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| Chuck it all, Sailboat around the world With Kids
Posted: 8/15/2007 7:42:06 AM | Re: "my 28 hours of bailing was due to a weak point in my first boats hull, I had sailed her for 9 months from lake Erie to south Florida. I failed to realize how quickly it got shallow on the west coast of Florida"..........."I am well prepared before I do anything" ??????
Re: "they were doing a dangerous job and probably enjoying the risk" .........with all due respect, you really don't get it. My friends and I ended up working as mariners because we were living on the barren west coast of Ireland, which at the time was classed as a third world country, working on the sea was the ONLY work that was available for us, we had little to no education, danger and risk have and had nothing to do with it. We enjoyed getting home safely to our families and being able to put bread on the table, merely existing was challenge enough for us, at times, going back out to an inhospitable sea with bleeding hands was like going to hell, our people have been mariners for over six centuries out of necessity.
Next time that you sit down to a seafood dinner, spare a thought for how it got to be on your plate.
I have become completely institutionalised on the sea and that is my excuse, what is yours ?
Re: "I've always been one to enjoy the danger and adventure of pushing something just at its limits and often slightly beyond. I was one that was going out when everybody else was coming in due to the foul weather. I would see what would break and enjoy the challenge of overcoming it and jury rigging to get back in."..........You are a selfish and dangerous man, what of your family and friends ? I rest my case.
Good luck. | |
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| Chuck it all, Sailboat around the world With Kids
Posted: 8/15/2007 8:07:31 AM | I grew up as the little kid on the sailboat. We didn't circumnavigate in one trip...but spent 4 years cruising the Caribbean/Eastern Seaboard/Etc on a variety of sailboats my father designed & built (my age was 9-13).
Having a childhood like that enabled me to appreciate other cultures (& not succumb to the rabid zenophobia common in the States), read extensively at a young age, master many skills that gave me a true sense of self/worth, among other things.
Instead of playing video games & whining about what new toy I didn't have...... I learned how to navigate, handle any manner of watercraft (sail or power), catch & cook my dinner, speak another language , scuba dive & just about anything else you can imagine related to nautical life.
Yes, jheldatksuedu, I swam w/ wild dolphins & saw whole island rookeries covered in roseate spoonbills, etc. I had a great blue heron as a pet for 6 months (found him on small island after a squall, when he was still a fledgling) & released him off Key West when he had learned to fish for himself.
Two older brothers aboard belayed the boredom, & frequent stints in local school systems (along w/ 'home' schooling) put me in a position to excell academically when I returned to the US.
In short, I grew up in a post card of tropical paradise that changed every day & wouldn't alter that experience for anything in the world.
I've often wondered if Dad ever understood just how much I value & rely on that upbringing every day..... | |
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| Chuck it all, Sailboat around the world With Kids
Posted: 8/15/2007 9:33:39 AM | Seanick:
Every time I pushed a boat a little farther and had a disaster I was learning, learning the power and the ability of the winds and the water, learning what I am capable of and what can't be overcome, all this happened on an inland lake less then 2 miles wide and durring the summer, I was never more than a mile from shore and the water was warm, I was at most 3 miles from home. I had a life jacket and would wear it when it was dangerous. I am not a dangerous person, I am an extremely educated person with experiences that many can only dream about. I leave very little to chance when I am trully at risk. When I travel across an ocean I have multiple backup saftey plans, I have hand operated water makers, self inflating life rafts, two eperb emergency beacons, a inflateable dingy, as well as many other devices to help in an emergency. I have all this equipment and I know how to use it. I am far from a dangerous man.
I could case less that you didn't have the opportunities that I had, that you had to be there because it was your job, that certainly doesn't make you a better person at judging somebody else with the limited knowledge gained from the posting on a forum like this. I have an education that allows me to calculate the strength of a piece of equipment and I have the practical knowledge to know when to apply those eqautions and when to allow a larger margin of saftey.
