Hi All!
Aside from a certain level of “ewww”
and “ick”
that ‘bucket pooping’ conjures up, the article appeared,( to us anyway
), to be that one doesn’t need fancy or complicated to have real adventures on an affordable simple basis. The approach was to simplify the logistics to get to the locations they wanted to explore…. (Mind you our MacGregors, for the most part, already incorporate a portolet which is sort of a fancy bucket…..
)
Now we’d never ever advocate or defend the improper abandonment of boats or anything anywhere. One should just as a basic general rule cleanup after oneself no matter where you are. No one else should have to clean up your mess. I think we can all agree on that point!
It’s a great example, in some ways, of re-looking at a challenge in a creative way for the author. The author had a desire to see and experience certain unique exotic places and a shoe string budget with limited timeframes. The “buy-fix-adapt-use-sell” approach allowed for the author to cut out a lot of complicated logistics to target the objectives desired without a lot of baggage coming into and out of the adventure in a responsible way….. which is kinda interesting
. Their process relied on creative adaptation, willingness to temporarily forego some convenience, sweat equity, an open mind, making do/doing without, embracing the “is situation” and enjoying their experience along the way. The mind set of looking at the challenges as opportunities to succeed at accomplishing something unique. Their “low baggage approach” is interesting given they aren’t lugging around a lot of stuff into or out of a situation. Nor are they forever encumbered by “stuff” that they no longer needed. They were able to let go of the “stuff” after they had accomplished their goal when it was appropriate. There is a value to that philosophy all unto itself… at least for me.
The accumulation of stuff along a life’s adventures can often slowly change a time of joy into a burden as time goes by. It’s the space and time and expense of keeping things, (sometimes good things but things that will never probably be needed again), that can suck the joy out of the memories of accomplishment. It something I can relate to and I think others can as well. It’s that sense of realistic practicality that can keep us from being burdened by the accumulation of clutter or things that are no longer needed that can allow for the freedom to embrace the next adventure.
It’s also the simplicity that allows for freedom of operation. To adapt only to focus on the lasting objective. Defining that objective, in this case the particular adventure and its memories, clearly at the beginning helps keep focus. The attitude of enduring some limited inconveniences for a limited period of time to keep things lighthearted and simple helps make the experience more enjoyable and memorable. Temporary inconveniences vs long term benefits.
There have been many times I’ve seen really fancy homes, cars, boats, planes, properties, equipment, possessions sit idle and gradually decay because the owners were too encumbered by them to have the time, resources, energy to actually enjoy them. The sheer volume often overwhelms any capability to access or utilize them. The concept and pragmatic attitude of planning for a specific project objective and having as part of that plan the disposal of what is no longer needed is a beneficial and constructive mindset. Especially when it comes to limited duration projects or adventures.
In my career with multiple projects of often very different technologies there are often unique tools or facilities that are needed. But often one doesn’t need those tools or facilities … So why buy new when good used serviceable will do? Why buy when rent will do? Why rent when buy-use-sell/dispose will do? Why is something needed at all? How does a “thing” actually affect a project is what one has to constantly keep in mind to have a successful and profitable objective met. Yes, sometimes what one needs to do is roll up one’s sleeves and clean something up, repair something, adapt something, forego personal convenience for a time to achieve something truely remarkable and of lasting benefit. There are also times when it comes to the point where the product that allowed one to meet one’s objectives is best let go of as its no longer needed. The author did a great job of conveying that perspective and philosophy.
When my Admiral and I started down the path that led us to our MacGregor we wanted to have the experience of possibly traveling the ICW on our own incrementally… a section at a time… maybe skip certain sections… maybe revisit sections… maybe travel to entirely different regions. What we have are limited resources of budget and time and space. While part of me really wanted to build our own custom design vessel which would have allowed me to utilize a lifetime of skills and abilities (and my ego) the practicality of the Mac26X in meeting our objectives was more than obvious. No it didn’t have everything we’d wanted but it did have what we basically needed and in a nice package. What it may lack we could adapt to or modify or fix as we went. The sheer amount of time saved that allowed us to get started on our ICW travels was literally years! The actual budget impact was significantly less as well. The accomplished memories are priceless and the freedom to have future ones is invaluable.
Now we’re not immune to keeping more stuff than actually needed and our garages and basements bear testimony to that!
BUT we’re actually getting rid of stuff! The letting go of stuff no longer needed feels great. The selling, giving away, junking of what is no longer useful to us is in many ways enlightening in more ways than I can say here… suffice to say it’s worth the loss
not having to “lug it around” anymore. So I can sorta relate to the author’s approach to their ‘dirt bag cruising’ albeit maybe not to the extreme they took
but the refresher lesson is there!
Best Regards,
Over Easy
