Cruisers Forum
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Rate Thread Display Modes
Old 13-12-2005, 11:12   #1
Marine Service Provider
 
tilmonday's Avatar

Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Dover, NH
Boat: Balance 526
Posts: 42
Taking the kids cruising for a year

It took a year for my wife to convince me we were better off taking a year off from our careers to take the kids cruising before they get to old. So we have sold the house and the power boat, purchased a catamaran and with only six months to go before we toss the line I can hardly wait. We have a boy who is 12 and a girl who just turned 10. Our cruising plans are to leave NH in July and slowly start south while hitting as many ports as possible along the way. We will spend some time in the Chesapeake and than further south once the hurricane season has died down. In December we plan on heading across the pond to the Bahamas for the winter.
If there is anybody else cruising with kids I would love to hear from you and what your cruising plans are. Once we finally settle
on a boat name I will be setting up a website with all our plans.

Regards,
Dave
tilmonday is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 13-12-2005, 12:00   #2
Registered User

Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 5
We have two kids 9 & 6. We are in ther process of selling the house and buying a cat. We are leaving next year and going to the Bahamas. Somewhere between June and November we haven't decided when to deal with the hurricane season.
Daan
DanB_NC is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 13-12-2005, 15:17   #3
Registered User
 
Jim H's Avatar

Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: London, UK
Boat: '67 Cal 20, Aurora and "73 Rival 34, Southern Rival
Posts: 162
Images: 7
Selling Houses...

We're comtemplating a plan like this, but a couple of years down the road. Did either of you consider renting your houses instead of selling? The market has been so agressive back here that selling would take some guts, especially if only one year of cruising is planned.

Good luck on your plans, and maybe we'll follow in your wakes (but in the Pacific).

Jim H
Jim H is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 13-12-2005, 16:02   #4
Senior Cruiser
 
GordMay's Avatar

Cruisers Forum Supporter

Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Thunder Bay, Ontario - 48-29N x 89-20W
Boat: (Cruiser Living On Dirt)
Posts: 49,139
Images: 241
Dan: You'll be dealing /w hurricane season June 1 thru' November 30.
Best of luck, all you bstarads* goin' cruisin', while I stay home & work.
__________________
Gord May
"If you didn't have the time or money to do it right in the first place, when will you get the time/$ to fix it?"



GordMay is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 13-12-2005, 19:31   #5
Registered User

Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: UK (NJ) (QUE)
Boat: Island Packet 370
Posts: 26
Hi Dave & Dan,

We have two boys 4 and 6 and are in the process of selling our house at the moment (had an offer and are in negotiation). We plan to outfit a new boat on the Chesapeake during Mar/Apr and do some local cruising there into May before heading up north your way for the summer. We may cross on the way!!

Like you we plan to be back in the Chesapeake towards the end of summer and hopefully head south at the end of the year for Florida and the Caribbean (at least, that's the plan ).

We're also discussing a name for the boat! I'm working websites, email and other stuff at the moment.

I've researched and read myself to a standstill about all this and I think I've reached a stage where I just want to be doing something real now. I just hope the house sale goes through...

Cheers

Neil
NeilR is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 13-12-2005, 19:32   #6
Registered User

Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: UK (NJ) (QUE)
Boat: Island Packet 370
Posts: 26
Sorry Gord, but someone has to do it
NeilR is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 14-12-2005, 05:50   #7
Registered User
 
Catamount's Avatar

Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Keene, NH / Boothbay Harbor, ME
Boat: Island Yachts Peterson 34
Posts: 374
Hey Dave, where in NH are you? Maybe your wife could talk to my wife, and convince her that we should do something similar!

Regards,
__________________
Tim Allen
My Boat Projects and Sailing Stories
Sailors for the Sea, a new voice for ocean conservation
Catamount is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 14-12-2005, 08:19   #8
Marine Service Provider
 
tilmonday's Avatar

Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Dover, NH
Boat: Balance 526
Posts: 42
Dan, Hopefully we will cross paths next year, good luck with the sale of your house. Our's sold too quick and we have had to rent it back. What type of cat's are you considering? How long are you planning on going for. We spent the last 6 months finding the right boat for us.

