I am exploring options for a
family sailing sabbatical of at least 1 to 1.5 years, possibly more. We are annual charterers with about twelve trips under our belt and also own a
small boat locally. So, while we aren't as experienced as many on this forum, we do have experience at least from a charterer and
small boat owner perspective and aren't completely green.
Anyway, my wife is half on-board with the idea and likes the overall
concept of cruising as a family, but is seeking more information. Of course being a mom she has many questions about the impact it might have on the family and our
kids that we need to
work through before we could consider putting our plans in motion. And being at least semi-intelligent, I want to ensure she is comfortable with our plans before we move forward. I am hoping to get some help with the following:
First, my wife is looking for a book or blog to read that offers a woman's/mom's perspective on cruising with the family. It's easy to find
books and blogs from a man's perspective, but not so much from a mom who is only semi-experienced in cruising. I think one of her biggest concerns is how
kids deal with returning to real life after sailing. Was it easy for them to return to
school and how did it impact their future education? Also, just the routine of sailing with the family. How much time is spent doing homework? Working on the
boat? Exploring a port city? Socializing with other kids and families? Under sail? All these and many more questions. In any case, she is hoping we can find something from a mom's perspective to start with so she can get an idea of what we'd be taking on.
Second, one of the reasons I want to do this is to offer my kids a different perspective than the manufactured life we live here at home. I'm worried they are going to grow up and be a product of the small
environment that we surround ourselves with and closed-minded to different cultures and lifestyles. I just want them to see that there are other ways to do things. With that in mind, I am wondering about the feasibility of
purchasing a
boat in
Europe and sailing the
Med for the summer before making the journey to the
Caribbean (and eventually onward to the S. Pacific with any luck). My wife and I want to visit
Europe and sailing the coast of
France,
Italy and
Spain would offer us a chance to visit some of the great coastal towns as well as provide my kids the opportunity to experience some of the
history and culture of Europe. I am wondering about the logistics of the crowds/mooring availability during the summer in the
Med, as well as the
weather and sailing conditions we'd experience during the summer there. I understand that sailing the Med has it's challenges, but is the tradeoff of experiencing coastal Europe worth it? Considering the crowds, I am wondering if starting a little later in the summer (August) might offer some respite from the worst of it? I've heard it slows down quite a bit in September, but the
weather is good into the Fall - and we wouldn't want to make the Atlantic
passage until at least November anyway.
I could go on and on, but this seems like a good starting point and then I will dig deeper depending on the responses I get here. Right now we are just considering our options and what makes the most sense. In the end and because I value my marriage more than sailing, it probably comes down to my wife and how she feels about everything. Hence my first question as well as my questions about how much of a pain it would be to sail the Med for the summer.
Thanks for any insight.
Matt