Sailing Full-Time as a Nomad

Nomad Profile

The intrepid Linda Jackson is the author of Shellphone Chronicles, a global traveler, and a full-time sailor. She also runs a consulting company from the high seas, taking the term “digital nomad” to new heights.

Linda and I connected over Substack and became good friends. This is what I love about this platform—so simple to find your tribe! Be sure and give Shellphone Chronicles a read, like I do every week.

9 Fun Facts

• First Name: Linda

• Age Range: 60s

• Nationality: Canadian

• Nomadic Stance: Full-time - I’m proud to be an OG Digital Nomad, and one of the few that is water-based

• Last Corporate Job: VP of Sales and Marketing at a Tech Company

• Current Job: Management Consultant for Mid-Sized B2B Companies - mostly tech

• Favorite Country: Too hard to choose - I’d usually say where I am now - Still looking for Nirvana

• Next Stop: Vanuatu

• What do you like best about the nomadic life? Freedom

2 Questions

1) As a professional, you work remotely. How do you continue to build your business and find new clients?

As a management consultant, I’ve always had distance relationships with clients, so the fact that I’m not in the same city as they are has never been a problem. And then with COVID, the whole world went remote, so now it’s just accepted.

Finding new clients and keeping my network alive is definitely the thing I work the hardest at. I introduce a lot of people to each other, and people then introduce me, so my network keeps growing. Luckily, I enjoy being a connector, and my investment in those activities has paid off with my clients offering repeat business and referrals to other companies.

2) Living on your sailboat, what are the benefits (and challenges) of seeing the world from open water?

There are far more positive benefits than negatives - this is the life we’ve engineered, and we appreciate every part of it. We go to places that most people only dream of, and seeing the world from this perspective really changes your worldview.

We approach by water, which is a very different experience from flying into a new place. We get to see the shoreline and the profile of the landscape as we approach. Ours is a much softer landing with more time to acclimatize.

We joke that “we are the view” - as we’re out there on the water in these beautiful places, and we are what everyone else sees. And even when we are anchored in one place, our view is ever-changing as we move with the wind, tide, and currents. We are completely in touch with the natural environment, and it affects every aspect of our lives.

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Christened “Wander Woman” by National Geographic, Erin Michelson has traveled to 130+ countries & all 7 continents. She is a professional speaker and author of the Nomad Life™ series of curated trips and travel guides, including the #1-ranked Explore the World with Nomads.

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