👉No One Can Walk on Water… Except Maybe the Birds
Reflections on 4 months at sea
Click on the title to read more
6/15/20263 min read
One question people always ask when they find out we’ve spent the last four months living aboard our sailboat Novera is:
“Do you argue in such a small space?”
I always say no.
People usually look at me suspiciously, as if to say “really”.
But honestly, I think the reason is simple: there is nowhere to stomp off to in a huff, and there is always something that needs doing. Sailing is definitely teamwork.
Before this adventure, we’d never spent 24 hours a day, seven days a week together for months on end without work, meetings, errands, or life generally getting in the way. It would seem, putting two people on a floating home and traveling off across the sea is a great way for them to find out what they are really like.
In the early days, when situations demanded quick action, I didn’t always do the right thing. Tim wouldn’t shout, but he would definitely raise his voice to convey urgency.
“I don’t understand!” I’d shout back.
And there we were: one experienced skipper and one crew member whose main qualifications were enjoying a G&T and occasionally pulling on a rope on flotilla holidays.
Poor Tim.
I had a lot to learn. Not just about sailing, anchoring, or tying a bowline knot, but about working together under pressure.
One of the best changes we made was using earbuds when docking or dropping the anchor. Suddenly we could talk in normal voices instead of bellowing over the wind and engine noise.
It sounds so simple, but it transformed everything.
I didn’t feel panicked, Tim always knew what I was doing, and I could help him line the boat up in our berth. Although I am still getting to grips with what five metres actually looks like, so my distance updates tend to go something like:
“Five metres… four metres… two metres… VERY CLOSE NOW!”
Thankfully, he has learned to translate.
The truth is, no one can walk on water.
None of us gets everything right. We all have moments when we’re tired, frustrated, hungry, or wondering why we’ve voluntarily chosen a lifestyle where the floor moves unexpectedly beneath your feet.
What we have changed is how we deal with tense moments . We’ve learned not to bite when one of us is letting off steam. Instead, we smile, sometimes laugh—often at ourselves—hug and then talk things through.
I’m not sure why we never did that so well on land. Maybe there were too many distractions. Maybe it was too easy to walk away and overthink things.
Out here, life is simpler somehow. We plan our route, provision supplies, make sure we have fuel and water and off we go!
However Living on something that is constantly moving has resulted in more bruises than I’ve had at any other point in my life—even more than during my spectacularly clumsy childhood years.
Somehow, though, there’s no time to whimper or limp around dramatically, so I must have become tougher. Well a little I do still whimper!
One unexpected bonus has been my shoulder. After such a long recovery and multiple surgeries, I arrived feeling cautious and protective of it. Four months later, I hardly think about it. Pulling in the genoa sheets isn’t something you can do half-heartedly, and somewhere between all the bruises and rope pulling I’ve started building muscles.
🤣 I am long way from Popeye, admittedly, but I am getting stronger - I can pull up the lazy lines which always surprises Tim as a few months ago I would not have even tried!
The ocean has a way of putting things into perspective. I’m learning to stay in the moment, worrying less about what people think. Although I am not quite ready to shower and swim naked while at anchor in a bay with other boats just yet! It still amuses me how many are and at all ages!
Having Starlink has been amazing. Despite being away I have felt at home through WhatsApp and video calls. However, if I’m honest, I still occasionally catch myself doomscrolling and checking my sailingnovera feed a little too often! I love seeing who has liked our posts. And get giddy if friends comment or email. I am not ready to be off grid totally anytime soon! But I do love the moments sailing where we are just quiet.
Some habits are harder to break than others.
So, do we argue?
Not really.
We shout sometimes. We hug. We laugh. We get frustrated. We work things out. Then we carry on.
After all, no one can walk on water. (Except maybe the birds.)
We’re heading home this week, feeling incredibly lucky to have had this magical experience. But this isn’t the end of the adventure.
It’s simply the end of chapter one!
Nautical Miles travelled - 785
Average speed underway - 5 knots
Areas travelled through - Gulf of Leon / Languedoc Region, Roussillon Coast, Costa Brava, Balearics
Back to France and off to Corsica and Sardinia next!
Follow us
© 2025. All rights reserved.