October 2009 eBook all pages (free PDF, 36.6 - Latitude 38

WORLD
With reports this month on Hints For Overcoming the Recession
Blues, and a special report by members of the Latitude clan on Family
Cruising in the Southern Leewards.
Itching for a Family Get Away?
Scrimp, Save and Be Creative
As we were editing the following piece
— about a first-time family sailing vacation
— we were reminded of the wonderful
trips we took with our own kids
when they were young. At the time, those
ambitious excursions always seemed like
hard-to-rationalize splurges. But looking
back now, they gave us some of the best
shared memories our family ever had.
In this economy, though, it probably
seems tougher than ever to justify taking
an exotic getaway, even when you know
that doing so is just the therapy you and
your family need for the workaday woes
of modern living. Here are a few tips that
might make a difference.
If money's tight, but you'd really love
to get away, try using the technique that
your grandparents probably employed
in the days before loose credit: carefully
analyze where your money goes
and find ways to save a buck here and
a buck there for the special things you
want — like sailing vacations. Forego
dinners out for a few months, bring a
sack lunch to work and forbid yourself
from buying any new clothes. Instead,
put the money you save in the charter
vacation piggy bank. If you're in the habit
if grabbing a latte on your way to work,
do the math and you'll see that you could
save enough in six month for airfare to
Belize, Mexico or British Columbia, just
by dusting off your Mr. Coffee machine
and brewing your own cup of java.
For travelers on a budget, the next
logical step is to pick a charter destina-
tion closer to home, such as those mentioned
above. And, of course, consider
chartering during the low or 'shoulder'
seasons when rates are substantially
lower.
You might also take a tip from some
Europeans we've encountered, who
packed their boat to max capacity with
bodies in every berth, including the salon.
You won't have a lot of privacy, but
SOMERS
Our kids and their cousins still talk about our
'all-guy' cruise we took — a dozen years ago if it makes the trip doable, who cares?
— exploring Desolation Sound. PATRICK
Page 144 • Latitude 38 • September, 2009
LATITUDE / ANDY
If you're a capable skipper with ample
bareboating experience, you might take
a cue from a couple we know. They often
recruit friends who are eager to learn
about sailing, but are too inexperienced
to rent a boat on their own. Everybody
shares food expenses, but the skipper
and his wife pay a lesser share of the
charter rental fee because they're taking
all the responsibility for the boat and
planning the trip. The arrangement is
always explained up front and no one
ever has a problem with it.
Another family we know sat down with
their kids and made an agreement that
instead of buying mountains of Christmas
gifts, they'd spend their money on
a holiday sailing trip in the tropics.
In these challenging times you often
have to think outside the box to turn
vacation dreams into reality, but where
there's a will, there's a way.
— latitude/andy
A Much-Anticipated Cruise
to the Southern Windwards
I have been flirting with the idea
of doing a bareboat charter in warm,
tropical waters for many years. I've called
bareboat yacht brokers the way some
people call chat lines. I've promised my
daughters that their patience with me
and cold water sailing in the San Francisco
Bay would someday be rewarded
with warm, sublime, turquoise waters
— somewhere. And I've convinced our
good friends from Bozeman, Montana
— Scott, Lori and their daughter Scout
— that their money would be well-spent
if they joined us.
We finally decided on an ambitious
250-mile, 10-island itinerary in the
Caribbean's Windward Antilles that
included St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the
Grenadines. Once we locked in a reser-