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                                                                                                Relationships on the Water: Khadija & Mel
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                                                                                                This week on the SHIPSHAPE podcast we interview Khadija & Mel Grubb. Together they liveaboard a 40ft Hunter Legend in Norfolk, VA. A story of relationships built in the backdrop of the ocean. We learn some tips to liveaboard such as: being comfortable being less comfortable, tools don’t float, if it breaks fix it quick before the wife threatens to leave, and take care of the teak! Hear some entertaining stories of how they met and what plans they have for their future cruising.

                                                                                                Transcript —–

                                                                                                T [00:00:00] Shipshape.pro The number one resource in the U.S. for marine professionals.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:00:17] Hello and welcome to the SHIPSHAPE podcast. My name is Farah and with me is my co-host T on the Shipshape podcast. If you’re using it for the first time. Is a series of podcasts where we take on amazing people and talk about their wonderful experiences, some technical experiences and personal experiences all related to the marine world. And of course, we’ll be able to shed more light on that. But without further ado, I’d like to introduce our guests. And, of course, Talha. Take it away.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:00:45] Welcome. So with us today, we have a Khadija and we have Mel and these two and doggies and these two beautiful people. You can see in some background already. They have. They’re on a sailboat right now. So they’re living on a sailboat full time. We’re going to find out how that story began, what led to this. And you know what they’ve been up to in the past lives. So welcome to the show, guys.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:01:08] Thank you for having me.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:01:09] Thank you.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:01:10] Yeah.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:01:11] As part of this journey, I mean, as you know, we tend to do lots and lots of interviews on the Shipshape podcast. And Wendell had told me about yourselves with the first thing we thought was, This is the cutest couple ever. That’s the way he introduced you guys to me. He said part of That’s it. You need to do this. We need to we need to meet because I have found the cutest couple. So please tell us a bit about yourselves. How did this amazingly adorable couple that I’ve had the opportunity to speak to off camera and off? Mel, how did you two meet?

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:01:44] We first met. She was 16 and.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:01:47] I was 17, so don’t make it.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:01:48] Weird. But she was visiting a neighbor and she had her problems and he said, I knew how to fix cars. So I went over and it was it was a fan bell to tighten it up and everything worked fine after that. And then about three or four years later, then we started dating.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:02:06] You stayed in touch over a fan belt?

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:02:08] No, not.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:02:10] This one here. Says you want to fix the fan belt. Let me. At that point, she had fallen in love with me. I didn’t know anything about it, and Wooden wouldn’t have done anything at that point. Anyway. She was under age I for.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:02:21] Mm hmm.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:02:22] But after that, you know, once. Once we really started dating, we dated for a while. Little bit of on and off stuff there. Then we really got together and we got married and know we’ve been happier.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:02:35] So that was how many years ago?

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:02:37] It’ll be 19 years in December. Wow.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:02:40] And you have new children and two beautiful dogs.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:02:44] Yeah, we have the three I don’t know about. Beautiful. They’re dogs, you know, They’re huge.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:02:49] The wife.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:02:50] Loves them. I want to use them for fish food. Nico, you know how they.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:02:54] Are so they can see this perfect look. That.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:02:57] That’s one of the things we’ll talk about as far as the boat’s concerned. The little one doesn’t shed too much, but the big one, we have hair all over the place, let me tell you.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:03:06] Hmm. Okay, so. So let’s start from the beginning. Oh, we got to tell our. Yeah, we were going to ask you would maybe there’s a dog breed. There’s like, a good dog breed. I get you the dog breeds, but don’t. That’s the echo. Come back in just a sec. Okay.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:03:20] Great. Can I interrupt? Yes. I want to give my interpretation of our how we first met.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:03:27] Oh, here we go.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:03:28] Ooh. My very best friend. I was at their house, and they. My car broke down, and they said, go over to now. Good at fixing things. And I was 17. I had a Plymouth Reliant series K, which I’m pretty sure I pushed more than I drove and I knocked on the door and he opened the door and he fixed my car and he definitely stole my hair. Oh. And then, of course, like, I went away to college. I come back from the summer, like to do. And. And there he was so amazing. I was like, 23.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:04:10] That is the sweetest.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:04:12] Yeah. So he, of course, remembers the fan, though. I don’t remember what it was, but he engineering brain remembers that.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:04:20] So it was love at first sight.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:04:21] Then for me, it was definitely him.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:04:23] Oh, that is the sweetest we lost.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:04:26] You know, you missed the love at first sight story. I don’t know.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:04:30] It was okay for me. It wasn’t love at first sight for him.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:04:33] Yeah, There was some arm twisting from her to get me into this.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:04:37] But.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:04:38] But it’s been great. I got.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:04:39] Those lines.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:04:40] Exactly like ten years later.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:04:43] Wow.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:04:43] Wow. Okay, so listen, then. So what happened in the middle over there then in those two decades? But what kept you guys busy? I want to go first.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:04:52] Right. Brazen to boys. Kept us busy. My job at me out of town a lot. Most of it for me was just. Word for word. She had the East Coast classic, which, you know, was a real good thing for her. She got to travel with that. We both know.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:05:07] What that supposes.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:05:08] So classic was her belly dance.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:05:11] Oh, yeah. Any of the Australian.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:05:14] National Ballet Dance Festival? We had competitors from France, Germany. I would travel around the world. We had it was. It was lucky.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:05:24] Yeah. Linda the came along and pretty much shut that down.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:05:27] Oh.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:05:28] Speaker Because people wouldn’t come, you know, things like that. But she’s still a professional belly dance instructor, so she has her business and I still work, I work on ships and I started working on ships when I was I joined the Navy in 1981, right out of high school. I went out and saw the world, mostly the Mediterranean and those areas.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:05:51] And you guys were married at the time and you were out at sea like six months of the year, or how did that play out?

