Is the Ulysses option over-rated?

[Salty]

It may just be the time of the year, but I've been entertaining thoughts of chucking it all in and taking off in the boat for a year or two. Not now, but when the youngest is out of nappies in a couple of years...

Is there anyone whose done this and regretted it? I don't mean because of ship-wrecks off Biscay, or being boarded by pirates in the South China Seas, but more 'grass-is-greener' syndrome?

I've read the books, magazine articles, etc, but I've a few worries: will we get bored, will the family get fed up living on top of each other all the time, will the eldest miss her friends and the land-based hobbies she's got.

I know this is all terribly subjective, but I'd be interested to hear if anyone had sailed off into the sunset and come back sooner than they'd expected. I only know first-hand one family who tried this, and they didn't get much further than Brittany before the drudgery of finding laundrettes for dirty kids clothes, children moaning about missing friends, etc forced them back several thousand miles earlier than they'd anticipated!

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[Magic_Sailor]

Hi Salty

SWMBO and I did attempt this ourselves this year. The website below gives our story.

Like your friends, we only got as far as Brittany but it was drudge that stopped us. Brielfy, it was fantastic, space on board, lauderettes, shopping etc are emphatically not a problem (once you relax into the lifestyle). No, our reasons were slightly more complex.

We decided that we wanted to explore as much as sail so each port of call took up a lot of time. We both (but probably more me) began to feel very far from home (not homesick) no matter how illogical that was. Our (grown up) children visited whilst we were away and when they left on the Cherbourg ferry it was gut wrenching. Son was having a baby so we wanted to be there. etc etc etc

What I'm trying to say is that you have a sort of big elastic band connected to your back and sooner or later the pull backwards exceeds the push forward.

Having said that, we're both smitten and want to do it again...and again.

So, go ahead - it's great if you can afford it.

PM or email me from the website if you want more info.

Magic

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://hometown.aol.co.uk/geoffwestgarth/myhomepage/travelwriting.html>Click for website!</A>

 

[bedouin]

Not a personal experience - but I can thoroughly recommend "One Summer's Grace" in which Libby Purves tells of a 3 month round britain trip with two small children - it reveals a lot about prolonged cruising with small children.



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[jonjo]

Re: Out of print

> One Summer's Grace

I tried to buy a copy recently as a rather indirect means of reading about the cruising characteristics of the Cornish Pilot Cutter. I was not able to track down a copy even at internet sites where it is still listed.

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[jonjo]

Re: Yes

My longest sailing sabbatical was 5 months but I felt like a rookie compared to fellow crew mates who had been on the move for 2+ years.

I think these long-term travellers were jaded and life had descended into a cycle of short-term financial worries. Their conversation was limited to money saving tips, how to repair yacht equipment and local beer price surveys.

A few lucky individuals seem to sire a family early in life, make a pot of money and take off at 55 in an HR49 with a water maker and washing machine onboard. By comparison the rest of us have to settle for a compromised version of the Ulysses option.

Having dabbled in various itinerant life-styles I think the most content people are those with a rewarding life anchored shore-side but where an option for long holidays can be exercised as a reward.


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[Mr Cassandra]

What a very interesting question.we as a family sail for about 3-4 months a year in Greek waters .To be honest only tonight we talked about what to do next year, we are totaly bored with what we are doing .when on the boat there appears to be a total lack of interest in what to do tomorrow. When at home I day dream about doing /going to far off places .I realy do not know the answer but deep down inside we all know that there is somewere special, that we want to be I am intreaged by North Africa/Egypt.but whether we have the guts or inclination only time will tell .thank again for a question that makes one think!
cheers bobt

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[bedouin]

Re: Out of print

It's still listed on Amazon - a 1997 paperback; but if you are interested in sailing aspects you will be disappointed, I don't remember more than the odd word or two about the sailing side - a lot more about people and places.

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[vyv_cox]

Re: Out of print

Yes, I read it about 6 months ago and Jill is reading it at the moment. Very amusing in parts, beautifully written but not a lot about the sailing. Quite introspective about taking children away from their friends and family, they nearly gave up on this count several times.

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[SlowlyButSurely]

Re: Yes

Totally agree with what you have said here.

Our first major cruise when we used to live aboard was a year cruising the med and we came across many people on their way back to the UK for various reasons.

Quite a few had mechanical problems which they couldn't fix. A lot of people had simply run out of money. Some of these had sold their house in the UK to buy a boat and were returning after year or two with no prospect of being able to afford to get back into the housing market. Quite a few had bought a boat which was simply too big to handle and relied on friends coming out to crew the boat and consequently were stuck in harbour nearly all the time. Some had no definite plan before they departed and had just 'lost their way'.

The most successful cruising people we came across were the ones with a basic, smallish (up to 35 feet) boat, had a home in the UK which was rented out to give them an income and a plan that they were following with a definite date for returning home.

After our year's cruising we were ready to come home and start planning the next trip. We decided that the best option for us was to work in the UK and cruise for 6 months at a time every few years.





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