Blog
Stories from life aboard Mearr, lessons learned the hard way, and the occasional unexpected swim.
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The Dream Didn’t Sink With the Boat
“What’s that heated metal smell?” I was aboard Mearr, working remotely with a client, when it hit me. It was that sharp electrical smell where you immediately know something isn’t…
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Holy Shit, This Is My Life Now
Act Ⅵ: Owning Who I Am The first morning in Brunswick felt surreal. I had actually left. There was no turning back. At the same time, it felt a little…
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Five Welcoming Dolphins & One Mutinous Sail
“Hi, buddies! There you are! You’re coming to wish me luck? That’s so nice of you.”
Yes, I always talk to dolphins. There were five of them dancing beneath Mearr’s bow, surfacing only a few feet from where I stood.
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Setzer the Boat Cat: The Quiet Rise of a Legend
A water-rescue kitten, two hurricanes, and the beginning of life aboard S/V Mearr Two days before Hurricane Helene arrived, I went out for supplies. And by supplies, I mean snacks….
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My Entire Life Fit in a Ruby-Red Hatchback
Act Ⅴ: Departure I woke up on someone else’s sailboat. Not my boat. Not my future home. One of the sailors from the club offered me his race boat for…
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When the Dream Started Asking for More
Act Ⅳ: Course Corrections I was lying on the floor in the middle of my house, listening to the sound people always describe as a freight train. It does sound…
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How I Found Momentum When I Couldn’t See My Future
Act Ⅲ: Direction I stopped walking. I still don’t know why. How long I stood there did I stand there? Time simply disappeared one warm Michigan spring afternoon in May….
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The Threshold Between Fear and Faith
“How fitting…”
That was the first thought that crossed my mind as I climbed the steps up my companionway and into the sailboat cockpit on the morning I left Brunswick.
It was a chilly morning. A light fog hung over the marina. Not enough to be dangerous, just enough to…
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When “Next Year” Stopped Feeling Guaranteed
One Week Before Leaving for the Florida Keys My boat looked like a marine supply store had exploded inside it. Tools covered every available surface. Parts were scattered throughout the…
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I Didn’t Realize How Much of Myself I’d Lost
Act Ⅱ: Adventure 0.5 The sailboat dream disappeared so completely that I never thought about it. Not because I had rejected it, but because I had interred it. Life moved…
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The Day I Discovered People Live on Sailboats
Act I: Entombed Of course not… What was I thinking? That was never going to be my life. Looking back, I can pinpoint the exact afternoon I made that decision….
I look forward to following your blog, Louis; we both hope that we’ll run into you somewhere in our travels next winter.