BLUEMOMENT

Hi

Can i firstly say that i have enjoyed visiting this site, and would be really grateful if you could share some of your hard fought boating knowledge with me and my wife

We are new to yachting, and have now both agreed to seriously look at a boat that we can start spending some quality time with each other, and our 2 boys ( 6 & 8 ). We have never owned a boat, and the only one with a bit of sailing experience, is myself - through sailing dinghys, and crewing VERY infrequently on yachts in Cardigan bay

To try and do things the right way, we are going on a flotilla holiday, to ensure that this dream of ours.. isn't just my mine. I think that it would give us the neccesary exposure, for them to say Yeh or Ney.

We have been looking at a 30 footer, something like an Oceanis. We would be mooring her around the North West of England, and using her for short passages, and holidays.

Could i therefore beg your experience, and ask if i am just pipe dreaming, by expecting myself and my wife - once our courses are passed - to be able to sail to the Isle of man, Ireland, and around Anglesey. And if this is a feasible plan, what are the average passage times from liverpool to these places.

Many thanks in advance for your help.

That sounds like an excellent plan.

If you've sailed dinghies you'll know which bits of string to pull and a sunshine flotilla must be one of the best ways to introduce your family. If you haven't already booked I'd recommend the Ionian for it's sunshine, gentle winds (mostly) and profusion of delightful harbours and anchorages though high season may be very hot.

Sadly I failed to interest my family (more than slightly) in sailing. Hopefully MagnaCarter will be along to advise, since he seems to be making a great job of converting his.

Your dreams are definitely not pipe dreams... those are entirely possible, and indeed excellent passages..... and your dreams are very healthy ones....

All of our family holidays are now sailing ones, with trips across to France, Belgium and Holland, as well as shorter weekend journeys of a more local nature... and the family would have it no other way...

Obviously, getting the family enthusiastic is SO important.....

Picking the weather is crucial.... the Ionian will obviously help in this respect!!!!!! but when you get back, the task continues....

I have had to make a real effort to do lots of local trips to beaches when i would have preferred to go somewhere new or different, mix longer trips up with plenty of shore days, and most importantly of all, be prepared to not go sailing if the weather was less than perfect in the first season... gradually as they have become more and more keen and confident, I have stretched the 'acceptable' weather conditions, and taken on longer passages.....

Also, crucially important, get the kids jobs on the boat..... mine are in charge of seemingly minor tasks like hoisting the anchor ball, coiling the warps and fetching and replacing the sail ties. They see these are their personal fifedoms, and god help anyone that gets in their way of achieving them!
My eldest at now approaching 11 takes a mean 3 point fix with the handbearing compass, can correct for variance, and plot them on the chart.... all took time to teach her, but she adores doing it..... we find our charts with fixes pencilled on them every 10 minutes when on passage!
They are both (younger one is approaching accomplished at recognising light patterns from chart notation, and elder can spot a light, translate its characteristics into notation and then locate it on the chart.... all this has made the passage making a real treat for her, rather than a boring experience... this year I will start her on basic course calculations.....

Regardless, like all youngsters, then get bored sometimes, so we have invested in a portable DVD player, and onboard 12V TV.... traditionalists will throw their hands in the air, but its all part of ensuring that they are happy and relaxed on board...

My wife, like many before her, was/is nervous, and I reef early to keep the boat flat (although less nowadays), make sure that she understands what we are doing, take REAL care to explain carefully what we are doing, especially when coming alongside, and UTTERLY UTTERLY important, never raise my voice when things go wrong, and always accept the blame for any mishaps.... I take her concerns seriously. I wear a lifejacket in conditions where I might not allways do so if she wants me to, such as when reefing on the coachroof on a warm day, or at night in any conditions....

I'll also 'treat' her perhaps for Christmas this year, to a distance learning package on navigation to perhaps Coastal Skipper standards.... all part of making sure she's not a passenger, but a part of the team....

Basically its about using common sense, and avoiding machismo..... there will time for rufty tufty sails later when they are all true addicts!

Bootom line though, and most important of all..... it has been a true pleasure for us as a family..... we feel that our time onboard is really high quality family time.... we find ourselves having family sing songs as we reach down the coast, and it has united us in a shared passion more than anything else we have ever done... I can't think of a better or healthier pastime for the family's happiness

Oh.... and to answer your other question..... an Oceanis would be an excellent choice..... but be warned... its got to meet everyones needs though, or it'll not work..... we both compromised on our 'ideal' boat, and found some happy middle ground....

Go for it. You'll not regret it.

Just re-reading your original post....

Just put some thought into the destinations for your first forays afloat together in the UK....

You mention Anglesey..... its a beautiful destination..... with some delightful places to visit.... but there are parts best avoided as a newbie with a family of 'beginners' on board.... like the Menai Straits through the Swellies... Its very do-able, but needs care and experience, and best left a season or two.... instead, find a pretty anchorage, and take the kids to Beaumaris castle for the day, or head south of the island, and take them on the beach to build sandcastles or have a BBQ...... it'll pay off in the long run!

and then two come along together! Nice post MC.

Firstly hello (since I haven't posted before even though Ive been reading for the past couple of months).

Just to add a little encouragement...

My husband and I completed our day skipper/competent crew certs (respectively) in May of this year and one of the other people on the course was taking his family on a week long sailing holiday in July to try and 'convert' them to life at sea. He kept it simple and went sailing on a lough for the week just to get them used to being on a boat and what life aboard involves. He has 2 kids around 10ish and all in all the holiday was a complete success with wife + kids!

I've no experience of trying to convert anyone to sailing, but from our friends experience it seems keep it simple and very safe for the first while and they'll love it.

All the best.

I went through the same thing. I'm a lifelong sailor and former yacht captain, my wife had never been been on a sailboat prior to our first meeting. If we were to work out, she would need to enjoy sailing.

She sailed with me quite a few times. I wasn't planning on teaching her much, that would only be asking for trouble! After a while, she went out and took a few lessons without me around, which made her more comfortable helping out. Over a period of time, she has learned to sail and to enjoy living on the boat.

We're now planning on spending (at least) a year in the Caribbean.

It can be done, just with patience. I really do recommend that the learning party take some lessons without the more experienced person present. I think they'll learn more if they aren't afraid to reveal in front of a loved one a certain level of ignorance about a particular topic.