Joel Pringle Low Carbon Designer
Meet the world's lowest carbon footprint designer-Joel Pringle. On their first date three years ago, Joel and his fiance Eve fantasized about owning a yacht and sailing away together. A job and two businesses later, they’re living that dream in more ways than one. Forgoing a traditional abode, they’ve made their yacht their home and office. We chat to Joel about what’s it’s like living large at sea in a tiny home.
What does your world look like?
My days are great! On an average day I wake up on the yacht I live on with my fiance. We have a coffee together, check the weather to see if we need to move anchorage and if not, after an outdoor shower and a smoothie, I get into work. I am a logo designer and content creator and I can work from my laptop anywhere in the world. We are currently sailing around the Whitsunday Islands in Queensland documenting our travels on our YouTube channel, 'Eve and Joel'. I like to do a good, full day of work which is broken up with dips in the ocean to cool down and to stretch my legs. We eat dinner together under the stars and have been lucky enough to watch dolphins playing in the phosphorescence under the yacht at night!
How do you like to explore?
On days off, we sail around the islands while making promotional videos. Roughly once a month we need to come back to the mainland to stock up on food and supplies.
What's the best thing about living on a yacht?
Total freedom. We do not have debt, we do not have a mortgage, we can both work from laptops wherever we are.
What did you take for granted living on land?
Space! We have had to really adjust to living in a small space. To give you an idea of unexpected space saving measure we have had to take, I had to cut all of Eve's kitchen utensils in half so that they can fit in the draw! Haha!
What are you looking forward do?
Adding to our YouTube channel 'Eve and Joel' by making videos exploring every Whitsunday island.
How are you finding inspiration?
I am really enjoying the challenge of seeing how quickly I can grow my business. It is a dream come true to be able to make a living off my art while living this cool lifestyle.
What is your perspective on slow living and sustainability?
One of the reasons we moved on to the yacht was for this very reason. Everything from getting fish for dinner to commuting back to the mainland has to be done slowly and mindfully. Everything we own serves a purpose and in almost every instance things have to be fixed instead of thrown out and replaced with a new one. We also live totally off-grid now. We have solar panels and a wind generator to power our home, beer fridge and laptops. We are also about to install a water maker which will turn the ocean water into fresh water for us to drink.
What changes would you like to see in the world?
I would like to see people being more courageous. I feel we all self-impose limits and tell ourselves excuses about why we can't achieve our dreams. We stand in our own way and spend our lives dreaming, but not actually taking the (sometimes very scary) leap. If we could all take serious steps to living the life in our wildest fantasies, I feel we would find more happiness and fulfilment. It will be worth it! I promise.
What is one positive thing you have seen through the recent changes in the world?
I like that people have lost interest in the traditional way of doing things and are starting to find alternative ways. I see it with employees working their own hours from home, home-owners now looking into alternative housing solutions and people turning away from big banks and looking into things like cryptocurrency.
Follow Eve and Joel's adventures on their Youtube channel.
Find out more about Joel's logo design work on his Instagram and website.
Leave a comment