'A Dream Not Fit for Kids!'

[rtbates]

Originally Posted by Woodsong

What if the "nay sayer" is your wife.

IF you've got even a small brain in there you'll listen to her...haha

I have a 7 YO grandson that loves sailing and I'd love to take him places, BUT the responsibility is too great. Risk my life and that of adults who chose to join, sure, children, no way. I'll sail to somewhere spiffy and then the kids and women can fly there and join in the local area sailing.

Best of luck with your decision.

[Hampus]

I think that the children brought along on such a journy, together with their parents would be among the luckiest in the world. They might not see it right there and then, but they would be. I might step on some toes now, but this is my honest oppinnion and I feel quite strongly about it:

My girlfriend works at a kindergarden (day care center in american english?).
A lot of the children at the center have parents with careers and good financial standings. They usually get dropped off at around 7.30 in the morning and get picked up at 17.30 in the aftenoon. In my world, THAT is irresponsible. Why bother having kids at all if only to hand them away for 10 hours a day to some stranger. Many of the parents would have their kids at the center during weekends and holidays if they only could. If I had children (and I might some day) I wouldn't hesitate taking them cruising. If the worst should happen... Well, it would still be better than being handed away 10 hours a day, brought home and put to bed, virtually growing up without your parents because they are too busy with their careers.

[Charlie]

Originally Posted by Woodsong

My wife agrees that the suburban life is boring and we're both ready for a change but she wants to buy a small farm. I want a sailboat.


Maybe I should just suggest we go for a little "3 day cruise down on the coast" and just kind of keep going....

Don't buy a farm. I did and unless you really love farming it is alot of work for no reward. The goats get more attention than I do. But once a woman gets that earth in her hands and starts to gardeing you are sunk (pun intended). I would think that rather than a three day crusie on the coast you could try a week long charter in the Islands or Florida. Make sure that you can work out a system that your wife doesn't feel over worked (the voice of experience speaking) Try doing the prep for the meals before you go so that cooking is real easy. Take care of the kids more than your share. \

Iceblink is on PBS here is alink to a promo Ice Blink
My wife injoyed it and there were some really good insights from the Martin kids.

[Chattcatdaddy]

Originally Posted by maxingout

My son was 14 when he started out on our circumnavigation. When he finished the trip around the world, he wrote, "34 Things I've Learned in 33,000 Miles." David's Journal

Great read! Sounds like you raised a good kid. I know there is some great stories behind some of those lessons.

[maxingout]

Originally Posted by Chattcatdaddy

Great read! Sounds like you raised a good kid. I know there is some great stories behind some of those lessons.

Our kids learned and experienced things on our trip that they never could have come by any other way. They ended up becoming good citizens of the world, which is a great advantage in our global economy. You could drop them off in any country of the world, and they would know how to survive and thrive.

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by Marna

The argument my Hubster used for a sailboat over a trawler was that while it's possible to run out of gas, you are much less likely to run out of air.

I move my kids on average every 18 months. It's the same life I had as a kid. My experience is that kids adapt to their surroundings remarkably well. My kids excel at making friends quickly, fitting into new environments and rolling with whatever life throws at them. I can't think of a better training to give them for the real world.

I've had the small farm--horses and alpacas. It's a heck of a lot of work, usually involving either being up at the crack of dawn, being up to your elbows in disgusting things or both. Right now, I'd much rather be hoisting sails than putting foal chains on a not-quite-born-yet baby horse.

Amen to that, myself being raised on a ranch/farm. It all comes down to one thing.

F uture
E vents
A ppear
R eal

We only get one life. Why not live it to our own satisfaction (morally).

[Chief Engineer]

I have heard reports from the PNW about people who liveaboard with children who have gotten raided by Child Protective Services....has to do with home schooling and allegedly unsafe area for children.

There also seems to be some pressure from states regarding home-schooling also.

[maxingout]

Originally Posted by Chief Engineer

I have heard reports from the PNW about people who liveaboard with children who have gotten raided by Child Protective Services....has to do with home schooling and allegedly unsafe area for children.

There also seems to be some pressure from states regarding home-schooling also.

During our circumnavigation, my son did three years of high school on the boat with a much more rigorous curriculum than any public high school in the USA. We used the University of Nebraska high school curriculum. On his SAT test, he had a perfect score on the verbal section. His perfect score got him a college scholarship.

On our boat there weren't any drugs, weapons, bullying, peer pressures, or other problems like those found in so many public schools.

I think the child welfare people should start emptying out the public schools and force the kids to live on boats so that they are safe and so they can actually learn something and get a college scholarship.

