One of the little discussed aspects of living on a boat is the different smells you encounter different than living in a house. The smells come from the dried salt water on the deck, excess of dirty damp clothes and towels, sheets that are on the bed longer to stretch out time before going to the laundry, clothes you wear longer than on land before putting in the laundry basket, extended time between showers and washing hair, garbage and the ubiquitous king of smell the head. Cram all of these lovely aromatic items, including you, your mate and a dog, in a space that is the size of a large overstuffed closet and voila it becomes a banquet for those of us with overactive olfactory glands!

I have been blessed with overactive olfactory processes. I smell everything! I smell to determine if something is clean or dirty, fresh or old. I smell things that smell wonderful just because. Smelling is what I do. Anyway…this is now a problem.

Oh, but I have found the solution. I have put away the Vicks and the air fresheners, the candles and oils. The solution is simple, you can’t smell yourself. If you smell worse than everything around you, the other smells are much less powerful. Yahoo! Personal hygiene. Hundreds of years ago people rarely took baths, but they stood by fires. The smoke hid some of the odors. I do not have a fire, so I shall forgo the sink in order to stink and itch to save my nose.

If you are planning a visit, please give me warning so I can shower.