Tiny Floating Homes – Salty

Salty is a stout 1998 65′ steel expedition style cutter sailboat designed by Bruce Roberts and home to a family of five.

A 65′ sailboat is not so tiny compared to most liveaboard boats out there (and actually quite massive compared to my 42′ sailboat) but this floating home has all the space you could ever dream of to raise three young children while traveling to far off places from the comfort of your own home.

I first met this family in the cruising blogosphere but had the recent opportunity to meet them in person here in the Caribbean. They’ve sailed all through the Bahamas, Virgin Islands, Dominican Republic and now they are working their way up the East Coast in preparation for an adventure of a lifetime crossing through the Northwest Passage this summer. It will take them approximately 3+/- months from mid July to mid October and 7,000 nautical miles traversing the arctic from the East Coast up and over to Alaska. They’ll be dodging icebergs with their steel boat while on the lookout for whales and polar bears!

Carly explains it best:

“We enjoy going on adventures and there’s no better way to do it than on a sailboat. We create a stable home for our kids while experiencing the world. Some days we find it challenging living in such close quarters and not having other family support for breaks but the pros far outweigh the cons. Our boat is bigger than most with 4 cabins, 2 bathrooms and even a washing machine!

 

The plan for the next few years is to sail up into the Arctic, attempt the Northwest Passage, spend a year in Alaska (yep winter too), cross the Pacific and introduce our family to their Australian family. SV Salty is truly a home and lifestyle to covet.“

Here’s a bit more about the crew as shown on their website, Salty Kisses:

Carl is 40 years old. American. A somewhat retired Mega Yacht captain with 1600 ton captains license. Been on boats all his life and needs to be at sea. He never thought he’d love sailing so much but still needs to learn how to slow down and kick back at times. He’s our proud sailor, swim instructor and stay at home dad.

Carly (me) is 33 years old. Australian. Don’t really have a “profession”. I’ve always loved boats but never been much of a beach bum, as you can tell from the non-existent tan. I’m still trying to learn this “mothering” business. It’s bloody hard work.

Pri* is a 5 year old that loves to twirl and all things princess. She’s loves Mumma’s homemade chicken nuggets and bread. She’s our ambassador, always inviting herself onto your boat and eating your snacks. She is in charge of docking the dingy and the lookout so we don’t hit anything.

Chucky* is a very brave 3 year old. She is a master rock climber and the killer of all things buggy. She is our little sailor, always hanging in the cockpit looking for icebergs, even in tropical regions. When the motion starts to get to us she’s the one still bouncing off the walls wanting to go faster.

Little Man* (1) he is our little Bahamian, born March 2014 in Nassau Bahamas. He eats anything that isn’t tied down and loves dinghy rides. He’s our 100% boat baby, never known the comforts of a house.

* Obviously we didn’t’ name our kids Chucky, Pri and Little Man but then again these days you don’t really know. I feel that when the kids are older and have retired themselves from our every changing life they don’t want to have strangers “googling” them and finding all sorts of unflattering pictures. It will be up to them if they would like to share their lives with others, not me. It will come to a point that I will stop blogging about them and allow them to write posts themselves if they choose. I don’t want them to ever regret the journey we’re undertaking. Being plastered all over the internet is not everyone’s cup of tea and just because they can’t voice their opinions doesn’t meant they don’t have one.

Check out this fun 2-minute video showing a quick tour of their home and a glimpse into the daily life of this family of five:

For more info, visit  saltykisses.net and follow their adventures on Facebook >>HERE<<!

(All photos published with permission courtesy of www.saltykisses.net, unless otherwise specified)

By Jody Pountain for the [Tiny House Blog]