OrmerPuffin
New member
I'm very tentatively looking at the feasibility of my partner and I living aboard in Guernsey when we move back to the island later this year. House prices being what they are in the island (astronomical) living on the water appears to offer a more affordable option and means I could continue to run my own business rather than having to go back to work for others in order to afford a mortgage/rent.
I'm a Day Skipper working towards my YM and have been sailing/spending extended time on boats since I could toddle so the mechanics and reality of living aboard don't bother me. I've also worked offshore on survey vessels month on/month off for a couple of years and been more than happy living in that situation. My partner has spent a lot of time living in tents out of a bag while in the military and is building up his sailing experience at the moment. We were considering buying a boat for weekend sailing anyway, we would however be buying a much larger boat if we intend to liveaboard as well.
I am however still weighing up the pros and cons. The main con being that we have a fairly large dog (German Shepherd) and I'm not convinced about putting him on a small boat (we're looking at 35-40ft), although he's travelled on the inter island ferries and boats before it would be a bit different if we're living on board a smaller boat for the long term. However, I know there are some great dog walks around the north of the island that are accessible from the marina and he is an older dog now so calm and spends his days snoozing rather than racing around. In terms of sailing we'd probably only do day sails to Herm/Sark with him on board and would leave him with my family if we wanted to do any extended cruising.
I was wondering if anyone has any experience of living aboard or spending an extended time in Beaucette and can tell me what the marina is like and whether it is dog friendly or not. I enquired with the marina and while they're currently full they said spaces do come up fairly regularly and that they accept pets, but accepting pets and being welcoming towards them is a bit different. Anything we should be aware of if we plan to live there long term?
More broadly any comments on living aboard with a dog (good or bad) are also welcome.
Are we nuts to be considering this and should we just suck it up and spend the rest of our life paying off the hefty mortgage while weekend sailing?
I'm a Day Skipper working towards my YM and have been sailing/spending extended time on boats since I could toddle so the mechanics and reality of living aboard don't bother me. I've also worked offshore on survey vessels month on/month off for a couple of years and been more than happy living in that situation. My partner has spent a lot of time living in tents out of a bag while in the military and is building up his sailing experience at the moment. We were considering buying a boat for weekend sailing anyway, we would however be buying a much larger boat if we intend to liveaboard as well.
I am however still weighing up the pros and cons. The main con being that we have a fairly large dog (German Shepherd) and I'm not convinced about putting him on a small boat (we're looking at 35-40ft), although he's travelled on the inter island ferries and boats before it would be a bit different if we're living on board a smaller boat for the long term. However, I know there are some great dog walks around the north of the island that are accessible from the marina and he is an older dog now so calm and spends his days snoozing rather than racing around. In terms of sailing we'd probably only do day sails to Herm/Sark with him on board and would leave him with my family if we wanted to do any extended cruising.
I was wondering if anyone has any experience of living aboard or spending an extended time in Beaucette and can tell me what the marina is like and whether it is dog friendly or not. I enquired with the marina and while they're currently full they said spaces do come up fairly regularly and that they accept pets, but accepting pets and being welcoming towards them is a bit different. Anything we should be aware of if we plan to live there long term?
More broadly any comments on living aboard with a dog (good or bad) are also welcome.
Are we nuts to be considering this and should we just suck it up and spend the rest of our life paying off the hefty mortgage while weekend sailing?