[Woodsong]

Thanks all- I truly appreciate the ideas and thoughts expressed here. We are not rushing off to anywhere but really, try as I might and trust me I have honestly tried, I can't get this idea of a grand adventure of some sort that is water based out of my head! I will try and for a week try not to mention boats or boating or anything but honestly- I realized it's what gets me excited these days and I have to realize I talk about it a lot. It's only in the last month or two that I've realized I have this dream of more than just doing the loop. I have to sell some assets first so that is the first order of business. Once some of that is done we will probably have a more clear picture of what we want to do and will be more freed up to do act upon it once we have it planned out. Most likely a trawler will be the next step. My wife gets excited about that idea and likes the idea of a trawler with lots of teak, etc. and I would be happy that route as well. Not a blue water cruising sailboat mind you, but hey- all I know how to sail right now is my little 10' snark! haha. Lord willing, we've got time as we are young (I'm 35). When our current boat is sold we'll just see what we end up with. Given market conditions I'd even be ok with just getting a little 28-30' daysailer for our local lake. It would be extremely affordable and probably something I could try out and see if I actually like sailing a bigger boat and learn how to do it. We're also going to look into a school on the coast that does sailing classes for a little mini-getaway vacation and sailing education event. It may just be my wife doesn't like sailboats in which case I guess I'll be one of those guys in a nordhavn doing a circumnavigation!!

Still reading through the links in this tread too.

Thanks!

[TAREUA]

Woodsong, when I was out cruising last time, I met people on power boats cruising on the outside of Baja, Fiji, Vanuatu and PNG. They were all great people and ended up at the same pot lucks and beach parties that we were at. With only two exceptions, everyone I ever met doing long range cruising had a motor along too.

[clausont]

This probably does not count but here it is anyway:

We purchased an Ingrid 38 last fall and sailed it from Olympia, WA to Winchester Bay, Oregon. A pretty short passage and much of it in Puget Sound and the Straights of San Juan De Fuca. The weather was not great -- pretty cold and rainy. We sat out for a couple of days in Greys Harbor to wait out a blow. Probably good that we did as while we were sitting in the marina the coast Guard towed in a 51' Formosa that was out in it.
What makes this applicable to this thread?
We had our three oldest kids along, ages 12, 9 and 6 years. The water was not the calmest off the coast on the way down to Oregon either, but not bad by any means.
Would I do it again? ABSOLUTELY!!!
Do the kids want to do it again? ABSOLUTELY!!!
Even though it was not the Caribbean (which they have been to) or the South Pacific, they are anxious to get out there and do it again. They totally loved it. It was one of the funnest things they have done short of our time in Jamaica and Mexico.
Kids adapt very quickly, especially if it is something they want to do.
We do a bit of day sailing with all five of our kids here also and they all love sailing.
The Oregon coast is by no means the best sailing grounds and our bar can be pretty nasty but still, we love sailing.
So is sailing a dream not fit for kids? NO WAY. It is the dream of our older kids to be sure. They often talk of the trip down the coast still. Of the sea life they saw. Of the whales by the boat. Of the sunrise. Of the sunset. Of the museums and such that we went to when we would pull in somewhere. (Neah bay has a great museum BTW).

My wife is not so excited about sailing as the kids and I. But she does enjoy it and is willing to go if we decide to at some point. But that being said, I don't for a second have any illusion that it would be a good idea to make my wife go on a cruise if it were not what SHE really wanted to do.

Just my two cents worth and enough of my rambling.

[schoonerdog]

OK, here's some quick points.

1) Young children prior to the age of 12 brains a biologically predisposed to learning a second, third, fifth language and learn best through immersion. Regular schools begin languages at the age of 14 and by then it is the same type of learning that you would do for a computer language or anything else, you can do it, but it's far more difficult. If you want your kids to be multilingual, travel to a country is THE best way. This is indesputible and universally agreed upon by every piece of research out there.

2) Travelling to destinations also shows them a complete culture, instead of a world history course teaching a piecemeal part of their history, a world economics course showing living standards, a language course teaching the language. The kids KNOW what other countries are like, linguistically, geographically, socially, economically, historically and biologically. It's one thing to say that Cuba and the United States differed on economics, it's quite something else to walk through the street, see both the poverty in the form of simple houses yet the free medical care and the coffin of Che in the Museum of the Revolution missing his hands. Very different. If you want your kids to know world history, geography, cultural events, travel is THE best way, bar none. And via boat is one of the ONLY ways you will see things that aren't meant for the tourist. A nice hotel is a nice hotel. But looking out from your boat at night at a village with no lights, watching the local officials rowing out to your boat because they can't afford gas, it's something else.

