_
JAY THOMPSON
Sailor.

Jay and his wife Natasha have been sailing around the globe for about ten years now. France, Iceland and the Caribbean are just some of their many homes. Running their many businesses, raising their four kids and living on a boat altogether, needs willpower, strength and lots of love for what you do. They managed to create a life for themselves, incomparably free and beautiful.

Immerse yourself in the world of THE COCONUTS, a captivating family who have made a home and workplace out of their boat, and gain a deeper understanding of what it truly means to live on the water.

LISTEN TO HIS STORY:

What are you working on right now?
For the past three years, I have been working on a Mini. It’s a special category within the sailing sport. This boat became everything to us, because it may change the world of sailing.

How?
Because it flies. Well, almost. Handcrafted foils push the boat out of the water, to minimize its friction. This means speed. Speed means winning. And winning boats go from Mini to Big ones.
That's the plan. We will see.

“Anytime you limit yourself, that's as far as you'll get.”

When did you decide to live on a boat?
When I graduated high school, I got accepted into a college. But I remember asking myself: “Why am I going to college? I'm only going to college because it's what everybody says that I should do.” Even though I didn't have anything that I wanted to particularly study in college. After three weeks, one morning, I woke up, and it was as clear as it can be. I am quitting, that’s it. At that point, I felt so free. It was the first time that I broke that societal pressure that everybody is under that lives in basically the Western world like I know about it.

How was your life before that?
When I was a kid, I would go and play in the backyard all the time because we had quite a large backyard, it was like a forest. And there is this ring of trees that went around the property. And I would go out there every day because I had nothing else to do. I was quite bored, but I had an axe. I was probably like, maybe seven or eight years old. And I'd chop at this one giant pine tree. And I'd chop at it and chop at it until finally, the tree fell over. For me, it was my first huge accomplishment. And that is something that's been with me my whole life.

I was really into everything that would fly when I was little, and I used to make all these little models with my father. And one day, we started this large aeroplane model. It was to be remotely controlled. And shortly after we started working on it, my dad left us. So that airplane became the thing that I had to keep going. I couldn't just stop. And I remember being completely frustrated at times because I couldn't figure it out. It was way over my head and my abilities at that age. But I just kept going. And I eventually finished this airplane. I think that a lot of these things are definitely what has shaped me one hundred per cent.

What does parenting on a boat look like?
I'm a father of four, which is hard to believe. It's crazy being in control of four other people's life. You do feel the responsibility. But at the same time, it's something that I enjoy very much. The world that you live in is so unpredictable because life is ever-changing, so I think having a family life that is constantly changing, it's teaching them to be adaptable to any situation and not let it control them.

“I'm a father of four, which is hard to believe. It's really crazy being in control of four other people's lives.”

“The life on a boat is not an easy life, but it's beautiful.”

Any advice on how to live a fulfilling life?
You build your boundaries in your head, and I think it's one of the reasons why certain people can do amazing things because they just never thought that they couldn't do it. Anytime you limit yourself, that's as far as you'll get.

What is your process for deciding where to reside?
For years, we had a coconut growing on our rudder. And people would always ask: “What is that coconut doing there?” And Jay would answer: “It's our compass. Wherever it points, we go.” Right now, we have been living in France for the past four years. Before that, we sailed around the world for seven years. Before that, I lived in Costa Rica on the beach for four years. Before that, I was in New York for six years. We started as a makeshift family. I had two daughters already when I met Jay. I was very rooted in Costa Rica, where I was at at the time. But I sold all my equipment and my company, and we jumped on board. I have always been very good at flipping my life around very quickly.

What keeps you going?
Why do I need to compare myself to others, or why do I need to be the best at everything? It's something I struggle with completely because I am extremely competitive, even though I don't show it so much on the outside. Even if it's something mundane or ordinary, I have to give everything. But in a way, when you do remove that, what you're then going to lose is your drive, and if you do in a way learn to turn that down, then then you're also going to be losing some of that motivation for sure. Inevitably, you can’t have it all. Competitiveness is such a drive.

“Sailing makes me feel who I am.”

If one aspires to reside on a boat, what are the essential qualities or characteristics that one needs to possess?
You can always be distracted by a million different things in life, but at some point, you have to decide what you really want. I bought a boat. That changed my life.

Thank You.

LINKS:

www.coconuts.is
@jaythompsonskipper
@coconutssail

ABOUT THIS PROJECT
How we spend our days is how we spend our life. Therefore, creating an everyday life we truly care about is of fundamental importance. May these stories help you to get a different perspective on life and spark inspiration to follow the things you believe in.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE STORIES