Jim, I thought about renting the house but didn't want to deal with the rental hassle. Also we sold when the markey had peaked in our area, and are hoping that prices will have dropped some by the time we are ready to do it again.

Neil, Good luck with your house also. I know what you mean about reading to much. What makes it worse is know I have a boat but it is to far away and to cold to do anything on her. Here's hoping for a short winter. Yea right this is New England, this morning it was 3 degrees out. Hope to cross paths this summer.

Catamount, I am located in Dover. Not a problem, it's all about adjusting priorities and it took a while for me to get mine in alignment. Keene... thats pretty far away from the water, where do you keep your boat?

Thanks to all,
Dave
tilmonday is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 14-12-2005, 09:12   #9
Registered User
 
Catamount's Avatar

Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Keene, NH / Boothbay Harbor, ME
Boat: Island Yachts Peterson 34
Posts: 374
Our "new" boat is currently in Annapolis, MD, wintering over at my father-in-law's dock. Next June we will deliver her to a mooring in Boothbay Harbor, ME, and then at the end of the season the plan is to have her trucked to Keene for an overhaul and re-fitting.

Regards,

Tim
__________________
Tim Allen
My Boat Projects and Sailing Stories
Sailors for the Sea, a new voice for ocean conservation
Catamount is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 14-12-2005, 12:43   #10
Registered User

Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: UK (NJ) (QUE)
Boat: Island Packet 370
Posts: 26
Hmmm....

2 Cats and an ex-racing boat, eh?

I don't think you'll be seeing much of us next summer as we plod along in our heavy cruiser, shouting at the kids and trying to figure out how to drive it...

Cheers

Neil
NeilR is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-01-2006, 12:59   #11
Registered User
 
tgrimmett's Avatar

Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Greece
Boat: Jeanneau SO 440
Posts: 38
Hello Dave:
My wife and I are planning a family cruise later this year as well. We have a 47' Jeanneau Sun Kiss and have two boys, 10 and 8. If we get going early enough in the summer, our plan is to do the 'Downeast Circle' route first. Hudson river, Erie Canal, St Lawrence seaway, PEI, Nova Scotia, and back by late fall and then make our way to the Caribbean after the hurricane season closes.

Have you found a good home school program for the kids?

Our boat is named 'Thalia'.

Regards,
Tom
Bedford, NH
tgrimmett is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-02-2006, 12:57   #12
Registered User

Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: New Hampshire, USA
Boat: 1966 13' Catboat
Posts: 20
small world

Four New Hampshire posters on one thread and only 17 miles of sea coast. Next, we're going to take over the world!

Tom, I grew up in Bedford but live in Candia now. My family and I are planning ship out in about 5 years. Looking for the first boat right now but I'm kind of stumped on the mooring thing. How did you guys find places to keep your boats. I want to be close enough to sail when I want but it seems like I have to go pretty far just to find availability. I have a mooring in Tenants Harbor, Maine where my wife is from but that's 2 1/2 hours away.
Does anyone know the mooring situation from Portland south(west)?

Thanks, Brian
B&BJoas is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-02-2006, 06:33   #13
Marine Service Provider
 
tilmonday's Avatar

Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Dover, NH
Boat: Balance 526
Posts: 42
Hi Tom,

Sorry I didn't see your post earlier. We are planning on cruising the east coast starting in mid July, waiting out Hurricane season than over to the Bahamas and Caribbean.
As for Home schooling the kids, we are actually working with the public school system in our town. My 2 kids will be in 5 & 7 grade when we leave, the school has assigned a teacher to work with us. They will be providing the curriculum as well as the books. My wife has meetings set up this week with the them. I can send you more info as it becomes available. It will be allot cheaper than the Calvert program. Stay in touch would love to hook up with other Cruising kid boats. We are bringing our 43' Voyage catamaran "Dream Catcher" up from Maryland in early May.

Brian, we have a mooring on the Piscataqua river (up from Portsmouth Harbor) that we will be using for the couple months we are still here.