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:05:58] No, I was pretty much getting close to my career in the Navy when we got married. So I travel and it was after I got a job as a quality assurance and we went to Hawaii and Washington and Connecticut because I was working on submarines at the time. I mean, I got a job as a project manager and pretty much stayed here because we wanted to raise the boys with me here instead of traveling. And now that they’re grown, I’m starting to travel a little bit more. But our third anniversary, I took her to Ireland and we’ve been to Jamaica and a few other places here and there. We just we got to travel about two months.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:06:37] So this is this is where I have to ask you. Right. So both of you married long time. You know, this is where I always say this in my interviews. You know, that obviously lives on a boat for those you know, he spent the last ten years on a boat. He absolutely loves it. I’ve spent the last ten years on land. So for me, if somebody asks me to get up and move on a boat, it’s a lot of processing has to take place for me to even get there mentally. My understanding is you sold your family home and bought a boat. How did that come about and how did you both agree to this decision and go down this massive journey and travel so much and not kill each other in the process?

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:07:17] Well, that killing thing almost happened a couple years ago.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:07:21] The.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:07:23] First major change out of bills.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:07:24] But mostly it kind of started about five years ago. We started watching speed yellows and and that’s a feeling.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:07:35] Yeah. Channels. And then the lifestyle sort of caught your eye.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:07:39] All the surveillance stuff and a couple other ones, too, really influenced us as far as the sailboat goes. But being in the Navy, being a sailor, I was.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:07:47] Going to ask.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:07:48] If if you look at it on a naval ship, you got a three foot by six foot rack that you sleep in. This is a whole lot better than that, you know, and I love the sailing especially, but it really got me about the sailing part was when I was out in the middle of the Atlantic and you look up and see the stars, you can see a whole lot more than you see anywhere around the land because of all the light pollution.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:08:12] And so both of you.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:08:13] You came to this idea together. I mean, obviously you lived in the ocean. You were you worked with the Navy. So it’s totally different experience for you.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:08:21] But you wouldn’t be sailing, right? None of it was sailing. Sailing. It was like none of it was powerboats.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:08:27] But you associate around.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:08:28] A couple of times. But being on the water was the thing for me.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:08:32] Oh, all right. So, Khadijah, what. What suddenly made you happen for you?

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:08:36] Oh, well, I was seven or eight years old when I started, so when my boat was such a culture shock.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:08:44] And where did you grow up?

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:08:45] Philadelphia.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:08:46] Philadelphia.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:08:47] And so to go from Philadelphia to this lovely black community, Muslim, black and amazing to where? I don’t know, you might have to admit it now, I thought that this is where they made what people.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:09:02] It’s.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:09:03] So many in my time.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:09:05] In Philadelphia.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:09:06] I’m not kidding. I would say.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:09:09] No, not in Philadelphia.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:09:10] No.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:09:11] No. We met down here. So when we moved to Newark for my my mom had remarried and he was a Navy guy. And so we were stationed in Newport. And my mom was like, okay, well, what are the kids here do for everybody? So and so she got me into the junior sailing program, and that’s how I started sailing. And I loved it. I loved it so much. I think it might have been the only place where I didn’t feel different type part.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:09:40] This is why to this day, she is the captain and I’m the first mate. I’m an engineer.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:09:48] Mm hmm. Mm. So tell us a little bit more about, like, your Navy experience. Like, what were you on? How big was the biggest boat you’ve been on?

