| |
 |
|
 |
| My First Family Cruise |
|
| Go to: Sailing Stories | Technical Information | Selection Guides |
|
|
|
After more than 25 years sailing between Venezuela and practically every destination in the Caribbean while doing the spring regattas series or making deliveries from Florida in order to escape from the hurricane season, I thought that every aspect of sailing in the Caribbean was perfectly covered.
I couldn't be more wrong. The simple fact of taking your own family on board, especially if your children are 7 and 9 years old dramatically changes everything. Words like "Safety", "in good shape", and "ready for sea", suddenly took a different dimension.
 When I became father, I quit sailing in order to dedicate the proper time to my family. A year and a half ago, I thought that the time was right and bought a boat with the dream of sharing sailing with my whole family. I bought a 1983 Beneteau "First 35", and start preparing her for cruising with my wife and kids.
I focused my preparation on all the aspects of readiness for sea and safety on board, and even though I maintained my motto that "simple is better", unexpectedly, my check list had grown exponentially. Things that in the past took me a day to check and verify, now was taking weeks until it wasn't "close to perfection". When starting my inspection to the electric system I found a couple of bad contacts here and a burnt wire there. What did I do? I changed the whole system. Wires, breakers, fuses and panels where substituted. I never had so many (working) bilge pumps, energy sources (eolic, solar, engine), and spare parts in the same boat. There was not a single stainless steel piece that wasn't thoroughly inspected and changed at the slightest sign of possible hazard. Every leak was corrected. I never had a cleanest and driest bilge. The rigging was changed. The halyards are new. The safety gear that I used to carry on board dwarfs in comparison of what I carry now. At the end, it "only" took me almost a year, working by myself at the weekends, to be ready for a 3 weeks cruise to the Virgin Islands with my family. Ten years ago, I would have felt more prepared than the Queen Mary II with a couple of weeks of work on the boat!
The preparation of the boat wasn't the only difference in this voyage. I realize that this was truly my first "cruising" experience, since I had always been sailing either racing or delivering. There was always an "objective" to achieve, or a schedule to fulfill. I had never bought a "cruising guide". This time, I bought 3.
 During the passages (500 miles to the Islands, and the same to return), at night, instead of listen to any noise coming from the ship, I was focused in my kids. If one of them was to go on deck to be with their mother on watch, that was the end of my sleep. Even though being perfectly conscious that all my extra worries were unjustified, since everything was perfectly prepared, the kids never went on deck without wearing their life vests, with harnesses, lights and whistle. The MOB gear was at its place, the GPS on with the MOB button on hand next to my bunk. Not to mention that we never encountered more than 19 knots of wind. There was no reason to be worried, the kids behaved wonderfully. The parental instinct was simply stronger than me.
Once in the Islands the differences also appeared immediately. The number of charter boats was impressive. Every morning, an "armada" of sailing boats was making the passage between "Bitter End" and "Anegada". Places that once were deserted, now are hosting tens of sailing ships either anchored or moored.
Fortunately, the islands have grown also, and everything that you might need is ready on hand. In almost every bay were moorings available (I had to set anchor only a couple of times in the whole three weeks). You can have ice brought on board. There is a trash-collecting service. In every island you can find at least one restaurant, hotel, and internet service. The local police and park guards, even though you very seldom "see" them, you know they are there and "feel" their presence. The safety is impressive, and the nature is respected and taken care of. It has to be said, the government and the companies are doing a wonderful job managing the huge number of boats and tourists that come. The place is the perfect family-cruising spot.
Maybe the Islands now are not so "virgin" and lonely as they were 20 years ago, when I use to come with whom now is my wife. But there was no point in telling the children how it was, and let them instead to enjoy the place as it is now.
 At the end, our conclusion was that our worries for the comfort of the kids on board are created by our needs and "fears" at our 40's. They not only enjoyed everything, but they were always satisfied with what the circumstances presented to them. Positive attitude is everything.
Another piece of advice: if you go to the tropics, bring with you a nice, powerful cooler. Your world will change for better.
We are now already planning the next year cruise. Plus, I need a new excuse to keep working on my boat, don't I?
Claudio Mintzias - "Percussion"
BVI - April 2006
|
|
| Submitt your experiences: Mauri Pro Sailing invites you to share your sailing experiences with the rest of our community. If there is some insight that you might consider valuable to the rest of us, please send us your article with some pictures and we will publish it. |
Top |
|
Sailing & Cruising Stories |
| If you need immediate assistance finding the appropriate sailing gear, sailboat hardware or sailing equipment for your boat, please call us toll free at: 1-888-756-8883, our crew is ready to help you. |
|
|
| General
Info |
No Sales Tax at mauriprosailing.com
Only orders shipped to Texas are charged sales tax.
Price Matching
Buy with confidence. We do our best every day to
ensure that our prices are the best you can find. If within
30 days you find a better price, we’ll refund the
difference as a store credit. Read
more.
International Shipping
We ship to most of the countries in Europe, Caribbean South
America, Asia and Oceania.
Returns & Exchanges
Customer satisfaction is our top priority and we want you
to be completely satisfied with your purchase. We ensure
you a quick and hassle-free return or exchange process.
More.
|
|
|
