Sometimes it takes an extended cruise on a small boat to really get a handle on what’s really crucial in life and what’s actually a luxury.
Brian Chabassol learned that a while ago, after he and his wife and two teenage daughters spent some serious time on his sailboat, the Cubee.
This week’s Shipping News boat of the week, the Cubee is a 30-foot Alberg, built in 1967 at the Whitby Boatworks in Whitby, Ontario.
“It’s a very seaworthy offshore boat that the past owner sailed to Hawaii and back,” the Royal Canadian Airforce helicopter pilot said. “We’re seriously considering taking off in her for a year or two.”
The family won’t find the rigors of living in such close quarters entirely surprising, as they have already spent considerable time onboard.
“You soon realize that most of what people take for granted is really a luxury,” he said, “like hot, running water. A bathtub is a luxury, but most people don’t even think about it.”
Similarly, he said, things like a new blouse coming onboard during a trip usually means something else has to go.
Despite the cramped quarters, Chabassol said it has its advantages.
“I find it hard to sleep on land,” he said. “It’s the motion. There’s something to it.”