I suppose when you are at work you have never made a mental error and did something a little too late. That's what happened when I run aground, I failed to know how quickly it got shallow in this area, and I had been crossing the gulf of Mexico for three days in a storm with a seasick mate. My hands were full, I was doing the best I could for a solo sailor. Life on the sea for a solo sailor is a totally different situation then life on a working boat with many hands on deck. A solo sailer is responsible for all aspects of the boat. From the mechanics to the route figuring, the setting and choice of the sails to the meal preparing and planning, from weather forcasting to cleaning the head. It's much more of a challenge than just knowing how to run the machinery to operate the fishing nets.
I learned from my experiences also. Life is a learning process. I've certainly learned more than most and intend on continuing that process. Please take your negativity and whollier than thou attitude someplace else if you have nothing positive to add. I am not a dangerous person, anybody that has spent anytime with me picks up on that very quickly. I'll admit I have done some fun things like drive a car at over twice the legal speed limit but I did my homework first. I didn't just go out and do it, I worked up to it, I have the proper car, and checked it out well. My sailing experience is much the same. I've worked most of my adult life preparing myself for this voyage, I've taken the better part of three years after I really decided to do it and I'm still not away from the dock. I have the proper equiment and I'm checking it out. Even when I finally do pull away from the dock, I've chosen a route that will allow many months before I'm more than couple days from land. I'll have many miles under my belt with this new boat before I really tackle an ocean. | |
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| Chuck it all, Sailboat around the world With Kids
Posted: 8/15/2007 10:12:49 AM | Also aimed at Seanick:
What are your plans when your cat turns turtle? That to me that is a disaster waiting to happen. And you have the nerve to call somebody else dangerous. Believe me I've been there, cats and trimarans too, I was amazed how a power boat could not see me less than 100 feet away after my catamaran came apart in high winds, the center structure failed and then all you have is pieces floating around connected by cables. Nothing more than a foot out of the water in 2 foot waves. This was also part of my self education, yes once more less than one mile from shore. Luckilly the wind was blowing us toward shore. I had my best friend with me then. Infact he does not think I'm a selfish and dangerous person, he went so far as to name his first born after me. That son is getting married next month. | |
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| Chuck it all, Sailboat around the world With Kids
Posted: 8/15/2007 11:44:28 AM | My cat won't turn turtle ! Hehe ! Many have tried and merely bent masts (Marechal) and broken rigging, They are "double rigged" because of their weight ! Thats why I decided to buy one ! The Gennaker alone is a whisker over 100sqm, 865sqft of deck space. She sails beautifully, is fully equipped and certified to circumnavigate and loves heavy weather. I also have state of the art safety, firefighting and communications systems (beyond regulation stipulations), four double en-suite cabins, massive saloon area, full galley, full bar and loads of storage space, not to mention the beautiful cherry wood interior and non skid deck surface, solar panels, de-salination plant (75 lits per hour), wind generator, two fully re-conditioned volvo md2030's, central heating throughout, 4 meter rib with a 25hp yamaha, 400lits water, 600lits fuel etc........all serviced, maintained and in many cases, fitted by myself. In short, perfect for circumnavigating with a family.
She is 24 tons of kevlar reinforced composite, biaxial and triaxial construction with bagged polyester from the waterline down and in "as new" condition. Even when sliced in half longtitudinally or transversely, they remain incredibly bouyant. I like to navigate traditionally utilising only a sextant and compass.
Besides that, as I mentioned earlier, I have a lot of computer software that may be beneficial to you regarding safety etc...contact me and i'll get it to you.
Yet again, I wish you good luck and congrats to your friend's son.
Captain Nioclas O'Coisteala Msc, Ma (Irish lit), Dip/ms, MM (British and USCG)
(Re: "It's much more of a challenge than just knowing how to run the machinery to operate the fishing nets. " If you have time, I appeal to you to look up "Master Mariner(MM) " in a websearch). | |
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| Chuck it all, Sailboat around the world With Kids
Posted: 8/15/2007 12:03:08 PM | Actually I have considered doing this WITHOUT the kids. I have already raised my kids for the most part and am looking forward to being able to enjoy my future activities with just my partner. Sailing around the world sounds incredible, what a life journey. That being said there are some areas of the world I just as soon not visit due to the dangers involved (civil war and such).