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:09:57] The biggest boats served on was a carrier you. Says Eisenhower. And also on the CGI in 37, which is a nuclear cruiser because I’m a nuclear machinist mate. And then I was also on a destroyer from World War Two as a training exercise for about five months before I went to nuclear power school.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:10:16] And so what does a nuclear machinist do that sounds like? So I so.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:10:20] It sounds fascinating.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:10:22] So with nuclear power, you got a nuclear reactor. You got a couple of them on the ship. They produce steam that drives turbines. Yeah, right. The mechanics usually take care of everything that drives the turbines. Once the steam comes over, we like the turbines off. It makes the power for the ship. That makes the water for the ship. Anything that requires power to take care of the mechanical side.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:10:46] Wow. Wow. So it was a full time job? Yeah. They lived on the boat. Oh, yeah.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:10:51] Would you what would this long distance that you would have to take apart on the boat?

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:10:55] Oh, most of our cruises were six months long. We had a couple for about three months long. And then a lot of the Caribbean cruises. We went down there quite a bit. That was a month, month and a half, two months of.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:11:09] I mean, can I ask quite honestly, didn’t you get cabin fever? I mean, because bear in mind, it’s not like the boat, the john at the moment where it’s wide, spacious, you’re docked, you can meet people, get in and out and take a break. You’re stuck in a little hole. As you said, the bus would be tiny. It’s quite claustrophobic. So how would you end up I mean, I would be petrified of water after that. But you’re saying you fell more in love with it?

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:11:30] Well, mostly because I was in the engine room most of the time. You don’t see the water down there. You get to come up on deck and actually see the water. It’s kind of a freedom thing. And you really do fall in love with that.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:11:42] Nice. I like that story.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:11:44] Actually.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:11:45] Yeah. Yeah. Okay.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:11:46] So basically, how many years have you now been on the boat?

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:11:50] This is our first year.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:11:51] Your first year.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:11:53] So it’s a year and a half.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:11:54] So you sold your house a year and a half ago?

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:11:57] Mm hmm. Yeah. Did you kids know about this with the rest of them?

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:12:01] Yeah, we told them.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:12:02] Yeah.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:12:03] And how did they react? How did your family.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:12:06] Just un react? Yeah.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:12:07] He was surprised. I feel like.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:12:11] He was surprised.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:12:12] I don’t think he was surprised. I think he was calm.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:12:14] Yeah.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:12:15] Yeah, He’s used to our level of shenanigans, but if it’s five, he lived on the boat with us for just a month to month something. And it wasn’t for him. He’s more.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:12:27] Mm hmm. Yeah, he’s found his own house, his own boat.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:12:31] Killing her because now she’s the empty nester.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:12:34] True. But, I mean, just looking at the stats, like some of the stats are literally showing that, like, the main demographic, especially after the pandemic and stuff, is, you know, 40 year olds and stuff whose kids have flown the coop and they’re buying boats now. Yeah. So I think that is definitely on the up and up. And so again, like now you look, you’re doing it. So we’re going to ask you sort of the first time is would you would you recommend it? Is it like, you know, all thumbs up?

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:13:01] It is the most amazing, most challenging thing we’ve ever done. And it’s really nice to face new challenges as you get older because a lot of times you’re like, my life is about to retire. I’m going to do the same shit until they put me in the ground. And everyone’s experience with COVID was different. But for us, it it made us realize that the future is not promised. And if there was anything we wanted to do, don’t wait.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:13:33] Mm hmm.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:13:34] But can I just ask I mean, coming back to something you said which would hit home to a lot of people, it’s like when you hit your forties and your kids are flown out of the nest, you think, Oh, God, I’m exhausted. And, you know, this is the last thing I want to do is go down a route where it’s which is going to involve me having to physically work so hard. Because my understanding from being on a boat is that it’s quite laborious work. It’s not easy work. It’s physically demanding as well, you know, So to somebody who is completely a novice in this field, what would you be able to give them some advice in terms of. Yes, a challenge. It might be exciting, but there’s varying degrees to it as well. So don’t be jaded or do be jaded or you know, what an honest advice would you give to someone who would suddenly say, I want to do this as well? So my home get a boat? Because it’s a big decision to make.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:14:21] I would say don’t be jaded because the rewards are definitely worth the work that you have to put into it. The people you meet, all the food you eat.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:14:32] You know.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:14:33] Just the sights that you get to see. And, you know, we’ve we’ve sailed around here and in the Chesapeake Bay and seen, you know, a good little bit. Food is awesome in this area. But what we’re literally looking to do is this sail down to the Caribbean to get our legs under is really good and then go to Europe and perhaps set up for that on around the world. And those you know, I’ve been to Europe, she’s been to Europe. We’ve. Love it there. The Caribbean, both of us love it there. So going to see those sites and the sailboat where we tend to fly in before we spend a lot more time and really get that flavor that you want after work in your whole life.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:15:14] And I think just to like if you’re thinking about doing this, it’s okay to get it wrong. It’s okay to break something. It’s okay. You know, we all strive to be perfectionists and to get everything right. And that is not just lifestyle. Mm hmm. And that’s okay. It can be really freeing to allow yourself to not know things and to seek out new knowledge. And I feel like my neuroplasticity has grown just because I’ve been doing things I’ve never done before. I’m like engineering schematics. What is the ground wire? I got to figure this out on that. Right. The first I installed the belt by myself.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:15:57] And a big swamp is what keeps your boat afloat, basically. Right. So good for a skill. Yeah.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:16:04] And so I had to. I had to figure it out. And when I. When I sold our house, when I bought the boat, Melbourne was in Hawaii. So I did all those things by myself for about six months. Wow.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:16:16] Were you scared?

