By Dance Aoki
August 28, 2015
There aren’t many activities more relaxing than lounging on the deck of a boat as it bobs gently up and down moored somewhere in the deep blue with a cool breeze whipping against sunkissed cheeks. For many, it’s a dream to be realized…one day.
To help would-be sailors to achieve their dreams of leisure or adventure, The Boat Shop’s owners, husband and wife team Amanda and Chris Young, build boats and repair the island’s marine vessels in their shop across from the HagÃ¥tña Boat Basin.
“We work on the boats that people relax on,” Amanda said. “It’s definitely a labor of love.”
It doesn’t take much to get a boater bitten by the mariner bug. It could be that first fishing trip out with some friends on a motorboat, or a whale watching tour that gets sailors and boaters hooked.
“There’s something about being on the water, being that close to nature, and being vulnerable to it, and being a part of it all in one outing,” Amanda said.
Still, it takes a lot of work to prepare a boat for safe travels, not to mention the maintenance required and inevitable repairs that need to be made. But the rewards for the labor are a thousand-fold.
“You see the struggle is real, but (boaters) still go out and do it,” Amanda said with a smile. The Boat Shop is a labor of love for the Youngs, and their customers share in the dedication and hard work that needs to be put into a marine vessel to make it safe to enjoy.
There’s something enjoyable about making a boat a little bit better and safer; a tweak here, a tweak there, adding another gadget and streamlining things as a boater learns the way their boat moves.
“Captain Jack Sparrow said it best when he said, ‘What a boat really is is freedom,’” Chris said. “When you get out and you get away from it all, you’re no longer in or a part of the rat race; you can’t afford to think about the rat race — you’re on your boat.”
The Youngs have been boating for decades. As a child, Chris sailed around the world with his parents and siblings. They can recognize the common threads that bring watermen and waterwomen together: connecting with the wide, blue ocean and its inhabitants, or the freedom of disconnecting from the troubles of daily life. The couple also notes that boaters come from all walks of life.
“It doesn’t matter how wealthy you are or poor you are,” Chris said. “When you’re out there on the water, you’re on the same page.”
“You connect,” Amanda continued.
Dreaming is wonderful, but boating teaches a mariner to live in the present.
“You live in the now, you’re forced to. You’re vulnerable to the moment, vulnerable to the elements, vulnerable to yourself, vulnerable to your mind, and you have to get over yourself a lot when you’re in the water,” Amanda said. “It means your life, it means the life of others, and that can humble someone to the point of being grateful. And I think that’s what people end up loving about it; it brings you back to gratitude, and that’s where the love of it comes from.”
Such a rewarding passion also comes with high stakes, so the couple stresses safety and preparation.
“You approach it safely, you have a plan, so you can enjoy it,” Chris said.
“Work like a captain, play like a pirate,” Amanda said.
