Sunday, March 15, 2015

Preparing for a far-off cruise




This post touches on several issues that we are trying to address well in advance of our big trip.  We're doing our first charter since Kate was pregnant with Leif, back to the same spot. I am also doing a passage with Andy Schell on the Caribbean 1500 this coming November.  With two events planned my mind is on sailing and with the charter in two weeks, Kate and I are having discussions about being on the boat with the kids. Kate can't have these discussions too close to bedtime or she will lose sleep. She sometimes has nightmares about one of the kids falling overboard without a lifejacket.

In preparation for the upcoming charter I have decided to use climbing harnesses for both kids. I researched sailing harnesses, reading forums and manufacturer descriptions. The only sailing child harnesses I really compared were Crewmember and West Marine. Given that I don't really expect to drag my children through the water and just want to catch them before they get far away from the boat I think climbing harnesses will work well, possibly better. I am using spectra slings for tethers for which I was criticized but I think the jack line will offer elasticity to the system. The climbing harnesses have also been adopted to the tree fort and the rafters in the basement. I am being careful not to let them stop a fall with the tethers. 



We took both of the kids yesterday to the YMCA pool and had them jump in with their lifejackets on, Leif using a new Stohlquist Escape and Ruby still in the Nemo.  We are going to bring two life jackets for each kid so they have one to wear if one is wet. Leif also has mask, snorkel and fins which we tried out in the pool. We plan to introduce ocean swimming very gradually. We'll probably stay at Grand Case the first couple nights and hopefully gradually get acclimated with trips to th beach and some swims off the boat.  We also want to get comfortable with the boat and intend to practice some man over drilled for drills in the first couple days. I'm not confident in the method we use at Lake Minnetonka to be appropriate for the Caribbean. At the lake we have the agreement that if a kid goes over Kate goes over with them immediately. I'm not thinking that such a good idea in the ocean.  We'll make sure we clarify some new rules for the kids that will apply to the bigger boat. 

Since eating out with kids is sometimes harder and then just cooking onboard, we're also trying to think about meal planning. We would even like to start thinking about minimizing energy use so we don't have to run the engine too often. Admittedly, the person on the forum was probably right when they said we will be opening the fridge most often for beer. 

With all the two trips coming up, Kate and I have been talking more about boats to potentially purchase. I was interested in a Lyman Morse Monhegan 48 with an SA/D of 21 and just beautiful lines. Then that's old and I was despondent but I kept looking for Lyman Morse boats and now a Seguin 44 came on the market and that one's got me all wrapped up. Kate even watched the salesman's Youtube video on the Seguin 44.  It's amazing that I find myself in the position that I actually could buy that boat. Then there is a Beniteau 456 in St. Maarten which I could buy and still have enough money left over to do the entire cruise. Admittedly that boat might be a money pit. Wouldn't it be great to inherit someone else's problem. I'm rationalizing I really shouldn't buy a boat this year because we have our family charter and then the Caribbean 1500 passage so I'll get all the boating I need this year. Maybe in a couple years though Lyman Morse will have dropped in price like all the Alden 44's have.  

We continue to save but last year we built a tree fort. Then some family generosity kept us on track. Incidentally, spending money on a tree fort is not that much different than spending money on a boat as I was informed by my good friend Jim Schwarz. Both are stupid money.