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:16:18] I cried every day for two weeks.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:16:20] But how did you. How did you even find this boat? Yeah.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:16:26] I have been, of course, looking on Facebook and this boat came up.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:16:32] I like to just enter your field of vision or you like I want a boat.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:16:36] You’re actively looking.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:16:37] I was actively looking.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:16:38] Over my boat.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:16:40] But at the same time, I hadn’t found my house yet. I don’t even think I put it on the market, actually.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:16:46] Okay, so you were more sure about this boat than this exit strategy? I love it. Okay. Yeah, I would definitely donate a house. Okay.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:16:54] I find. So I come to look at the boat, and at that point, the owner was going to start having show it. And I didn’t want her to show the boat to anyone else. So I gave her a $5,000 nonrefundable deposit.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:17:15] 5000 a year is like, don’t. Don’t show this to anyone.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:17:19] Yeah. Like, is this your money? Mm hmm. And a and a promissory note that we would help with the sale in 30 days.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:17:28] Mm hmm.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:17:28] Nice.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:17:29] And. And I was able to sell our house quickly and honor those agreements.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:17:36] Nice. Wow. And where did you guys get this boat?

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:17:40] We bought this from a very nice couple. The ladies. Danielle is my major, the nicest folks ever. And. And they loved this boat. She was crying.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:17:50] Oh, boy. So she’s been care of.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:17:52] Yeah. Oh, gosh. I think she loved it. Like, loved it. I love it. She’s in great condition. And they had fallen unexpectedly pregnant. And so they wanted to try it for a little bit while baby, try it.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:18:09] Okay.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:18:10] So I was going to ask. Okay. Obviously, you made this amazing decision. You took this colossal step. Mel wasn’t there. You know, Mal obviously trusted you to make this decision. Now you’ve got the boat, you’re setting it up. Everything’s good. Six months in, you start living on the boat, and then you start sailing. Give me your best moment and your worst moment where you just turned and just thought, Oh, my God, Mel, we’re moving back to land and water.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:18:37] But thank God.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:18:39] He was actually gone when that happened. Not that he didn’t get an earful or three. It was I was having some issues with the Marine air conditioning system. And you can see we have dogs because we try to keep things temperate if we’re at the dock. So that was really frustrating. I brought in a huge portable air conditioning unit with duct work. It was too much. And that was probably the most frustrating thing and the heart that I had to learn to fix things myself because eventually I figured out how to flush the system by using.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:19:17] The.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:19:19] Nozzle and the power of Grayskull.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:19:23] Yeah. Nice. Necessity is the mother of invention, right?

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:19:26] Right.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:19:27] Absolutely. Yeah.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:19:28] Well, I had I hired Marine jets because I came from a house, so I was like, Oh, my air conditioner isn’t working. I’m going to call an air conditioning reject. Don’t do it.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:19:41] Just get creative. It was.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:19:45] Amazing. I got a sailboat maintenance manual that I’m looking at right now and you to figure it out.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:19:53] That is amazing. Okay, give me a moment. Give me your best moment.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:19:57] Dolphins in the bay.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:20:00] That happens regularly. That right? That’s way better than the other one.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:20:03] Right About that eclipse tally. You weren’t with us.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:20:06] You know, it was a good ride.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:20:09] Forget Captain Ahab feeling wealthy, Matt.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:20:14] Captain Matt was driving it, and it was actually was. It was spectacular. It was a lunar eclipse. A full lunar eclipse. Complete lunar eclipse. And we literally saw the moon just, like, essentially disappear. It didn’t disappear. It was still there. Just, like, really dark. Yeah. Wow. And then a couple of hours later, I guess it came back. Yeah. And it was I think it was. And we had people with us on board and we could see the mind blowing in front of our eyes is like, does not compute what’s going to.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:20:48] Be an existential moment where we’re sort of pondering the way that maybe ancient people thought about the eclipse. It’s like they know it’s going to come back, you know what I mean? And how we think about, like monolithic structures and and things like that and how early peoples were like, Well, how can we learn that? Hmm.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:21:13] Yeah, we must. Yeah. Yeah.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:21:16] We determine what is going to happen again. And that curiosity that really brought us to the water and brought us to this lifestyle that that innate human curiosity.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:21:28] And that was, I think, one of the coolest things about that. And you guys tell me about, like, what you thinking about this? Why would my best recollection from that night was just like everybody aboard that boat was just beautiful and there wasn’t like one or two people. There was ten of us, right? Yeah. And everybody got along and was just there for that moment. And I never, ever happened again. But on its own, that was just beautiful. It was a special, right? It was. And how do you feel about like the community in general?