I admire people who can drop out of life to experience something life altering - but few have the financial resources to do such a thing - especially if they are raising children. | |
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| Chuck it all, Sailboat around the world With Kids
Posted: 8/15/2007 12:43:11 PM | My my; Now aren't we the Pot calling the Kettle black. A cat that won't turn turtle and the seas are OK for you to roam and possibly get into trouble and need the services of a rescue but others are not up to your standards. Or are you saying there is no possibility for you to get into trouble. Surely you are not that niave....
As for being as Master Mariner I would imagine like most groups, it's mostly just pay your dues and you're in. I know your going to disagree, and I'm sure the group was started with great intentions but if somebody with enough money wanted in, there are sufficient good things that they could do with their money to help sway some oppinions. Titles like that do little to impress me. Granted a life at see is a good start to becoming a good mariner but it's not the only way. Surely there is room enough on the ocean for a Kansas engineering instructor to become an accomplished mariner. I did grow up in New Jersey and it's named after the Island of Jersey surely there is a mariner or two in my heritage.
I choose steel because steel is the only thing that has a chance against coral, your triaxial and Kevlar reinforced composite doesn't stand a chance. Believe me I know composites, I have worked with both Kevlar and triaxial fabrics, taught the class to engineers and was invovled in building and testing the first composite hiway bridge in the world. I don't plan to end up on coral but one never knows. I choose a mono hull because multi hulls can have troubles like I mentioned earlier and I don't like the space mostly taken up by passageways, two are needed where one is in a monohull. Granted they can be faster in certain situations but speed is not what I was looking for. I'm planning on spending 5 years travelling and most of that time will be spent in ports around the world. Unfortunately I didn't have the money (I thought you were a poor deckhand, LOL) to buy what I thought I needed, but I got lucky and worked my way into getting it. I can also navigate with a sextant and have two on board. My steel hull is fabricated with three separate compartments for the redundant boyancy desired in an ocean going vessel.
I would welcome any offers of software, I have quite a bit myself, it's lightweight and small. Some programs can be quite useful. I have planned to purchase CD charts of the entire world, just haven't been up to the persons place to look at it before I lay the money down. | |
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| Chuck it all, Sailboat around the world With Kids
Posted: 8/15/2007 12:52:07 PM | Lady Kay: Money is not the big thing, if you desire to do something and decide to do it there are always ways to get around the money problem, surely having money does make lots easier to accomplish most anything but don't let a lack of money stop you. There are often ways you can work your way around, certainly ships need workers. It doesn't cost much while you are on board, there is little to spend anything on. Sailing my own boat was my choice because it then provides me an inexpensive place to stay once I get there. It's taken quite a few years of adventure and work to get to the place where I'm at least able to see in the near future the ability to set sail and begin the journey.
While on the way food is the major expense, and it can be not much different then if one was at home. | |
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| Chuck it all, Sailboat around the world With Kids
Posted: 8/15/2007 1:13:44 PM | I sincerely hope that in your five years travelling you learn some basic social skills because you appear to be an authority on everything else ! Why do you look for comments and ideas when you just argue about them.
Fare well and fair weather. | |
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| Chuck it all, Sailboat around the world With Kids
Posted: 8/15/2007 1:33:02 PM | | send me a post card@ Or a ticket when you hit indonesia! Good luck and keep a good diary, and encourage yor children to also, perhaps you could make a buck or two, and recap some of your expenses! | |
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| Chuck it all, Sailboat around the world With Kids
Posted: 8/15/2007 2:22:31 PM | Seanick: I call a spade a spade, and you were the first top question somebodies ability without knowledge. I have plenty of social skills but surely don't waste them on people that don't deserve them. This forum was not about asking advice from other mariners, I've done my homework and put in my time and feel quite comfortable with my decisions. I welcome advice from people that give it in a polite way but your starting out with death on the ocean and giving the reason of stupid sailors and implying I might be one did not fit that from.
It's been fun. | |
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| Chuck it all, Sailboat around the world With Kids
Posted: 8/15/2007 4:52:10 PM | Salamander, Why Indoesia?
