Logbook: Work from Boat

Working for Power & Motoryacht has long been a job that commands no sympathy. Friends and family mock me mercilessly. “Ohhh, you have to go on a work trip [sniffle sounds] … to a boat show … in Miami [sobbing sounds], in February, thoughts and prayers, Dan.”

The only appropriate response to comments like this is to shrug and say, ‘you’re right.’ Adding to the rampant jealousy I experience is the fact that since 2020 I have been working from home. Now, on top of my exotic travels and incredible boat access, I am now often greeted by my neighbors with the common refrain: “How was the commute, make it down to your basement O.K.?”

Well, I hope they don’t read this column because once this confession comes out, I’ll never hear the end of it. This past summer, a couple days a week I would sneak down to work from my Bertram on Essex Island. Being the only one on the dock in the morning, making a cup of coffee and looking up from the laptop to see boats of all shapes, sizes and styles feels very much like I discovered the cheat codes to life. Thanks to a strong WiFi connection and a remote workflow, I’m able to field conference calls, tend to spreadsheets (I do some real work, I swear) and write with the help of inspiration that comes from being surrounded by the pastime I’m so fortunate to cover.

From time to time, I’d catch up with colleagues and contributors while walking the docks, always keeping a lookout for a story hiding in plain sight.

Taking a short dinghy ride in-between conference calls almost always put a smile on my face and made me feel as if I was cheating. The look of retirees on the docks seeing me putt around on the water mid-week made it clear, they thought I was cheating too. They’ve worked their whole lives to be able to spend their mornings lazing around the marina; there would be no sympathy for me in their eyes.

I’ve long felt like one of the luckiest guys in the world—and days spent working from the boat only heightened that feeling. Working on the water provides a calm perspective that I don’t always enjoy in my basement office. A big part of that comes from having the opportunity to commiserate with fellow boaters. Chatting about their upcoming trip, their frustrations (fuel prices, yard bills, the weather, etc. etc.) or shared memories helped me to feel more in tune with the magazine’s readers than I have in years.

More time spent aboard hasn’t just been good for me, the Karen Marie has benefited as well. The last couple years the boat would sit for weeks at a time while I traveled without being let outside to stretch her legs. I’ve learned the hard way that boats and their engines don’t like to sit still, they run better when they run often. Early in the summer I made it a goal to leave the slip, even for a short run, at least once a week. I kept that streak going for most of the summer and only really faltered as summer turned to fall. The regular runs proved good for my confidence, carburetors and soul.

I’m well aware that most professions don’t allow working remotely, let alone working from a boat in a vacation town, but then again there are many who do have that option available to them, especially with advances in connectivity and software (I’m thinking of Starlink for example). To you I say: If you’re lucky enough to be able to work from your boat, then you’re lucky enough.

As I write this column, I’m feeling both thankful and a bit despondent; my summer office is scheduled to close and be hauled out and shipped back to my driveway. I have plenty of projects ahead and those are rewarding but not nearly as fun as summer afternoons aboard. Maybe I’ll sneak onto the boat during the winter to feel more connected to boating. The sight of me climbing through a hole in the shrink-wrap with a laptop, space heater and coffee in hand … I’d better hope the neighbors don’t get a sight of that.

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This article originally appeared in the February 2024 issue of Power & Motoryacht magazine.

Source: https://www.powerandmotoryacht.com/column/logbook-work-from-boat