We commute by Sail

We’re sailing to Auckland—because this is how we commute.

This time it’s for Arielle’s generator. Not because it’s worn out, but because it has become a victim of modern over-design.

The unit is so heavily “protected” by computerised safeguards—so governed by fault logic and sensor paranoia—that it can end up defeating its own purpose. Instead of practical reliability, we get an anxious system: one that over-interprets, over-corrects, and then shuts itself down. The very mechanisms intended to prevent failure can create failure.

And the irony is this: We installed the generator for independence. Most of the time, we live by wind. We choose our journey by following the wind of Dao: when it is still, we stay; when the wind stirs, we move. Engine power is rare—used only when conditions truly call for it. Solar and occasional charging when under motor cover our daily needs.

But the generator is the keystone because it powers our water maker—our true offshore freedom. It produces 100 litres an hour. That means we are no longer tethered to marinas for fresh water, and in winter it also supports higher-demand comforts like heating that makes winter sailing much more pleasurable. It’s about freedom to use Arielle whenever and however—extending our sailing year round and staying at sea on our own terms until food becomes the only limit.

We’ve just waited out ten days of foul weather—flash floods, waterspouts, land slips making the news. Now a calm window has opened, with good sailing wind today.

So we do what the sea trains you to do, and what the Dao has always taught:

No forcing.
Only listening.
When the way opens, we go.

Auckland, here we come—by sail, as we prefer.

Master Boon