3) Our own sense of alienation is at the root of all mental illness. That's probably a misquote, but very true. Sailing kids are well adjusted because they have to develope working relations with their parents and peers with real responsibilities. Put this one in family togetherness as well. If you can find something more important in the world, let me know. Some people have gone cruising for this reason alone.


4) Socialization. They also have the MOST diverse group of "peers" in cruising. NO other way of travel or living allows the most humble cruiser to be invited over to the local megayacht. Every land based life has very stratified socio-economic barriers. Private school vs public, wealthy vs poor, retirement communities and young families. Out at remote anchorages everyone is equal in the face of the sea. There simply is absolutely NO comparison to any other way of life. And by the way, by virtue of this community that moves beyond the closed mental paths that most travel, everyone that you meet will also be the most innovative, open minded, and adventurous group you could possibly meet. Compare that to your average suburb with old ladies staring out at you through their binoculars trying to see your dog is going to poop on their lawn. No, not made up.

Sorry, but I obviously have strong opinions on this. Oh, yeah. When I came back after a year of cruising I went from an environment where I was making corrective course changes for a vessel moving at 25 miles an hour that was two miles away to driving withing 3 feet of a SUV travelling 80 miles an hour by a guy who was shaving in the mirror and talking on his cell phone at the same time. Which is more dangerous? It's amazing how we travel non plussed into a city where every single year on every single corner their is a murder and yet get concerned at the thought of an anchorage which had a robbery three years ago. We get worried about kids who can swim falling over the lifelines on a boat at anchor yet we have no worries about them walking out on a balcony 10 stories up in an apartment. OK, rant over.

Originally Posted by Woodsong

Thanks all- I truly appreciate the ideas and thoughts expressed here. We are not rushing off to anywhere but really, try as I might and trust me I have honestly tried, I can't get this idea of a grand adventure of some sort that is water based out of my head! I will try and for a week try not to mention boats or boating or anything but honestly- I realized it's what gets me excited these days and I have to realize I talk about it a lot. It's only in the last month or two that I've realized I have this dream of more than just doing the loop. I have to sell some assets first so that is the first order of business. Once some of that is done we will probably have a more clear picture of what we want to do and will be more freed up to do act upon it once we have it planned out. Most likely a trawler will be the next step. My wife gets excited about that idea and likes the idea of a trawler with lots of teak, etc. and I would be happy that route as well. Not a blue water cruising sailboat mind you, but hey- all I know how to sail right now is my little 10' snark! haha. Lord willing, we've got time as we are young (I'm 35). When our current boat is sold we'll just see what we end up with. Given market conditions I'd even be ok with just getting a little 28-30' daysailer for our local lake. It would be extremely affordable and probably something I could try out and see if I actually like sailing a bigger boat and learn how to do it. We're also going to look into a school on the coast that does sailing classes for a little mini-getaway vacation and sailing education event. It may just be my wife doesn't like sailboats in which case I guess I'll be one of those guys in a nordhavn doing a circumnavigation!!

Still reading through the links in this tread too.

Thanks!

[Little Otter]

ASK THE KIDS!!!! I'm 16 and to many timmes i've seen parents(and other adults) not do something because they think that kids don't want to do it or don't need something, my mom tought that keeping me from getting a learners for almost a year because she thought she was doing good but now she regrets that choice because she still has to take me everywhere. I've also seen just the opposite happen and the kid doesn't want to do something that adults think they will like, such as my mom taking me to a wedding rehearsale when I wanted to go fishing, I hated it, it is especially bad if you are the oldest because you are the ginnea pig an if someting doesn't work then you still have to do it but your siblings don't. The morale is to ask the kids what they wan't to do, they might be persueded to side with you and want to go sailing, and if your kids beg there mom to let yall do it she might give in( my littlest brother used this alot when he was that age and nearly always got his way). But ask the kids because if you talk your wife into it and then the kids don't want to then you will be just as miserable as if you never went.

[tquerin]

How are families that cruise able to finance living like that? Doesn't it get quite costly? This is something I am very interested in. I do not have a lot of money and by the time I acquire a vessel I will have even less.

[Little Otter]

well if you have a skill that helps like mechanical understanding, knowing how to scuba dive, internet buisness... it goes on . you can do jobs like small shallow salvage, i.e. outboard engines, rings lost while swimming expensive hard to get parts lost over in a harbor, stuff like that.