I always keep a book, not quite a diary and then try to put it on the web site every couple days. I've learned a long time ago it slips away from you if you don't write it down. | |
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| Chuck it all, Sailboat around the world With Kids
Posted: 8/15/2007 6:27:02 PM | Lady Kay - I'm in the same position. My son is 16 and in two short years he'll be flying the nest. I plan on doing the same at that time... leaving my home in good hands and setting off to sea possibly as a crewmember or with a yet undiscovered partner. It's never too late to pursue one's dream. I may not know as much as I'd like to at this point, but I'm a quick study and have the personality for it. I'm a hard worker and don't get seasick. That's a start ;-)
I live in an historic seaport town and remember as a teenager reading accounts from a book published in 1902. The descriptions of shipwrecks and their cargos fascinated me: barrels of flour and meal, copper paint, canvas and cotton, resin, tea and glassware. Oh to see the harbour in those days, full of barks, schooners, and brigs!
It doesn't matter whether I'm in a lobster fishing boat, zodiac, kayak or air conditioned yacht - just put me in and on the water and I'm happy! | |
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| Chuck it all, Sailboat around the world With Kids
Posted: 8/21/2007 10:39:52 PM | Hi JK .......... Leaving the boat in Mazatlan for a few weeks while I travel around. Didn't figure this topic could ever get too hot, but there ya go. Just wanted to agree with you on the kids side of things. Met lots of cruising kids who all seem to love the life and seem pretty well advanced for their ages. The youngest I met was 6 months old and the cutest kid I ever met. Apart from 24/7 attention from mum and dad, he is everyone's adopted grandkid. Never seen a happier baby. He's about to get a brother or sister soon. His dad was a cruiser kid too. All over the South Pacific. He's an architect despite the 'handicap' of a vagabond upbringing but he so enjoyed his childhood that he wants the same for his own kids.
Happy sailing | |
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| Chuck it all, Sailboat around the world With Kids
Posted: 8/22/2007 5:33:11 AM | John
I know kids on a boat will be a good thing. It all comes down to good parents, people that will make good parents on land will make good parents on a boat too, that's if they like to be on a boat, LOL. Maybe even better because there is less distraction with TV and such.
I figured you had been out for a while since I saw you hadn't been on for over a month or so. I've got somebody coming down from Ontario to buy the 30 footer ( I hope, he's checking out storage marinas in the area) the 38 footer is almost ready to put on the market, It always surprizes me there aren't many people like me that will look for a bargain that needs lots of work and can do the work. Anyway I should be paid well for my time fixing it up. That's a big SHOULD, I hope.... Then I can get to my boat and get on with this trip. | |
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| Chuck it all, Sailboat around the world With Kids
Posted: 1/6/2008 10:58:28 PM | | I'm back in Kansas for a while, but soon headed to the boats and Florida, I sold the 30 footer, still have the 38 to sell, the 45 is complete enough that I can start at anytime. Still lots to do but I'm set up now so I can do it anywhere. I've got the big generator and lathe and milling machine installed, and also the little diesel that can run stuff just by changing belts. The little diesel is supposed to be hand startable, but with my experiments so far I hope my life doesn't depend on it. It starts fine with it's electric starter, but if all batteries are dead for some reason I need a backup plan. I've got solar to charge batteries but that might take a couple days. I've still got some more playing and experimenting to do with it, try starting fluid, etc. I'm also looking at converting an air ratchet to a starter. I can pump up an air tank with a bicycle pump and then maybe use it to start the small diesel, then it will generate electricity and start the big diesel. Hopefully should never need this plan but want to be ready just in case. | |
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| Chuck it all, Sailboat around the world With Kids
Posted: 1/7/2008 12:37:33 AM | There are some friends of my family that actually did just this...A doctor, his wife, and their two children bought a sailing yacht, sold their home, put a good deal of money into some very long term investments, and decided to live the life of seafarers for about five years...Since the wife was a schoolteacher by trade, the proper education of the children was kept up to par during this time...The family eventually went back to the landlocked life, with a much fresher, broader outlook on things... | |
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| Chuck it all, Sailboat around the world With Kids
Posted: 1/7/2008 12:54:53 AM | | If I could work the finances and be able to do such a thing I would love to...with or without kids...would be good to have a partner for it first though - solo sailing especially with very young ones could get a bit too much at times! Ah, you have me fantasizing now! | |
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| Chuck it all, Sailboat around the world With Kids
Posted: 1/7/2008 4:04:14 AM | | I'd do it in a heartbeat. Sailing is a definite part of my soul and I'd love nothing more than to see the world on a sailboat. Kids would be no issue as I'm a teacher and boat education would be great. I've actually thought about teaching for Semester at Sea. I can't wait to get involved in the sailing scene in Seattle though. | |
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| Chuck it all, Sailboat around the world With Kids
Posted: 1/7/2008 11:20:44 PM | Jheld you are readying yourself for a trip I once dreamed of myself. Reading through the thread I'm impressed by your determination and the extent of your preparations. You have accepted the true path to the dream, unlike the countless neophytes that are foisted as proof that your plans are flawed.
