Josh, Sophie & Qisma
Hi! We are Sophie and Josh and we live on a 60ft narrowboat on the Lough Erne. Although we are "blow-ins" and grew up in Co.Armagh, we have felt so at home in Fermanagh over the past year.
We both grew up together in Portadown, Craigavon, and went to the same college and eventually the same university in Stoke on Trent. Famous for its canals and boat building, Stoke opened up to the possibility of 'tiny living' or living completely off grid on the water.
Once that dream was planted, we began to watch YouTube videos upon YouTube videos of narrowboat living and life on the canals in England. We started to look at boats for sale all across the country on Gumtree or Facebook and even began to visit boats for sale.
Unfortunately, due to Covid, we had to move back to NI and finish our degrees on our little laptops at home. We were both separated from each other, living with our own families for the duration of lockdown which was tough. During the second (or third?) lockdown at the beginning of 2021, we began to lose sight of our futures and believe that life on the water was, quite frankly, impossible.
At the time, Josh's work didn't pay well and he felt less appreciated by the day, feeling more and more down. This led to a spiral of emotions, thinking we would never get out of this lockdown hole. We spent many nights on the phone talking about our future, thinking about what we should do, where we should go and how we would go about it.
During university, Sophie noticed a change in energy during the winter and darker months, leading to having Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).
One day, out of curiosity, Josh checked online to see if there were narrowboats or barges in NI. Low and behold, we found Qisma for sale on Done Deal in the heart of Lough Erne. After that, the rest is history!
We have both found that living on the water has been so good for our mental health. Having a boat to look after also has lots of positive effects. You have to look after the boat, do the chores, etc which makes you feel like you have a purpose (something we definitely lacked during those low times).
Being around nature too is so important, looking out the window each day and seeing something new, whether that be a beautiful sunrise/sunset or watching the swans go about their day. Being around the water has made a huge, positive difference in having symptoms of SAD also.
If we could take something from this whole experience of feeling useless to feeling worthy, is to get outside, find some water, go for a dip, get our hands dirty, and watch the simple happenings of nature. It's so good for the soul.
Thanks,
Sophie and Josh
