You’re doing what? Top 10 FAQ’s as we prepare to set sail.

People are generally curious about our trip. They ask us a lot of questions. Here are the top ten:

10. How is boat preparation going?

It’s going. There is a long list and still many things to check off. People say cruising is just doing boat work in exotic locations.  Our previous boat experience spells this out.  I am only hoping that all the work Gavin has put in to date will reduce the work necessary when the locations become more exotic!

9. What are you doing with your house?

We found wonderful tenants to rent our house. They are moving in soon!

8. What will be your longest passage?

Assuming we decide to sail to the South Pacific – our longest stretch will be from Mexico (likely Banderas Bay near Puerto Vallarta) to the Marquesas. This is about 2700 Nautical Miles and will take us approximately three weeks. gulp!

7. How will you get exercise?

Without a car, every day activities such as walking to haul our groceries and boat living generally will require more energy than sitting at a desk! Gavin has purchased a ‘sand bag’ to continue our weight lifting and resistance exercise. And we anticipate a lot of swimming and beach fun. There is no question the long passages will present a challenge in the exercise department, but we will be underway at sea for a small percentage of the time.  Most of our time will be anchored overnight near land

6.  Have you planned your route?

See the menu above where we discuss our “plan”

5.  What about Pirates?

There are known areas where pirates are more prevalent. We are aiming to avoid those areas and generally take precautions according to the places we visit.

4.  Are you going to home school the kids?

Yes! This is ournumber 1 project.  We enrolled with a distributed learning school from BC with a wonderful teacher.  As parents we will be the ‘facilitators’ as we liaise with the teacher and send work to her for evaluation. The boxes of materials and learning plan arrived weeks ago and the materials are all safety loaded on to Slingshot.  We are excited and daunted by the magnitude of this part of our experience.

3.  How do the kids feel about the trip?

They are excited. Both are involved in various activities and sports and have said that they would prefer to go sailing than stay in our regular life and continue to do their activities and regular school.Things change and I’m sure we will have ups and downs however they are genuinely excited to embark on this adventure. They will certainly miss their friends. It will be hard to say goodbye.

2. What about sea sickness?

This is a wild card and something we will need to manage closely.  While I don’t get sea sick sailing locally, the open ocean is a different animal! And the kids do get seasick from time to time. I am looking at this factor as one of the countless things we will need to learn about and adjust to the best way we can.

1. What will you do all day?

This is a top question.  Between schooling, exploring new locales, fun and general boat chores I have no doubt our days will be full! I am looking forward to spending time together as a family.