sudana Runs Away
Once David and Pippa found their sea legs, they jaunted through Normandy, staying at a friend's chateau near Regnéville-sur-Mer, Northwestern France. One morning, they bumped into a local who spoke very little English and told her their boat had 'run away.' They immediately ran to the marina where Sudana was berthed, but she was nowhere to be seen. She had broken out of her mooring ball.
"Since she has a black carbon mast, we can identify her a mile away," says Pippa. It had been stormy weather, and it turned out that Sudana had drifted miles upriver. Fortunately, the tide was coming in, not out. Incredibly, Sudana didn't have as much damage as a scratch, and she hadn't damaged anybody else's boat. She drifted politely and turned up in a farmer's field with the rope caught around the keels from where she had been twisting in the ferocious wind and found "like a duck in the mud."
The farmer discovered her, kindly took the anchor, and launched it onto his field to prevent her from drifting further. They were in very rural France, and there was no haul-out service, so they took matters into their own hands and waited overnight for high tide and left at first light. They eventually managed to unearth her from the mud and stayed overnight on the boat, steeply angled towards the water, waiting for high tide. As soon as the water levels rose, Pippa jumped on the vessel's bow, attempting to use her body weight to tilt her into the water. Eventually, they managed to launch into the water.
Shop for used and new sailboats for sale.
Cruising Into The Future
“Living on a sailboat can be challenging and stressful, but it’s incredibly freeing. We have no commitments to limit us. Since we don’t have to be anywhere we can spend weeks in one spot and we're not in a rush to get anywhere. Life is a series of passages.”
You can follow more of Pippa and David’s adventures by following their instagram blog @writingandsailing.
Are you interested in living aboard a yacht? Check out the Best Liveaboard Boats. Or, if you are at the beginning of your search and want to start with the basics, read Motor Yachts: A Definitive Guide.
Best Liveaboard Sailboat Brands
- Catalina Yachts (the Cataline 30 is the most popular)
- Beneteau Boats
- Pearson Sailboats
- Islander 36 / I36 Boat Models
- Leopard
- Manta
- Fountaine Pajot
- Nautitech
- Lagoon
- Winga Queen (Motorsailers)
- Peterson Sailboats
- Gulfstar Boats
- Island Packet
- Cheoy Lee Offshore
Best Liveaboard Popular Catamarans
The hull design of the vessel plays a big part in the interior layout. Catamarans are a popular liveaboard choice because it has two hulls and an adjoining deck that provides much more space than a monohull of the same length. Some popular liveaboard catamaran brands include:
Lagoon
Leopard
Fountaine Pajot
Sunreef
Outremer
Are you interested in owning a sailboat? Read our guide Five Reasons You Should Own A Sailboat.
Do you enjoy reading liveaboard stories? You might enjoy:
Buying A Liveaboard Sailing Yacht: A Rollercoaster Journey
Would you like to know more technical language associated with sailboats? Read our guide Sailing 101 Sailboat Types Rigs and Definitions.
Just for fun, read our article Houseboats Gone Wild and Houseboats Five Rare A LIst Finds on our sister site YachtWorld.
