Crew Available: Help me convince my family to live the lifestyle

[Steelbitz92]

Greetings awesome people,
Not sure if this is the place to post this but here goes. I am looking for an opportunity to spend about a week on boat with an experienced family. I have longed to live off the grid for about two years now, but my Wife is afraid of the unknown. Wondering if anyone would be willing to host a very inexperienced crew. We are hard workers and very eager to learn and can take directions well. It would be a family of 4. If interested in hosting would love to talk the logistics. We have priced this out for private charters', and it is way expensive to go that route. Please let me know.

[Jolly Roger]

It would be helpful to know where you can travel to, and when?

[Steelbitz92]

We live in Florida, so ideally around the Bahamas or Mexico. Looking around Late June or July.

[HeinSdL]

I hosted some guests on board from time to time in the Med, anchoring etc. It opened my eyes in terms of how well accustomed my family and I were to the experience of being on a boat and how thoroughly uncomfortable the guests found it: rolling at anchor, people packed close together, hot (also when in the harbour), not to mention the actual sailing experience which was... at best not that interesting (for novices).

So I am thinking that jumping right on a boat will be a super interesting experience for your family with the response thereafter being: once and once only...

If you're doing the convincing thing with no prior exposure, you may have better results starting with day trips, locally, on very nice days. And then build up from there.

[Steelbitz92]

Originally Posted by HeinSdL

I hosted some guests on board from time to time in the Med, anchoring etc. It opened my eyes in terms of how well accustomed my family and I were to the experience of being on a boat and how thoroughly uncomfortable the guests found it: rolling at anchor, people packed close together, hot (also when in the harbour), not to mention the actual sailing experience which was... at best not that interesting (for novices).

So I am thinking that jumping right on a boat will be a super interesting experience for your family with the response thereafter being: once and once only...

If you're doing the convincing thing with no prior exposure, you may have better results starting with day trips, locally, on very nice days. And then build up from there.

We have done some day trips with success. Now we want to try a longer experience

[Sailingallday]

Sounds like you want someone to gift you a holiday. Especially when you say the Bahamas or Mexico - when you live in Florida.

[CrispyCringle]

What you want is to hire a charter. Discuss with the captain before the trip what your goals are. If you find one that is interested, go for it.

[Drunkonwatch]

Building up a series of smaller experiences might work better the charter or other families boats it’s an overwhelming experience. The draw back is when things go wrong or break the problems won’t seem so catastrophic with built up experience the charter captain won’t ask you to fix anything most likely. And I have to admit I can’t allow inexperienced people to tackle the intricacies of my boat. If your in Florida why not take advantage of all the nice little cheap boats to learn on. It was a hard transition for my wife and I and we were both lifelong professional mariners. Adding potential personality problems to your family’s decision could back fire.

[Drunkonwatch]

Originally Posted by Sailingallday

Sounds like you want someone to gift you a holiday. Especially when you say the Bahamas or Mexico - when you live in Florida.

Bring laminate roller and tyvek suit.

[poopship]

three things Id recommend, and as a disclaimer, Im not anywhere close to experienced cruising as most people here :

- take ASA class(es) w the wife, get comfortable about the concepts and practice of sailing, depending on age of kids get them in a class too

- charter a boat in BVI with a captain.

- watch YouTube sailors like sv Delos , etc...

These are really chill ways to ease into it. My wife wasn't into all of this until I actually got some experience, rented some "larger" (Catalina 27./30) boats from my local yacht club and then purchased a boat. Now she's all about it and we take week+ trips to Catalina / channel islands etc , and thinking about Baja next... I got her to take her ASA 103 class and she loved it. She's more of a drink wine while I do all the work type, but she's feeling it. The draw of the ocean is deep set within us, it just takes a little coaxing out of us landlubbers...

[SailFastTri]

Originally Posted by CrispyCringle

What you want is to hire a charter. Discuss with the captain before the trip what your goals are. If you find one that is interested, go for it.

This is the best answer. It may be pricey, but that’s nothing compared with boat ownership. Even worse, would be to buy a boat and then find out your family doesn’t like it.
Local day charters in FL would probably be better for you, as you could pick your weather. If you commit to a week in a travel destination, you get what you get.
On further thought, that might be good too, to have a dose of reality. It’s not always fair weather, especially if it’s a lifestyle decision.

[JPA Cate]

Hello Steelbitz92,

Sorry to write discouragingly, but for me, there is a problem with your plan, and that is, that a couple who is used to handling their own boat by themselves, who might be potential hosts in your eyes, unless they do it on a professional basis, and are already charterers, they don't need a crew of 2 adults and 2 kids because they're already self sufficient. In addition, most monohull skippers won't have that much extra room.

Another issue is that skippers have a duty of care for all their crew. Would you want to have that responsibility for four people you have never met?

So, at least to me, you want to offer yourself and family as workers to someone who could probably use some grunt labor at haulout time, but one of the adults you're offering would be involved with child care, so only one, when they have responsibility for all of you.

I'm thinking you would do better to buy the smallest boat that will accommodate you, your wife, and the kids, and jump in as boat owners at the bottom of the market, with a boat that doesn't cost an arm and a leg to berth and insure, maybe a trailer sailer. If you limit the investment, that may ease some of your wife's concerns.

Your wife might be interested in Women who Sail; and I'm sure there's a sailing women section on Facebook, if either of those would interest her. It would be a place where she could make sailing friends, and discuss her concerns. It's going to be really important that she and your kids have a good time, if you all are to become a cruising family.

Ann, cruising full time most years since 1989

PS. Maybe you could work something out with these guys? https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ed-269714.html

[SV_FlyingTigress]

Yeah, I am putting my Catalina 27 with trailer up for sale next week but you live in florida and there are a zillion boats for sale there; You may want to look for a Catalina 27 or equivalent in Florida it is a great family starter boat and you could definitely take it on 3-4 day outings with the family.

[leecea]

Thinking outside the box - if other things don't work out you could rent a "Cruise America" RV for a week and see what its like for your family to live in a smallish space with basic facilities. When we were young we spent a lot of time in tents and I think that made sailboats seem a bit of a luxury and the living, cooking, sleeping parts were not as strange or unknown as they might have been.

[Drunkonwatch]

Originally Posted by leecea

Thinking outside the box - if other things don't work out you could rent a "Cruise America" RV for a week and see what its like for your family to live in a smallish space with basic facilities. When we were young we spent a lot of time in tents and I think that made sailboats seem a bit of a luxury and the living, cooking, sleeping parts were not as strange or unknown as they might have been.

You mean thinking inside the box lol. How did the fam do in lockdown is an introspective question?