Regards,
Dave
tilmonday@juno.com
tilmonday is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 14-02-2006, 11:35   #14
Senior Cruiser
 
GordMay's Avatar

Cruisers Forum Supporter

Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Thunder Bay, Ontario - 48-29N x 89-20W
Boat: (Cruiser Living On Dirt)
Posts: 49,139
Images: 241
“micoverde” wrote (from somewhere in the pacific) in the Successful Paths for Cruising Couples” thread:

can't buy time and happiness

In my experience I've noticed a distinct pattern regarding unhappy spouses and unhappy kids.

(note: if it annoys you when people get REALLY offtopic in their posts you probably want to skip this one)

It's easy to want to make your crew as relatively comfortable as possible (or as much as you can afford). The simple fact of the matter is that a studio apartment with all the amenities of land living will be vastly more luxurious in the end than even a 56' Oyster.

I think captains need to be forthright with their crews about what they're getting themselves into -- which is a challange in most situations because the crew probably knows about as much about blue-water sailing as the captain in the beginning.

I think many cases of unhappiness of crew can be attributed to coddling. As this keeps happening the crew is never allowed to fully acclimate and accept their situation -- in the end they are living and sailing on a yacht and no matter what they're never going to have it the same way as they did on land. Considering that many cruisers have been very successful at some career, leading to all the trimmings (nice car, big house etc) the situation is only compounded.

This really applies to the situation of kids onboard, especially teenagers. We spent almost all our time across the south pacific with the 'kid boat' set (we always just wound up in the same place at same time) so I was able to do a little research everyday -- after all we've thought a lot about having a kid onboard since we started out so this was our oppurtunity to see everything in action.

Kids need to get the point early on the cruising life that they're now living on a boat and that you as the parent are calling the shots and have their best interests in mind. There are good things and bad things in this situation (more good than bad) and they need to make the best of it. We've seen so many American and Canadian yachts which try to make up for shortcomings and keep the kids from complaing (or worse, crying 'child-abuse' to their relatives -- did I metion how f*cking crazy teenagers are?) by adding more and more gear like PlayStations, laptops and playstations.

It was always obvious which boats had kids that had made ti into the 'groove' of the cruising life -- the kids were always either in the water or onshore causing trouble (as kids should be doing) somewhere. Kids are a total sponge for new experiences and can really thrive with the right approach.

The other thing to just instill in your crew's life as much as possible is that cruising is by no means an easy life -- but it is a good life.

by micoverde

***

The current issue #47 (March/April) of "Good Old Boat" magazine has an interesting article, "GROWING UP AFLOAT" by Theresa Fort, wherein a long-time voyager examines the effects of cruising on kids.
__________________
Gord May
"If you didn't have the time or money to do it right in the first place, when will you get the time/$ to fix it?"



GordMay is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 27-02-2006, 16:07   #15
Bob Norson
Guest

Posts: n/a
In my position as editor of a boating rag.. I sponsor gatherings and activities for cruisers and I particularly seek out family type activities. I have found from observation of these gatherings and from my habit of visiting boats at anchorages when ever possible, that kids and boats are the best combination in the world. Boat kids have a range of different values from kids trapped on land and forced to deal with public school systems and some of the horrible kids that you do find in those schools. I've talked to persons working in the office at the marina where I keep my boat and they say they can spot the difference immediately. In that office they deal with the boats as well as a marina side apartment development so they get a dose of both. They report that the boatkids are just small adults by comparison where the land kids are often a problem in the office.

Want your kids to develop as independent, mature, responsible adults?? Raise em on a boat!! I know parents take criticism from family sometimes that it isn't good for kids because of the lack of social contact they would otherwise get in school. That's because they don't know what they are talking about. I applaud the courage and foresight of the cruising parents.

The photo on the home page of my web site says it all. It is of a gathering on a remote island in the far north of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. www.thecoastalpassage.com

Cheers

Bob Norson

For a free copy of THE COASTAL PASSAGE in PDF go to www.thecoastalpassage.com
  Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
kids

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Getting Kids Together another sailor Families, Kids and Pets Afloat 6 18-03-2004 18:24
Good book for cruising with kids tenknots The Library 1 03-04-2003 21:49

Advertise Here


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 16:13.


Google+
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Social Knowledge Networks
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.

ShowCase vBulletin Plugins by Drive Thru Online, Inc.