Hi,
So glad i came across this forum.
My wife and I live in London with our 3 kids aged 8, 6 and 1 - all boys. When i was young, my Dad used to take us down to his boat on the south coast every weekend in the summer. And i mean EVERY weekend! It was a Princess motor cruiser and i can only really remember happy times there - even on wet and windy days.
For the past couple of years, I have been getting the bug to go on the water again with my own family. But i want to sail this time, not power. I have done a little bit of research but have some questions!
1) I could handle my dad's power boat (about 45ft) but that was many years ago. How much harder is sailing to learn and is a yachtmaster course the right way to go?
2) I was thinking about learning with my 8 year old to be my crew - i don't expect much help from my wife if the sun is out . Can 2 people handle a 40ft ish sail boat just cruising?
3) We're fortunate to be able to travel a fair bit and I want to introduce sailing as a new way to see parts of the world where we would otherwise stay in a hotel or rent a villa. A week sailing round the Greek islands sounds a bit like a dream to me. I have found a couple of companies that rent boats worldwide (bareboat charter is it called?) - does anyone have experience of this sort of thing?
4) Any other advice?
Many, (many!) thanks in advance for any comments or suggestions
So glad i came across this forum.
My wife and I live in London with our 3 kids aged 8, 6 and 1 - all boys. When i was young, my Dad used to take us down to his boat on the south coast every weekend in the summer. And i mean EVERY weekend! It was a Princess motor cruiser and i can only really remember happy times there - even on wet and windy days.
For the past couple of years, I have been getting the bug to go on the water again with my own family. But i want to sail this time, not power. I have done a little bit of research but have some questions!
1) I could handle my dad's power boat (about 45ft) but that was many years ago. How much harder is sailing to learn and is a yachtmaster course the right way to go?
2) I was thinking about learning with my 8 year old to be my crew - i don't expect much help from my wife if the sun is out . Can 2 people handle a 40ft ish sail boat just cruising?
3) We're fortunate to be able to travel a fair bit and I want to introduce sailing as a new way to see parts of the world where we would otherwise stay in a hotel or rent a villa. A week sailing round the Greek islands sounds a bit like a dream to me. I have found a couple of companies that rent boats worldwide (bareboat charter is it called?) - does anyone have experience of this sort of thing?
4) Any other advice?
Many, (many!) thanks in advance for any comments or suggestions