Hobbies
Sailing
Each year from 1990 to 2001 William Frank, our captain and friend, rented a sailboat and a few of us went sailing with our sons off Italy, Cape Cod, and the Caribbean (10 trips from the Bahamas to Grenada). After William died, I rented a catamaran, hired a captain and my grandsons and I sailed St Barts, the BVIs, and the Bahamas from 2019 to 2023.
Now that I'm less nimble, I do most of my sailing on thousand-foot-long cruise ships. Not that I was ever much of a bareboat sailor--Mike was much better--but I still think sailing was great fun and a terrific hobby. It's also not very expensive relatively speaking as long as you're prepared to rough it a little.
Most boats, for example, cost less than $1,200 a day, including a captain and provisions. When you spread this cost over six people, it's $200 / person / day. This is a fraction of the cost of six people vacationing at a Caribbean resort in a waterfront room, visiting 5 or 6 other islands, deserted beaches, and uncrowded anchorages.
Now that I'm less nimble, I do most of my sailing on thousand-foot-long cruise ships. Not that I was ever much of a bareboat sailor--Mike was much better--but I still think sailing was great fun and a terrific hobby. It's also not very expensive relatively speaking as long as you're prepared to rough it a little.
Most boats, for example, cost less than $1,200 a day, including a captain and provisions. When you spread this cost over six people, it's $200 / person / day. This is a fraction of the cost of six people vacationing at a Caribbean resort in a waterfront room, visiting 5 or 6 other islands, deserted beaches, and uncrowded anchorages.
