What it means to live on a sailing ship

Ship: Johnny
Date: 18.02.2025
Position: North Atlantic
Nautical Position: 26°10.5´N 079°51.4´W
Total Etmal: 8506 nm
Etmal: 33 nm

Six months on a sailing ship, crossing the wild, big ocean. It feels like a life in constant motion, with the endless ocean as my only companion. At first, it might seem like running away from the land, family and home, but the more I think about it, the more I realize that there’s something deeper about living on a ship.

The sea is always changing, even when it looks calm. The waves move, the wind blows in different directions and the ship is rolling around. Life on board is changing as well – every day and every minute. Every day is different.

Every wave, every gust of wind brings something new and not everything is good before we make it good. In a way, it feels like I’m constantly becoming something new. This movement reminds me that nothing stays the same – not the sea, not the sky and not us.

There’s a kind of freedom in this. Without the routine of land, I’m free. The only thing that matters is this moment and not two minutes ago or the next two minutes – only the present moment matters.

Living in constant motion also reflects my life. Just like the ship sails forward without knowing exactly where it will land, I move through life without knowing what’s next. But instead of fighting against the unknown, I learn to flow with it. It’s not about reaching a final destination; it’s about the journey itself.

Maybe the lesson of life on a sailing ship is that you live now and you cannot change what was; you can only change what comes next. It’s a way of embracing change, going with the flow and finding freedom in the movement.

Life is not about holding on to what we know; it’s about being open to what comes next, just like the waves that carry the ship over the sea.