Why I work and liveaboard a 30ft yacht

After working in the bleeding edge tech industry for over 30 years, I realised one day that I’d had enough. Enough of commuting 4 hours a day and enough of working on projects that did not align with my beliefs and vision.

I loved the technology and the way it was changing the world but somehow I had lost my way and become bogged down with business as usual. The spark had gone out and and I was living to work.  My life was totally out of balance and I was not happy.

Learning to fix things

I had an “need” to fix the world and so I retrained (part time) to  “help” people and adopted a greener lifestyle . I became a weekend alternative therapist and my man and I went to live on a beautiful smallholding to grow our own food and build a solar barn. I’m a qualified Hypnotherapist, NLP Practitioner, Reiki practitioner, Past Life Regression Therapist… (can’t remember them all), I’ve studied Naturopathic Nutrition, Herbal Medicine, Shamanism, Witchcraft, Psychology, Mindfulness, Tarot – oh you name it I’ve probably at least had a good look at it. I searched and searched to find a way to bring my life back into balance, to be a good person and to walk lightly on the Earth (while still keeping one foot firmly hooked on the corporate ladder).

Life at Weir Cottage was beautiful, magical and totally exhausting. In August 2011 The Tower from the Tarot tapped on my shoulder and my “dream” life dramatically tipped into the bin leaving me alone and homeless. The sustainable life I’d dreamed up was not sustainable at all. It was a bloody mess and it was time to use my tools to fix myself.

Going it alone

In April 2012  I set up as a full time therapist from a pretty cottage on the banks of a river and was moderately successful. My clients were getting better and were sending lots of referrals.Though I was very grateful, I became disillusioned. My heart was not in it and I’m ashamed to say I was bored. I had to admit that helping people from a one to one therapeutic perspective was not my vocation. What I was becoming more and more excited about was helping the excellent therapists I’d met to get to grips with “business” – a familiar place where I had lived and breathed very successfully for 30 years. I had years of experience in developing and executing business and marketing plans for start-ups in niche markets. I had mentored and coached people to reach for the stars and achieve their best and was intimately familiar with digital technology. I found my business niche as a Business Consultant and Coach and the scales of my life started to tip back into balance. But the pan full of work was still holding the most weight and I had to quickly get a life.

My ideal was to work three days a week in a job that I loved and spend the other four living my very full life. The question was – how do I balance the books financially when I didn’t want my fees to be beyond the reach of those who make a difference to society?

Second Honeymoon
The answer came in the shape of the anti-fracking movement in the summer of 2013. My husband and I had recently reconciled and went to Balcombe with our two man tent to offer support (an obvious choice for us for a second honeymoon). We intended to stay for a weekend but I ended up staying for five weeks and he stayed for almost three months.

Living on the side of a road in a tiny pop-up tent with a whole bunch of people I had never met was a life changing experience. After walking in front of trucks and demonstrating at the gates by day, we’d sit around camp fires at night and talk to people who had already embraced alternative lifestyles and tiny house living. They lived in converted horseboxes, canal boats, yurts in the forest, sheds in fields and roaming caravans – one lived in his car. These people were creative, intelligent, caring and inspiring and were consciously treading lightly on our world.  They had found a way to have beautiful full lives with such tiny overheads that they could take the summer off to support a worthy cause. They were being the change they wanted to see in the world and that’s exactly what we wanted to do.

With freedom comes responsibility

The seed was sown and after a long search for a sail boat, we bought Tamaha in October 2013. Our intention is to restore her to her former glory (currently well under way). Fit her with solar and wind power to get as off grid as possible and then learn to sail (yes I know but one thing at a time). Until we are ready to sail off to explore the oceans first around Britain and then Europe we are working at getting our business online to ensure we have an income source. An idea for an income generating community  is hatching for those who’d also like to work afloat so watch this space if this lifestyle appeals to you.

If you have stayed with me this far I thank you, you have endurance. This blog is about making connections with people like you. It’s about the journey and the deviations we may take along the way to a life of true freedom. It’s about applying the technology I love in a way that makes sense to me. It’s about working to live and living to love. It’s about building a life of being solely responsible for ourselves and the legacy we leave for our children, grandchildren and this beautiful blue planet. Any advice, good ideas, help and supportive comments are very, very welcome.

With peace and blessings,

Kae