Thursday, January 7, 2016

............... VIXEN and the Halabisky family - The Spirit of Simplicity ...............



Take the link below to hear the story of the Halabisky family and their life together on the yacht 'Vixen'. 



2 comments:

Dan Gurney said...

What a lovely film, Alden.

I thoroughly enjoyed it. First of all there was so much eye candy in it! Beautiful parents, beautiful children. A beautiful world full of beautiful ports of call and beaches, A beautiful 34' wooden yacht just a little older—and better looking—than me! And a soundtrack of homemade music.

There's a lot to contemplate after seeing it: the joys of simple living, the peace of living at a slower pace, the wisdom of living free of debt, the advantages of homeschooling, the creativity that comes from living with schedules which include some—dare we say it?—freedom built into the schedule, the friendliness of humanity (which can be easily lost sight of when we allow media to pollute our minds), the rewards of living in much closer contact with the natural world, birds, whales, dolphins, fish, turtles, and appreciating the simple things in life, like hot running water in the tap.

Seeing it validates many of the choices I've made in my life while simultaneously making me wish I had chosen to live a life even more aligned with the values listed above. Well, I've got my retirement!

One thing, though, it would be interesting to see a companion movie about the vexations of the yachting picture. You know, like motors that need overhauling. He didn't mention anything about auxiliary motors did he?

I can imagine this video might make working on your Mariner's motor a little bit easier?

Alden Smith said...

Yes Dan, it certainly is a lovely film. You are correct in that the film is a bit selective i.e. it doesn't show some of the negative aspects or as you say 'vexations' of this kind of life. I suspect that the Halabiskys take it as a given that those who would be interested in viewing their video are aware of the 'Heaven and Hell' aspects of deep water sailing - and I know from personal experience that at times it can be, if not exactly 'hell', dangerous and frightening.

I agree that there is a lot to contemplate regarding simple living, there are lessons and reminders here for us all. Perhaps more simple values would be easier to integrate into a voyaging life style such as this because the context of ones life is constantly changing and thus is always fresh and interesting.

I feel as you do, validated in some of the choices I have made - in particular in being satisfied with the material resources I already have and making the best use of these without continually pining for more 'stuff'. (Of course I exclude from this the building of anything that floats, mainly because new yachts are not material possessions as such, rather they are more philosophical and spiritual constructs! LOL).

Dan, nothing, absolutely NOTHING will make it easier working on that bloody motor! But I do understand what you are implying and - yes the video does provide some inspiration to get Mariner underway again.