I recall taking to an old guy in the coffee shop once, years ago when I held to the dream myself. He was adamant that to cruise was a fools errand fraught with dangers too formidable to overcome. When I queried why he felt that way he related how he and his wife set out down the intracoastal, describing a litany of woes that befell them ... dragging anchors, roller furling that wouldn't reel in all the way, groundings. I asked him how much time he and his wife had spent preparing and training for the trip. His answer ... they bought the boat, their first ever, and set out. I'm sure he repeated his tale to the uninformed at every opportunity. I just shook my head and bid him farewell.
So why have I not continued down the pathway to world cruising? My own preparations have been as painstaking and thorough as yours, though I bow to your superior skill and knowledge in boat repair and modification. My research into the cruising lifestyle revealed a couple of things that I found difficult to ignore. The most glaring is that without a doubt solo sailors cannot practice proper seamanship at sea. Coastal hops and overnighters aren't the problem, it's the passages taking days or weeks that present the insurmountable problem of getting proper rest and keeping proper seawatch.
The solution is more hands, and to find a mate who is also sailor is the eternal singlehander's dream. Sifting through the accounts of cruising couples it became apparent that the compromises to achieve the dream lay heavier on the women than the men. They are more closely tied to family; in the older couples it's the children and grandchildren that are missed. Your plan of cruising with a younger woman and having children on board addresses most of the family concerns, but like you're finding, those willing to eschew the mainstream of society are a rare breed. It's good that the hard path doesn't deter you.
So my own dream has been scaled to fit my own skin, and I will be content to sail these sweetwater seas and enjoy their scaled down adventures. Thanks for the thread, with it's discussion that stirred the ashes of the old dream, and remember this ... those supporting me and agreeing with my views don't offer what I need to test my footfalls on the true path. I need the dissenters and critics to help me see the flaws in my plans.
Fair winds and following seas to you Jheld. May your landfalls be friendly and departures be on a favourable tide.
Norm | |
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| Chuck it all, Sailboat around the world With Kids
Posted: 1/7/2008 11:37:20 PM | RE: First post.
I hear ya brother. Id love just to go hiking in the middle of nowhere for like... months. Sounds fantastic, but I don't know all I need to survive that long. | |
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| Chuck it all, Sailboat around the world With Kids
Posted: 1/8/2008 2:09:54 AM | Might be nice to do SOMETHING to get outa this rut/place I'm in...I'd love to leave...problem is, kids don't wanna leave their friends, don't have the cash to do it....but if I did....
I still couldn't.....got 2 court orders saying I can't take my kids anywhere, one of which says I can't even vacation out of state, and that I can't live more than 15 miles away from the dad at any given time making it hard for him to visit his child. Kinda puts a damper on that sailing trip don't it? | |
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| Chuck it all, Sailboat around the world With Kids
Posted: 1/13/2008 7:52:50 PM | | Thanks all for the replies, I agree divorce decrees can put a damper on life, sometimes you might be able to get around the limitations for the good of the kids, but often it's just a tough sh-t attitude if it's something that's good for your too. That's too bad. Wish I could help. Getting ready to head back toward Florida and the boats, the 38 is back on ebay today, they had $1 insertion ebay motor ads this weekend. Crossing my fingers one more time. | |
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