Where to go for 2 months ?

[alicia]

Our company announced recently that all employees over 10 yrs get a 2 month paid sabbatical, and then again every 7 years. Since I am eligible, I would like to take my family sailing somewhere for 2 months(husband, 10yr boy and 9 yr girl). Does anyone have suggestions where to begin and some areas to consider? I would like it to be fun, memorable and educational for my children. They have not really been cruising for extended periods (we have chartered in the carribean and own a boat). I''ve only been sailing about 5 years and do not have offshore experience, just coastal cruising, and my husband has very little sailing experience so I don''t want the sailing to be too difficult for anyone. As for the time of year to go, I am leaving that open and hope that I could pull them out of school at anytime and home school them for 2 months.

I was reading sail magazine that said the mediterranean, canary islands, french polynesia are great areas. I figure I can go to the caribbean anytime.

Does anyone have suggestions on where to go or how to get started?

[chrondi]

Before you get any valuable suggestions Alicia, will you pease inform us, in exchange, about the name of the company you work for?
P.S. Your message was not posted on the 1st of April!

[leemalis]

that sounds incredible. I do have a 40'' ketch that I''m wanting to cruise, but I don''t have enough money right now. Bummer. I''m also in the Caribbean neighborhood. I''ve been working for the past three months getting the boat in shape, and have used up quite a bit of money in the process.

But if you changed your mind about the Caribbean let me know.

Lee sailin@sailin.net

[wanna_sail]

You said you own a sail boat and have done some coastal cruising and have also chartered in the Caribbean. I assume you live in the U.S. so you can go to places there all the time. If you have two months and want to make this once in a 10 year opportunity special why not go somewhere you can''t do next year or the year after.

Although the cost of getting there by plane would be a bit more, the rest of the costs may be cheaper and offset the air fare a bit. To that end, I would recommend someplace like Australia on Whitsunday / Great Barrier reef, the Med or the South Pacific (Bora Bora, Fiji, etc...) Hawaii could also be thrown into the hat. Season depending, Alaska is a beautiful place .

I think the advantage of Australia & the Med is that there is more to do than just “cruising”; but that certainly depends on what you want from the vacation. Island after Island living in the Caribbean could possibly get boring after a few months.

Sounds like you work for a great company that values its employees. Have a great time what ever you do and please return to this thread and let us know what you did and how it went.

Steve

[magnusmurphy]

Hi, not sure if you''ve made your arrangements by now or when you planned to go.
Here''s another suggestion:
The Pacific Northwest

The months: July to Sept (any two).

I''m taking my family on a three months cruise with our Dufour 36 up the inner passage, possibly over to the Queen Charlotte Islands and maybe down the West side of Vancouver Island on the way back. We''re leaving beginning of July and will return end of September.
I have two daughters (9 and 12) and will catch up with the Sept. schoolwork on the boat.

This area has almost unlimited little bays, great wildlife and an opportunity to truly escape from it all. If you go to the Desolation Sound area the water is even warm enough for some great swimming. In other areas there are some hot springs but the ocean itself is cold.
No tropical beaches unfortunately, but other redeeming qualities will make up for it. You can also easily get your boat to Vancouver with Dockwise, although I''m not sure about the schedules for this year. Shipping your own boat to your destination may be preferable than chartering for months. On the other hand, if you charter for a long time you may be able to get a good rate. Two years ago we chartered in the BVI for a month for the price of 1 1/2 weeks. You just have to negotiate, play the companies against each other, and go during a month that they have hundreds of boats sitting at the dock (we went in July). WE had a fantastic time, although I got tired of the indifferent attitude of this "tourist overrun paradise".

In the Pacific Norhtwest you''ll have an experience like no other. Just make sure you know how to read and manage tides and currents, otherwise you''ll be in big trouble very quickly.

M Murphy

[casey1004]

Thanks everyone for suggestion. I haven''t made any plans yet but Australia comes to mind, as did the Pacific Northwest. Is sailing difficult in Australia (whitsunday)?

I never thought about shipping my boat... didn''t know you could do that but I''ll look into it.

btw, I work for a large national law firm though it seems like more and more companies are offering sabbaticals.

[Irwin32]

If you stay in our hemisphere you do not hav eto pull your kids out of school. I see that beneficial on two fronts: 1. They get the experience of a lifetime at time when other children will be cruising. If you pull them out of school, they will be living in an adult world. 2. I think it imparts a message to kids to plan this type of stuff around the school year. It tells them that their education is more important than anything. While there are some unique individuals who would be better off learning from the sea, on the whole, those of us who relied on book learning education have probably done better than those who rejected traditional educational ideas. Your kids are the most important consideration.