The interviews and reporting for this story have been carried out in February 2025.

Inform the category the way you spent your final trip. 

Enthusiastic about this specific task, Kaeya Gautam (14) started her story by recalling her go to residence. As the story progressed, the amused bunch of scholars learnt that she wasn’t referring to a home however a 42-foot-long sailboat the place her mother and father, Capt Gaurav Gautam, a retired Indian Navy officer, and Vaidehi Chitnavis, a media skilled, have lived ever since they pledged themselves to a nomadic life in 2022. 

And it’s trip time that their daughter appears ahead to essentially the most. In spite of everything, it means limitless hours spent together with her greatest buddy ‘Reeva’, the 1988-built Tayana Vancouver 42 sailboat that’s their residence on the waters. 

 

A riot of enjoyable is how Kaeya describes her holidays. When she isn’t snorkelling, she’s perfecting her crusing expertise or catching a sundown on the deck. Everybody in school that day had one query: Is it even potential to reside on a ship? 

It as soon as baffled him too, Gaurav says. “However, it’s a fashionable idea in lots of Western nations,” he learnt when he commanded INS Tarangini (2015) — the Indian Navy’s first sail coaching ship. Intrigued, he started studying up.   

 

However the extra he delved into it, the extra it appeared like a logistical nightmare. “Appropriate boats weren’t being in-built India on the time. Even when I did need to purchase a ship, I must import it into the nation, which might value an incredible deal. Then there can be the query of the place to anchor it, and the added upkeep,” he thought. 

Unwittingly, the concept took a backseat for just a few years till the COVID-19 pandemic, when information concerning the dipping costs of boats across the globe made Gaurav sit up. It sparked a dormant dream.  

Postal deal with: Someplace in the course of the ocean

The choice to stop their land-based lives was a weighty one, Gaurav and Vaidehi found whereas making an attempt to bundle up their property. It introduced with it the predicament of what to tackle their sojourn and what to present away. “It’s an excellent factor Gaurav and I are usually not too connected to materials issues,” Vaidehi shares, albeit stating, “Relating to discarding issues which were there with you for many years, there may be certain to be a way of attachment.” 

 

One specific merchandise she had essentially the most hassle parting with was a heirloom crockery set. Made within the wake of the Second World Struggle and having come down by her household’s family tree, the Czechoslovakian crockery set held core reminiscences. “However I knew that positive chinaware wouldn’t final on a transferring boat,” she causes. And so, she gave it to a pricey buddy. In a matter of weeks, the household’s 6,000 kg value of possessions was downsized to 120 kg, a clever choice the couple thought, as they explored the interiors of ‘Reeva’ months later. The boat boasted two cabins, a bathe, a head (nautical time period for a bathroom), a salon, and a galley (kitchen).  

 

Recalling the day they noticed Reeva, it appeared like a ‘love at first sight’ episode. It wasn’t simply her backstory — Reeva belonged to some of their 80s who have been trying to transfer to land, the place life was rather less intrepid — but additionally in the best way she carried herself. She waltzed on the waters with an unmatched élan. However, because the household would quickly uncover, Reeva wasn’t merely a fairly face; she went on to show her mettle within the months to return.  

Adjusting to the ocean’s moods 

“Do you ever crave having a hamburger after which keep in mind you may’t order it on Zomato?” I ask Gautam. He laughs. Then, in all seriousness, replies, “Sure”. That’s a trivial adjustment, he explains, although a big one. Underscoring this with an anecdote, he says, “We used to journey quite a bit earlier than embarking on our crusing. We weren’t the type to search for Indian eating places. We’d a lot reasonably have the native meals.” 

 

That has now modified, his follow-up anecdotes point out. “Do you will have paranthas (Indian flatbread) and chole bhature (Indian flatbread and chickpea curry)?” the couple asks each Indian restaurant at their dock spot. The cravings stem from not having the ability to cook dinner elaborate Indian fare on the boat. Gaurav blames the delicacies’s flamboyance. “You’ll be able to’t fry something as a result of the oil will spill with the boat’s movement. Plus, the cooking requires lots of propane, which heats up the boat. So we attempt sticking to one-pot meals. We put rice, greens, and hen right into a strain cooker. It turns into a form of biryani.” The nine-kg gasoline cylinders suffice for these meals. There may be additionally an oven the place Vaidehi bakes an occasional cake. Birthdays deem a cake irrespective of the place you might be. 

