In July, 2018, Brooke and Braden Palmer “sold everything,” rented out their house in Newport Beach, California, drove across the country and moved on to the 2008 Nordhavn 55 they had just bought in Southport, North California. With them: their daughter, Rooney, now 6; their son Penn, now 4, and two dogs, Fraiser and Captain.
The Palmers named the boat Mermaid Monster, and decided to make a life at sea. Since then, they’ve cruised more than 2,000 nm up and down the East Coast and the Bahamas. Ultimately, they want to circumnavigate, but they’ll start with crossing the Atlantic in May, via Bermuda and the Azores. She’s a professional photographer with credits in the National Geographic; she also has a 100-ton captain’s license. He’s an active business owner.
But, as most of us know, living aboard full time is not easy, not even for the best of relationships. Boats, even a 55-footer, are confined; there’s no private space for a time out; things happen. The Palmers have a blog: www.aboardmermaidmonster.com, and in their latest Brooke writes about “Surviving Marriage on the Water.”
“While I knew that this adventure was not going to be an easy task, I did not expect the level of unorganized stress to be this high,” she writes. Occasionally life at sea is like the movies, where husband and wife watch the sun go down, with soft music in the background and a drink in hand. But most of the time, she writes, “It is very hard work. Not claustrophobic, but offers complete sense of freedom.”
Life on board becomes simple. “Our life depends on peaceful cohabitation…We must make decisions on charting, repairs, meal plans, homeschool, exercise and entertainment.”
And the big question remains. “Our biggest hurdle right now is figuring out what our overall purpose for this journey is. Why are we doing this as a family? What are we hoping to accomplish? And the biggest stressor of all is will we financially be able to maintain this lifestyle?”
The Palmers will continue on this path together, but she writes that when friends ask how their marriage survives “and what our purpose is in choosing this alternative lifestyle, you may now see why delivering a sensible answer is extremely challenging.” Read more:
https://www.aboardmermaidmonster.com/blog