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:21:57] Melanie The experience is a little bit different.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:21:59] Most got more experience on the water, riding with different kinds of crew.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:22:04] He does he he has learned a lot about failed terms. So I know more about like sailing.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:22:11] I agree there.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:22:12] About how he is like, nobody wants me to bring this boat out or in.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:22:16] So the one that you learned on was one of those little ones.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:22:20] J 22 Laser, sunfish, small boat. That’s what I, that’s what I learned where.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:22:25] You always go it.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:22:28] Yeah. So like, yeah, I just want the sail sails, you know downwind sail I got it. And I feel like the thing that’s interesting is that like I was standing on the deck and there was someone at the team head and they came over and introduced the sub to me and I was like, Yeah, nice to meet you. They were like, Well, so. So who’s the captain of the boat? Superior? But I just stuck my hand out again and I was like, Hey, now I want to really make it feel like first grade. But I was just like, I’m living on a boat and whenever we’re, like, talking, everyone always wants to know.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:23:12] What he looks like for the guy, right? Well, it’s like the. Like you didn’t have any. Yeah, they don’t know it’s the other way around. Yeah.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:23:21] That’s why I always introduce her as the captain is the first mate.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:23:25] They just, you know, it’s.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:23:27] Own the Chihuahuas. The admiral, by the way.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:23:30] Speaking of Chihuahuas. Yeah. I mean, this is the first interview that I’m doing when somebody has a pet. It’s interesting to know. Like, So did you get the dogs before you moved on the boat? Did you always have the dogs or So how did they react? That must have been an adjustment for then.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:23:47] Nico has taken to it. Nico is this guy thing. He loves it. Belzer on the other hand, she’s a little more timid and she’s really our son’s dog and he’s thinking about taking her with him. But she’s happy because she’s with us. But it’s definitely not her. She’s like the dumbest dog I’ve ever water. I’ve never had a dog that will drink when we go to the beach and like Nico, like, that’s salt water. I’m not worried that that this one, this.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:24:24] You know, whatever floats your boat. But I mean, generally going.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:24:28] In, dogs obviously need a lot of space to run around and things like that. You know, how how do you deal with that problem? Because obviously, unlike cats, dogs have to expel a lot of energy.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:24:37] I was training them as well.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:24:39] Twice a day. So I’m always walking the dogs. Sometimes they get a little scared because I do like to walk. So we have like a six mile with a six mile loop that we’ll do, and my dogs will like lay down and do a definite.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:24:56] Walk back on Momma right now.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:24:58] Yeah. I need you to just lay down.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:25:03] I mean, what else? It’s like somebody was singing in my bed on a board. Like, what are some of the things to think about? Yeah. Things to do with. Things not to do.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:25:11] Your. Your villages are going to need continual maintenance because the hair will plug your switches and.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:25:18] Get a solid vacuum cleaner. Right.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:25:22] And we have we got the nice shop that we.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:25:25] Want that that’s a wet drive then. Got to have that.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:25:28] What do you guys do? I’m sorry. Go on, go on.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:25:31] We have brushes for them. Petting also is a great way to get rid of him. And they like that, too. But mostly what you get with it, I don’t care. It’s not a waste. Okay.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:25:44] So what do you do when? I don’t know if you guys have yet, but if you’re acting out somewhere, what happens then?

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:25:52] We are. We have not yet. But we are. But I do agree that actually these poor people go to the Bahamas and it didn’t work for their at all. So they’re going to give us their green that.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:26:04] They’re in it. But so what is this? What what happens?

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:26:06] So it’s just like Astroturf and it has a tray underneath it. So they feel like they’re going on the grass and then you just dump it over the side and you know, you’re out to sea, rinse it with salt water and move it. Right.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:26:21] But in terms of space, like if you were to go out sailing for a couple of days, you wouldn’t be able to walk them. How would how about.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:26:29] Just take it up and put it in the cockpit up here.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:26:33] They just run it at certain times in.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:26:34] Certain times of the day, because we walk about the same time every day. They come up, they do their business and they come back.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:26:41] And it also would depend on the breed like a boxer, I don’t think would be very happy on a boat. The best.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:26:47] Just eat, eat all the fish.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:26:49] I don’t I’m going to I don’t know if I’m allowed to do this, but.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:26:53] Let’s see, what are we seeing? Are they are they resting Whether they have to?