In the meantime, the remainder of the provisions — frozen meats, tinned fruit and veggies, greens, and baked beans — are bought at supermarkets alongside the best way. The meals scene, albeit tough, may be found out. Water, in the meantime (paradoxically), is an even bigger problem.

 

Explaining how trendy comforts dissipate on a ship, Gaurav says lengthy, scorching showers are a distant dream. The quick provide of freshwater makes each drop treasured. “One is never acutely aware of the quantity of water getting used whereas showering, however boat life makes you cognisant. What we do is take a shower with seawater (salt water) after which observe this up with a freshwater rinse. ” This fashion, the freshwater is conserved. 

 

The brusque nature of crusing and water considerations additionally known as for a wardrobe makeover. Gaurav, who beforehand prided himself on his formals, now attire for the climate. “I used to have 20-odd pairs of sneakers. Now, I’ve one flip-flop pair, one pair of sandals, and some T-shirts and shorts.” One may name their style sense sustainable. Nicely, that isn’t the one factor that’s. 

Harvesting the solar and rain

Reeva is saved operating by an 800-AH  battery financial institution charged by 760-watt photo voltaic panels. As well as, the boat has a wind generator that costs the batteries in case there isn’t any solar. But when there’s no solar or wind, which is kind of uncommon, the boat additionally has an alternator on the primary engine that may cost the batteries.  Gaurav explains that power conservation is essential. Explaining how he maintains reserves, he says, “I activate the engine whereas going out and in of harbours. As soon as I’m out of the harbour, I shut off the engine. We depend on the sails to make it from one place to a different.” 

 

In the meantime, the household additionally harvests the rain. “In the course of the monsoon, we don’t swap on the water maker (the reverse osmosis machine that converts seawater into freshwater). As an alternative, now we have rainwater-catching preparations on board. The water collected in these is distributed instantly into the tank and is match for ingesting.”  

Form up or ship out: Weathering the storms 

One would assume boat life is relaxed, full of sunshine and sunsets. However there’s much more to it than meets the attention. There are watchkeeping duties that Vaidehi and Gaurav alternate between themselves; navigational laws to adjust to, and even on days when it appears relaxed, Gaurav warns that one at all times needs to be alert at sea. The insular world does include its justifiable share of challenges. 

 

Whereas the couple has never been stranded within the true sense, Gaurav mentions, “Even when that does occur, as per the worldwide maritime legislation, the nation doesn’t deny you entry. Except there’s a main drawback like battle, you might be granted refuge for a while to kind out the issue.” 

The wind is certain to get tough generally. It’s a must to modify your sails. A cardinal rule in crusing, he says, is to remain calm and consider you may and can courageous the storm. A sailor, Gaurav generally finds himself making an attempt to be ready for the worst. However he credit Vaidehi and Kaeya for the candour they typically convey to tense conditions. 

 

After all, there are occasions when Vaidehi admits feeling nervous. “The world across the Malacca Strait (connecting the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean) has service provider site visitors, fishing boats, fishing buoys, and unreliable climate. It could actually make crusing at evening fairly a hair-raising expertise.” 

However regardless of the rigours of the expedition, she says all the things is a studying expertise. “Whereas this life has so many different challenges, like restricted water, restricted area and so forth, the truth that now we have to do all the things, together with sleeping on a rocking boat, is fairly fascinating,” she factors out. 

The final two years have been a steep studying curve for the household as they be taught to sail the boat, restore all the things on it, and most significantly reside on an “ever-moving platform”. This journey has taken them to a number of the most breathtaking areas in Southeast Asia and they’re now trying ahead to going farther. As Gaurav places it, “Life at sea is restricted solely by your creativeness.” However the lesson that overshadows all the things else, he says, can be a ravishing takeaway for you and me: “Go on the tempo the wind takes you — at sea, and in life.” 

All pictures courtesy Capt Gaurav