Hi,
I just had a "break-through" with my wife and wanted some advice on how to capitalize on it.
A little background first: My wife is not the adventuresome sort. She can't really swim and until now has had zero interest in sailing. I currently have the boat on a cradle in our backyard in the 'burbs. She tolerates it but has joked about it being her "new flower planter." She's also afraid of heights, so refuses to climb the 8' up the ladder to look at it. So far, her only expressed interest in the boat is for sunbathing and fishing (oddly, she likes to fish and I don't). My children (6 and 8) on the other hand love the boat and can't wait to put it in the water.
Just the other day, though, I mentioned a thread I read on this board about a man who sailed to the Carribean for four months and how much fun he had and how he moored at resorts for low fees. She then asked if my boat ( a Soverel 26) would be able to sail to the Carib from the Great Lakes. I told her that for that type of distance I would prefer a larger boat (I said 34 foot). She thought 26 was big enough and I said we could vacation around the Great Lakes for a few years first. Somehow she all of a sudden was interested. She started asking when I'd be done with the work to launch and how much was dockage, etc.
I need to know, from the ladies, what is going on and how to keep her interest in sailing. I think that she is not really interested in the whole sailing and sailboat part of it, but in the family time/vacation/liesure aspect - I guess lifestyle is a good word. My tentative plan - once I'm in the water - is to start off taking the boat out by myself and then with my (more adventuresome) kids - they'll be 8 and 10 by then. Once I get her out, I'll make sure that there is either an activity planned, such as fishing, or a destination - my Aunt has a beach nearby and there are some nice port towns not too far away. I want to make sure that there is something "fun" planned besides sailing - I'll handle that kind of fun on my own or with my kids. Once she's more accustomed, then we'll head out to the islands or further destinations for weekending.
So what do you think, and what should I do? Thanks in advance.
I just had a "break-through" with my wife and wanted some advice on how to capitalize on it.
A little background first: My wife is not the adventuresome sort. She can't really swim and until now has had zero interest in sailing. I currently have the boat on a cradle in our backyard in the 'burbs. She tolerates it but has joked about it being her "new flower planter." She's also afraid of heights, so refuses to climb the 8' up the ladder to look at it. So far, her only expressed interest in the boat is for sunbathing and fishing (oddly, she likes to fish and I don't). My children (6 and 8) on the other hand love the boat and can't wait to put it in the water.
Just the other day, though, I mentioned a thread I read on this board about a man who sailed to the Carribean for four months and how much fun he had and how he moored at resorts for low fees. She then asked if my boat ( a Soverel 26) would be able to sail to the Carib from the Great Lakes. I told her that for that type of distance I would prefer a larger boat (I said 34 foot). She thought 26 was big enough and I said we could vacation around the Great Lakes for a few years first. Somehow she all of a sudden was interested. She started asking when I'd be done with the work to launch and how much was dockage, etc.
I need to know, from the ladies, what is going on and how to keep her interest in sailing. I think that she is not really interested in the whole sailing and sailboat part of it, but in the family time/vacation/liesure aspect - I guess lifestyle is a good word. My tentative plan - once I'm in the water - is to start off taking the boat out by myself and then with my (more adventuresome) kids - they'll be 8 and 10 by then. Once I get her out, I'll make sure that there is either an activity planned, such as fishing, or a destination - my Aunt has a beach nearby and there are some nice port towns not too far away. I want to make sure that there is something "fun" planned besides sailing - I'll handle that kind of fun on my own or with my kids. Once she's more accustomed, then we'll head out to the islands or further destinations for weekending.
So what do you think, and what should I do? Thanks in advance.