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:26:57] Yeah, they’re they’re sleeping like.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:26:59] So this is this is their best behavior.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:27:02] This is blue.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:27:03] Oh, yeah.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:27:05] Like me has no interest in physical activity.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:27:10] It’s like this is the life.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:27:11] Blood.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:27:12] Flow to.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:27:13] Your life. But that simple. Yeah, yeah, yeah. If only, like, for that.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:27:17] So we don’t like high energy dogs. I think that would be really hard. We have. We have, like, doesn’t like to sit.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:27:25] Okay. So tell me about in terms of obviously, you know, you now you’re settled on the boat. It’s been a year and a half. What’s been your best sailing experience so far? The best sailing adventure for me.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:27:37] It was the first one. We went out alone. We went out in the Chesapeake Bay here. And one night when we were going seven Knots Speed, and it just felt like flying especially we’re on a close all. I mean, the wind’s coming at an angle from the front of the boat and that boat actually heals way over. And that was that was just awesome.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:27:58] Wow. And worse, something which you basically were like, Oh, God, I’m a bit scared now.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:28:03] Come with the worse for me, the propeller. If you if you jam it between fast and slow and it’s not you don’t throttle down. The propeller is a it’s a father and propeller and they’re like.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:28:18] That’s really cool. Tell people what that is. Tell them that that’s like a technological breakthrough.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:28:24] Yeah. Is when you’re when you’re sailing and you’re not using the prop, the blades actually go forward and out. So you can actually it doesn’t slow the boat. It produces a regular regular propeller would drop you down one, not about one, not so this goes where, you know, the blades are falling out and you can go, you know, that little bit of extra speed for a sailboat. But if you allow if you change it real quick, the blades don’t work anymore and you don’t have proposed, they actually go. So there’s there’s pegs on the propeller and the blades that go past those and it doesn’t give you order out direction anymore.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:29:02] So it’s almost like you’re just stuck. There’s nothing instead of like opening up, right?

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:29:06] Yeah. Yeah. I can’t really, you know, get in the dock or out of the dock or anything like that. So we actually had to call somebody to help us get into the dock on of that. And not being able to fix that myself is a problem for me.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:29:19] Mm hmm. Diving school. Yeah. You know, we go next, right?

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:29:27] And the other thing is support. Actually, we got a large electronic support in particular, but she was talking about the air conditioner a while ago. We had people come over and take a look at it. And these are people that work on air conditioners all the time. They had no idea what was wrong with it, how to fix. Same thing with the refrigerator.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:29:45] We set ourselves.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:29:48] One on the internet, looking up on YouTube, what was wrong with it? And going and finding the company and and fixing it myself. And you know, a lot of I’m I’m learning that a lot of things on a. A sailboat in particular or like that? Electronics and in particular. And that’s that’s a problem for me because I’m not a electronics technician. So how to fix that? How to how to get somebody here that knows how to do that?

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:30:12] Hmm. True. So, Khadijah, I was totally different angle. There is like your name is obvious. Such a beautiful name. What does it. What does it mean?

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:30:22] It usually means precious gift from God.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:30:25] Precious gift from God. Love it. Okay. And where does it come from? What’s the history behind it?

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:30:30] It is the name of the wife of the Prophet Muhammad, very prominent figure in Islam. And he had converted to Islam before I was born. They were both Black Panthers. Oh, boy. And a lot of African Americans, Black people. I remember a lot of black people prefer to move away from Christianity at that point in the seventies to assert their own cultural identities. And so that’s what they did. And that’s how I was made easier and grew up in an amazing black community in Germantown, Philadelphia. And then they divorced and my mom remarried and we moved to Rhode Island. I never had worked before. I never saw that many white people. Well.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:31:29] Out. It’s quite a history to be coming from France.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:31:32] Oh, it’s great. My my dad, he came out to Hawaii to visit us. Well, no one was up there, and he’s wearing his like to feel like he’s wearing a scarf. And my dad remained. He’s been with this my entire life, converted before I was born. And so it’s it’s very interesting.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:31:52] Mm hmm. Mm hmm.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:31:55] Directly into your world.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:31:57] Yeah. Like, how did your parents react to, you know, getting married? How did that go down? Oh, did this guy? Yeah. And this guy?

