The boating season varies greatly around the world! Some boaters are fortunate enough to have 12 full months in the water, while others (like us) have to squeeze their boating into 3 or 4 months.
Unlike boaters, who enjoy a 12 month boating season, our boat “Windy” is hibernating under shrink wrap again this winter, causing a severe case of mid-winter blues. Our email box, probably like yours, is being bombarded with emails offering all sorts of “magic pills” to cure this condition.
In sifting through all the emails, the “magic pills” they are talking about are trips south to a seaside resort, or holiday on a cruise ship to augment boating over the winter months to satisfy the mid-winter blues.
For just $10,000 to $20,000 a couple could go on a cruise for 10 days to 2 weeks. Of course, at the lower end price range, you’d get the less desirable cabin and exclusions. So, to really enjoy the 2 week cruise, the higher priced package would be more appealing. After all, if you are going on a cruise, you might as well really, really enjoy it and have no regrets.
But wait! Maybe the “magic pills” aren’t really pills at all.
Maybe the cure for the mid-winter blues is planning and preparing for your summer boating staycation. Why not? For a whole lot less than $20,000, you and your whole family could have a phenomenal summer on your own boat on local waterways—4 months or more, instead of just 2 weeks. Given this choice, it’s an easy decision to make, isn’t it?
Visiting your boat now and then, while it is buried in the snow, and visiting Boat Shows will somewhat satisfy the mid-winter blues.
Planning and preparing for a boating staycation here at home should satisfy the rest.
You have months to research and plan a boating holiday with your family—where to go, what to see, what to do, which friends to boat with, who to invite for weekends. Involve the whole family in your plans. Every day aboard can reveal new opportunities. With plenty of time to plan and prepare, it should be the boating summer of a lifetime. Why not?
While two weeks on a cruise ship could be lots of fun, a boating staycation would be phenomenal and create family memories that will last a lifetime—excitement, boating, cruising, swimming, quality family time, fishing, sunbathing, relaxation, new adventures every day and much more.
We suggest you stop looking for the “magic pills”. Start attending Boat Shows, reading magazines, taking Power Squadron courses, topping-up your handling and docking skills, fixing all those items on your to-do list, repairing/replacing canvas, or even trading up to a new boat or motor. Enjoy what you already have.
Start planning and preparing your Summer Staycation to cure your mid-winter blues.
On your dock, get set, GO!
Brenda Dawson
