In article , "Todd"
wrote:

I am retiring from the Air Force in 5 months and am looking for a new life.
I haven't traveled near as much as I would have liked in the Air Force and
am looking forward to traveling/exploring until age/health concerns dictate
otherwise. Buying a house and settling down just doesn't sound appealing.

I have considered RVs for traveling throughout the US, Canada, and Alaska. I
also have a two seater Cessna airplane that I use to explore. I really
loving flying, but what I really like about it is the traveling/exploring.
After considering sailing, it seems better than buying a house, RVing, or
flying. I know everything has it positives and negatives.


RVing and cruising can be relatively equivalent.

3) My wife hates the water, sand, and hot weather. Is there any chance
that she will end up liking cruising? Any of you with spouses/significant
others that thought they would hate it, but ended up loving it after they
gave it a try?

You don't have to sail where it's hot, but you *do* need water.

My wife is a non-swimmer and Air Force brat (and vet) who *must* have a
place to return to. She's committed to our doing a short (3 or so month)
tour of the Bahamas the next time I'm between jobs. Once we've done
that, we'll see. The most likely scenerio right now is our current boat
at our retirement home's dock, with us doing short (3-6 month)
excursions north or south, depending on the season.

The key has been to make sure it's fun FOR HER, whatever it takes. Took
about 5 seasons for my lady to get to this point and I almost "lost" her
on our first "long" trip (Day 5 of 2 weeks). Best decision I've ever
made--though done in anger at the time--was to turn around and idle back
home. The next year, we flew past that spot in 2 days and did the lower
Chesapeake. She wasn't ready for the ICW that trip, but we peeked in to
the top of it. The next year, we did 950 nm down and up the ICW quite
comfortably. Having found out that "that wasn't so bad", we could
stretch our legs a little further the next time. Now, the idea of
running down to Florida doesn't bother her at all. We do 60-80 days out
on the water each season -- our little boat is our summer home -- which
actually is more travelling than most cruising boats.

Another key element is making the boat comfortable. While our Xan isn't
the largest boat in the fleet, she's big enough for what we're doing and
we added comfort items first. Few 28' boats have 6x8' biminis, but ours
gives Pat a shady spot to stay cool. At anchor, we have further shade.

Nice thing about a smallish monohull is that I don't have to ask her to
help except under the most extreme conditions. She helps as she chooses,
preps food (something she likes -- I cook), lazes around or cleans as
the mood strikes. She can handle the boat quite well, though she
wouldn't say so as she compares her skills to mine.

In other words, it sounds like you really need some intermediate steps.

A captained charter in the Virgins (particularly the BVI) can be magic.
Temps in the winter are generally better than almost anywhere in the US
in mid-summer. In my experience, it is NOT a sufficient step before
going long-distance cruising, but it can create some great dreams.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD)
Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html
Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/