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:32:04] My dad. I mean, do our own real story. So my grandmother was. Had passed away, and I was there for the funeral, and Melvin wasn’t with me, but I wanted him to go. But I didn’t want him to go for such a heavy occasion. So I thought I should probably tell.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:32:23] Each.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:32:23] Other that I know that this is my father. So I told my dad that my dad, if he gets down on his knees like this is such a loss to me. You have given me more than I can bear.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:32:43] In a good way.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:32:45] He says my mother dies, and I find out that my daughter is marrying a white man.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:32:52] Oh, I didn’t.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:32:54] Know that. Okay.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:32:56] Yeah. But he loves it now.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:32:59] Yeah, Yeah, right. Yeah, yeah. That’ll do it. Yeah. Yeah. Had one once. Kids get involved and everything, but then I. Oh, boy. I guess this area has.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:33:09] Yeah, well, his mom didn’t.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:33:12] Yeah, that’s right. Oh, boy. Ten. Well, but you’re the rule breaker, right? You had to break, right? Yeah.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:33:20] Yeah, I’m the one who got the most beatings.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:33:22] Yeah.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:33:23] But my brothers, they didn’t really care. My sisters were all for it. You know, my mother, she was. She was against it until she met her and, you know, understood that I was going to do this anyway. And then now she’s. She’s very happy. She’s happy cause we’re happy. And, you know, after she met her, she understood that, you know, this is this is not a person that is a problem. Was Mississippi. You know, the old ways they get that way sometimes.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:33:52] Yeah. She said she she said that she thought I was a lovely young girl because she didn’t attend our wedding as my father also. Mhm. Oh yeah. Yeah. For the same reason she said she didn’t hold with miscegenation. I didn’t know what that meant by.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:34:11] I don’t know what I mean.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:34:13] Yeah.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:34:13] Went to some of the races.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:34:15] Ooh. Oh wow. I mean there’s literally there’s this.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:34:19] Strange.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:34:20] Romeo and Juliet moment right there. I love it. Yeah.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:34:24] But I love, you know, determination.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:34:26] In Crawford.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:34:30] Story. And I think it’s fascinating that, you know, you stuck through and this is where I think a lot of your decision of this when I see you on a boat just now, I see your dogs on a boat. It shines through, you know, your determination to be together, to achieve your dreams together, to go on this journey together. It shows. The last sort of 19 years. This is all. It’s all amalgamating. Now. I can see you doing. I mean, you said earlier on when we weren’t recording that you wanted to. Around the world. I can see you two pulling something like this.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:35:01] Let’s do it. We will do it. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that actually, this segment is really well into my next question. Thank you. I was wondering, So you guys have obviously lived on land for, you know, 20, 30 your lives. Okay. And now you’re on a sailboat and you might still have a storage unit or something. But like, how would you dealt with, you know, that 20, 30 years of, like on land, like thing accumulation? How have you embraced the minimalist lifestyle? And you need that to sail the world for sure.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:35:34] I do. And to me, the minimalist lifestyle is great. I mean, there’s a lot less to deal with. I don’t have to cut the grass. But we still have, you know, awnings on land. We have some rental properties and things like that that we take care of to help us get along with. We got rid of a lot of stuff that we really, really liked, spent a lot of money on, cause we understand and understood then that this is the life and you just can’t take that with you.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:36:04] And it helped, I have to say, because I was the person who was divesting of the things that we didn’t buy. So when I was going through that process of deciding, like, what are our cherished memories? What are the things that are very, very important to me? It just made me very aware that like the memories that you have, some of those things can be really important, but a lot of it is just stuff.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:36:29] Most of it, it’s all in your head. It’s what you think the tangible stuff is actually, not the memory, the memories, what you carry with you.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:36:38] Right. And that’s it’s just stuff It was helpful for to me because I actually gave away a lot of our very nice furniture and things to an LGBTQ life center that helps young people who have been kicked out of their houses because of their orientation, to be able to get apartments and to have furniture and the things they needed. So a.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:37:04] Well done.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:37:04] I was like, I like this couch. This is still.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:37:10] Good.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:37:11] That’s really good. That’s really, really good. Mel and Khadijah, you know, big journey, 19 years, one and a half years into this boat. What’s the next step? Is this your dream boat? Are you going to be on it for the next five years?

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:37:27] We’re looking to probably about seven years. And then she wants to move on to a catamaran. But pretty much the next step is within the next three years, we really get our feet under us so we can start travel a long distance. And then I’ll retire from my job and we’ll go.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:37:45] Find a defined long distance.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:37:47] Hmm. Still, the.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:37:48] World.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:37:51] Florida. New York. Places like that. Anything more than £500 nicely.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:37:58] We’re going to spend a lot of time going out and finding our friends. Me?

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:38:03] How would you. Would you cross the border?

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:38:05] Finding a friend?

