I'm 15 Years Old And I Grew Up on a Boat

[bigbird]

Like a real-life Zack and Cody, I've spent the past 7 years traveling the world


Maia and her family then

I was seven years old when my parents and I sailed away from Vancouver, BC, the city where I had grown up. Our plan was to sail around the world, and return. One day. We didn't really have a timeframe; we were just going to do it. And I was OK with that. I was seven, and I was going to see dolphins and mermaids and pirates, and I would play on tropical beaches and pick coconuts and dive for clams.


Maia and her family now

My boat, Ceilydh (pronounced Kay-lee), is a 40-foot two-hulled catamaran. My room is a cave-like bed, with just enough space to sit up straight. Three steps away from my bedroom is the main cabin. It serves as dining room, living room, office, and classroom. Windows all around the boat can be opened to provide a breeze even on the hottest of days.


Ceilydh at anchor in the Maldives


Maia in her bedroom alongside Charlie the cat

It's a pretty house, but it's very small. There's limited privacy. I can't even resort to the age-old teenager trick of slamming my door — because I don't have one.

People always ask how I go to school, eyes wide at my unconventional childhood. "Are you just taking a vacation?" they ask. "No," I tell them. "This is my life and I'm boat-schooled."

My writer mother helps me with English and history, and my naval architect father assists with math and science (although he readily admits that biology baffles him).


Helping Dad with the sails

I also get questions about pirates. We have never been in danger from pirates, basically because we give the places with pirates a wide berth. I did watch Pirates of the Caribbean at a movie night in Mexico, however. But that was the closest I ever got to the skull and crossbones.

DATING: THE STRUGGLE IS REAL

The sailing community isn't very big, so we all kind of know each other. That can make dating difficult. This was especially bad in Madagascar. We'd been sailing with a group of boats, and one of the boys and I were sort-of-kind-of-together. The adults kept making not-so-subtle jokes about us liking each other.


Maia with her boat friends

After every barbecue, my mum would come up to me.

"So-and-so wants to know if you and [let's call him J] have gotten together yet!" she'd giggle.

The next day, "I was talking to such-and-such and she heard from so-and-so that you and J were walking on the beach together! Do you like him?"

She wasn't being a "concerned parent" — she was just nosy. I had to tell my mum in no uncertain terms to leave me the hell alone. Relationships are difficult enough without having twenty adults hanging on your every move!

Some of the stuff I do with my friends might seem surprisingly normal. I was taught to play Halo by the group of boys who needed another player. I was awful at it, but they didn't care. It seems funny to some people that we spend a lot of time inside playing video games, when we're basically in tropical paradise. But I burn red, and it was hot out, so we played Halo and got to know each other through rude jokes and popcorn fights.


Kids from a variety of boats play on Ceilydh in the Maldives


THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT A NEW PLACE

Strange as it may sound, the smell of a place is often the first hint of it you get when you're at sea. Every place has its own scent. Sri Lanka was freshly brewed black tea, spicy curry, and the raw natural smell of silk. Soon we could see low mountains, vibrantly green in the sun. I loved Sri Lanka. It's often referred to as a more genteel India, with the same lush exotic beauty. We did some inland travel there, staying in small B&B's with crisp mountain air and eating spicy rotis and samosas for breakfast.


Maia is shown how to properly tie her sari at a tea plantation in Sri Lanka

SURVIVING STORMS AT SEA

The Indian Ocean crossing was more challenging than any ocean we'd sailed before. Getting older meant that I was more aware of the dangers and the weather. I'd take watches while my parents slept, watching for squalls and storms that approached. I'd learned to tell by the wind direction whether a rain cloud would hit us or pass us by, and I realized that this can be a dangerous lifestyle. I'd always known, of course, that if I fall in the water I could drown, or if the boat sank we could die, but I really understood it on the Indian Ocean crossing.



Face to face with a lemur in Madagascar

Despite the challenges, I do have some wonderful memories from that voyage: Lying out on deck with a pile of friends, watching movies under the stars, warm breezes floating over us; Scuba diving in the Maldives; Making friends with Sri Lankan women, and learning how to tie my sari; Cackling with my friends on sleepovers, arms around each other as we laughed helplessly at a joke that probably wasn't all that funny.


A boat sleepover


One of Maia's many snorkeling adventures

VISITING THE MOST SECRET PLACE IN THE WORLD

St Helena is a tiny, remote island in the middle of the Atlantic. You can only get there by ship, and fresh food is a luxury. It's also magical. It rises from the sea, a black forbidding rock that puts you in mind of some of the castles from Game of Thrones. I had an urge to watch the sky for dragons. It seemed impossible that anyone lived there.


St Helena is one of the most remote islands in the world

We soon learned differently. The interior of St Helena is lush and pastoral, reminiscent of the English country-side. There are even sheep. The locals (Saints, as they call themselves) are friendly individuals, but difficult to understand. Their accent turns "wash" into "wish" and they speak very fast. There are also British expats that have lived there for generations. It's weird, wacky, and wonderful. While there, we befriended an ex-governor's daughter, and a small film crew that were making a documentary about the island.

We spent our days hiking, visiting Napoleon's tomb, and walking donkeys at the local donkey sanctuary. We had planned to spend two weeks and stayed six. We left on St Helena Day, when most of the island had congregated in the main town of Jamestown and were partying in the streets. Large, elaborately constructed floats snaked through the narrow streets, and we moved with them, back to the wharf where our dinghy was. We left with fireworks exploding behind us.


Maia walks a donkey at the St Helena donkey home

MY JOURNEY IS ALMOST OVER

Soon enough, I'll be back home, going to normal school and making normal friends. I'll live in an apartment, maybe go to the mall on weekends and get a part time job. My weird life — where I've seen amazing things, met incredibly interesting people, and learned a lot about myself — will be done.


Snorkeling with a manta ray

Sometimes, what I want more than anything else is to have a regular life. Other days, I look out my window at my constantly changing back yard, or climb out my window to lie on deck and look at the stars and I feel like I'm in exactly the right place.




BY MAIA SELKIRK