Today's Salty Thoughts from Capt David revolve around the topic of rubbish, and waste in general, as it seems more and more to be symptomatic of our entire societal interaction with nature. It is an existential crisis for some, and definitely a large component to the footprint of our place in the world, as well as our lasting legacy on the ground upon which we currently tread.

This morning whilst on the dawn dog beach mission, I came across a very old plastic bag of rubbish buried in a deeper layer of the bank just off the normal high tide line. It was not really that visible, except to those paying attention to every little thing around them. The recent years of heavier storm surges, or even the Tonga tsunami of 2022 that rolled through the Kenepuru Sound, may have chipped away at the bank and revealed the short term and lazy thinking of some individual from years gone by.

Choice means different things to different people, but to us it has become a goal worthy of chasing.

The concept of choice is surprisingly complex once you get into it. Is it a sense of freedom or is it a wider state of choice that enables opportunities to be enacted upon when they present themselves? The choice to make your own decisions, to live how you decide, and go where the wind takes you is a romantic notion to many, but entirely achievable to some. How does this apply to a family of 6, living a complicated life balancing running a business, homeschooling 4 children, and finding a sense of adventure?

So we bought a boat. It wasn't the plan, but here we are! This is a whole new adventure for us. We have never owned a boat of any size before, so we jumped in boots and all.

Life has some funny twists and turns and it seemed like the perfect time to step outside of our comfort zone, take on some new challenges and enjoy some quality time as a family.
How we came own a live-aboard boat is a lot more involved, from a ripped tent, to multiple open homes. We thought upsizing our house was the only choice, however the realities of a pandemic and the opportunities that bought to our business and schooling presented multiple new options. All of a sudden the realisation that we could be digital nomads began to unfold!

Mills Bay, deep into the Kenepuru Sounds, within the wider Pelorus Sound, became one of our go to spots for our first summer on the boat. Safe anchorage with protection from north and south winds, an epic native forest and great low tide beach.