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:38:06] Absolutely. Across the pond. Go over to the UK. Yeah. Yeah.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:38:09] And that’s part of the plan we’re looking at. Like I said earlier, going to the Caribbean, really getting our legs under us, coming back up the East Coast, going New York, Newfoundland and then over to Ireland to get over to the other side, because that’s the shortest route that we know. But we’ll have to do that in the summer. So I’ve been to the North Atlantic in the winter is pretty rough up there.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:38:34] And this is.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:38:35] Really a cabin cruiser. It’s not actually not really meant for Bluewater sailing be the ocean sailing. It’s meant to be on the coast. If you’re going to adventure farther, you have to have a very careful sail plan and weather window and be a little bit more patient with the earth. We’re excited about the level of skill that that will require and also the fact that it has to go on its own.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:39:04] I’m looking forward to this journey. Okay. So tell me your top five tips for living on a boat. I mean, I’m told that the most basic idea was, okay, it’s okay.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:39:14] Try every day.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:39:16] Every day. Especially when you’re starting. Yeah.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:39:19] I cried every day for two weeks.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:39:22] I mean, I’m the most basic, basic top tips, even things like related to the shower, because you did mention a shower earlier on.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:39:31] You will get soap in your eye and run out of water. It’s going to happen. It’s going to happen. Always carry enough water.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:39:39] That’s great. So note the future. So. Yeah.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:39:43] Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:39:47] Mm hmm.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:39:48] And whatever comfort systems you choose to have or or those are systems that you have to maintain if you’re going to travel around. The world if you’re, you know, depending on what you want to do, it’s okay to let yourself get comfortable being a little less.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:40:09] I like being comfortable like that. Being a little less comfortable. Okay. I like.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:40:13] That stuff.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:40:14] Already.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:40:16] Too, wasn’t it?

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:40:17] Soon to know the first two nights.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:40:19] Oh, first of all.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:40:22] For me, those don’t float.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:40:24] But don’t to get expensive.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:40:31] Make sure you take your tackle quite often. You are going to have neighbors that you don’t like sometimes. Hmm. If it breaks, fix it. Break before the right Britain, silly.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:40:42] I love that.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:40:44] Everything that breaks right away gets something.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:40:46] Right away.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:40:47] To work.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:40:47] That’s true, though. Yep, yep, yep.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Mel [00:40:50] And then make sure you take care of the cheap. Hmm.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:40:53] Yeah. You guys got involved in wood? Yeah. Beautiful, though. Yeah. Yeah. So there goes you. I don’t have grass argument. And I got.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:41:07] You can see this.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:41:08] Seriously, I think it’s is fascinating to see. And for so many of our audience that are actually watching and listening every time they tune into Shipshape podcast, I think you learn something new. If it’s not the technical aspect, it’s the emotional aspect. It’s the day to day because, you know, it’s very easy to talk about boats and about, you know, screws and technology and what’s happening, especially if you’re embedded in that lifestyle. But for somebody who comes in from a completely different perspective and who might find this lifestyle in general and the marine life just fascinating and something that they’ve never even thought about tapping into. Well, you know, they speak to somebody like you and Mel, who they just meet, you know, in the grocery store just buying fresh oranges.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:41:55] And, you know, Yeah, they wouldn’t even know. Right.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:41:57] Yeah, that’s know, you just look and say, you know, your project is really wow. You you know what? The Marine. Oh, my God, you’re belly dancer. You’ve traveled the world with it.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:42:05] And you did that walking with their dogs. You know.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:42:08] They you know, you never put two and two together. And then you test. Fascinating story of your lives, your origins, where you come from, and then you show us around your amazing dream boat. It’s just fascinating. And all I got to say is thank you so much for allowing us like at least a couple of hours in your lives for us to learn so much more.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:42:28] Yeah.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:42:29] Yeah. This is super duper fun. Thank you so much for having us. I, I just hope this encourages people to live their dreams the way we’re living.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:42:38] Well, it.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:42:38] Definitely. Yeah.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:42:39] It definitely does.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:42:41] Yeah. Mel, thanks. Thank you. Thank you.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:42:45] And we hope you stay is happy. You know, I tell you now, a couple of years from now, we need to do a part two with Mel. And I wanna know exactly with.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:42:56] The feeling that.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:42:58] I.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:42:58] What exactly are they chilling out on the island somewhere else?

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:43:04] Yeah. Can you imagine? They’ll be like, Oh, we’re just having some fresh coconuts from outside. And, you.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:43:10] Know, the real coconut.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:43:11] Cookie. I love it. I love it. I love your how.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:43:14] To make one on the boat.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:43:16] Do it right. That’s that’s something they learning on the way. I know, but awesome. Seriously. And then so thank you guys for coming on the episode and best of luck with all your adventures and stay cool and hopefully inspire more people around and see the world, right?

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:43:35] That’s fantastic. That’s how we don’t live too far away from each other. We might wonder over there and say hi.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:43:42] And do that.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:43:45] Promise me a belly dancing episode as well on the boat. I’d love to see how that’s going to work. You could you could see the belly dancing marine class, which would be fantastic.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:43:54] For your balance.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                T [00:43:56] I love it. Thanks again.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:44:00] Thank you.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Khadija [00:44:01] I know you have.

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                Farah [00:44:02] Bye bye. Bye. Check back every Tuesday for our latest episode and be sure to, like, share and subscribe to shipshape. Doc Pro. Doc Pro.

                                                                                                 

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