# Too Much Sailing for a 9 day trip?



## sausagebarn (Jan 4, 2010)

We are planing a cruise this weekend and my wife thinks I am a little over ambitious. What do you all think? 
We have a C&C 29 MK3. 
An 8 y/o and twin 6 y/o children. 
We are generally somewhat adventures but kids I know prefer to not spend HOURs in any boat. 
https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msi...l=48.623832,-122.880707&spn=0.346303,0.839767


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## Squidd (Sep 26, 2011)

That last leg looks like a killer.. 20 some miles thru the islands, wind knocked out in most directions, could make for a looooong day...


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## jrd22 (Nov 14, 2000)

Looks like a great plan. As long as the kids are OK with 4-5 hours on the boat all of your legs look good. Check the currents on departure day, a strong ebb in Rosario will slow you way down (hug the west side of Cypress inside Strawberry Is. for a good counter current and the east side of Orcas south of Pt. Lawrence). Sydney spit is a great anchorage and fantastic beach for the kids. Winds are really flukey this time of year, make sure you have plenty of fuel for motoring. Have a great trip!


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## sailingfool (Apr 17, 2000)

sausagebarn said:


> We are planing a cruise this weekend and my wife thinks I am a little over ambitious. What do you all think?
> We have a C&C 29 MK3.
> An 8 y/o and twin 6 y/o children.
> We are generally somewhat adventures but kids I know prefer to not spend HOURs in any boat.
> https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msi...l=48.623832,-122.880707&spn=0.346303,0.839767


Looks fine, if the kids (and wife) are accomplished and dedicated cruisers who participate in and enjoy the sailing of the boat. But since you made this post, I would suspect that they are not, or at least, not yet.

Many sailors make the mistake of assuming their loved ones will love sailing as they do, and then quickly burn them out. There is no worse situation than owning a boat and having loved ones who dont want to spend their time on it.

So if I am guessing correctly as to why you made this post, my advice is...forget about the sailing, and plan the nine days solely from the perspective of what the wife and kids may enjoy. If you lose them on this trip, you wont get them back.

Pick two or three interesting destinations ( interesting to the family: good shopping, ice cream, museums, swimming, hiking...). Spend a few days in each location. enjoy camping on the boat, fun meals, playing in the dingy (must have an OB...), swimming, games, etc.). Throw in a two hour afternoon sail if good weather.

Keep the travel down to 3-4 hours underway every second or third day, and only in good weather. If you have distance to cover, have a buddy join you to deliver the boat to/from the destination.


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## PorFin (Sep 10, 2007)

My concern would be that there's no provision made for weather -- if you get a bad day or two, then what?


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## SeaQuinn (Jul 31, 2012)

I very much agree with sailing fool.....better to err on the side of more than enough time to complete the trip safely and comfortably for the loved ones or they will balk at sailing vacations in the future. You can always add some extra sailing if the winds are favorable but don't push too much on yourself by not allowing for detours in case of weather.


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## SimonV (Jul 6, 2006)

That would be a great trip for the dedicated sailor, but with kids I think you need lay days, some anchorages are just too nice to only spend a few hours of day light in. I would cut some of the legs, and build in lay days and weather contingency plans.


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## SeacoastSail (Oct 9, 2010)

I would plan to cut it in half. My experience with family is that they are interested in going places but the sailing is really my love. Most important, is for you to be flexible to the crew's needs. Good luck and have fun.


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## Sea Dawg (Jun 26, 2012)

Good advice from Sailingfool. Just took my 3 daughters on their first sail vaction. We found getting there was taking away from the activities that the kids dream up in their minds. They want to swim or explore the beach or ride in the dingy. The sun went down on our first couple nights so we decided to stay an extra day and get some activities in. Then they started making memories.


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## jrd22 (Nov 14, 2000)

The OP said 9 days and there are only 7 travel days. Two or three of those days are only 2-3 hours travel at most. If you want to cut down the number of legs I would suggest going straight to Sydney from Montague Hbr. instead of stopping at Ganges (unless that is a Saturday for the farmers market, which is great).


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## sausagebarn (Jan 4, 2010)

Thanks for the great advice. 
My family has sailed all day on 4-5 hour legs before but never for as many consecutive days. In fact, never more than two. 
Great advise about adding in flexibility for weather...would hate to hole up for a few days up north only to have to sail 12 hours to hurry and get home....yuk! 
I think we will just play it by ear after we clear customs....if its too much sailing we could just head back to Roche/Juans (which was our initial plan....my wife said "we will be sooo close we have to just duck our heads into Canada").


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## vtsailguy (Aug 4, 2010)

With three boys under 10, I have found that 3 hours is the max, I can squeeze a couple more hours out if I have a movie or ipad


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## vtsailguy (Aug 4, 2010)

vtsailguy said:


> With three boys under 10, I have found that 3 hours is the max, I can squeeze a couple more hours out if I have a movie or ipad


I should clarify, if I stick to this rule, long trips day-wise don't seem to be a problem. As long as they get lots of off boat time.

Most recently I have been loading the bikes in our dinghy we are towing - been working wonders.....!


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