may 2016cruisingworld.com41company in 2012 and was looking to buy another. But his thirst
for voyaging had never been quenched. “When you talk about
something for 10 years, does it become a family dream?” he says.
“Then we went to that cruising dinner. The seed was planted,
and Conley liked the idea, so I started to take her to boat shows
to look at boats.”
The Zanis say that educating their boys, Wake, 8, and Wyatt,
6, was not a primary factor in their decision to go cruising. In
fact, Conley confesses that they dreaded that part the most. But
they shared their friends’ desire to spend dedicated time togeth-
er as a family, and saw the confined space of a boat — and the
broader expanse of the blue Caribbean — as their salvation.
For the Gonsalveses, the motivation to take their children
through the Caribbean chain ran deeper. Before they had chil-
dren, Jef and Mege served as captain and cook on charter boats
in the same waters. They wanted to revisit these special places
and show son Asa, 8, and daughter Orly, 11, the colorful West
Indian culture and the French colonial influences in St. Barts.
But they also wanted to expose them to the more challenging
issue of poverty in the Caribbean.
“The original vision was a two-year gig to the South Pacific,
going to places we haven’t been,” says Jef, a marine surveyor.
“Suddenly we realized that the destination didn’t matter.
Everything would be new to them. It was more about spending
time with the kids, and a more modest itinerary helped make
that a much more attainable goal.”
While they came from diferent backgrounds, the families
also had much in common, including kids in school ranging from
the first to fifth grades. For everyone, weekends were packed
with birthday parties and sports. Weekdays consisted of the
usual dash to and from school, followed by hours of homework.
“I realized that, ‘Wow, this allows for so little family time,’” says
Kenan. “This wasn’t the lifestyle we had envisioned. Childhood
is too precious and fleeting.”
Once they’d decided to take the plunge, Kenan and Smith
hired an educational “coach” from California five months before
the trip and started a home-schooling routine. The family also
sold their home in Providence, Rhode Island, and jettisoned
clothes, books and other clutter from their life. “By the time weAboard Rebecca of Vineyard Haven, dad Jesse keeps daugh-
ters Selah and Teal company as they tackle the books
(below). To prepare for their trip, the family began a
home-schooling routine months before departing. The
Zanis sailed a Fountaine Pajot Belize 43, Fabuloso (bottom).HERE WERE THREE STRIKINGLY
DIFFERENT APPROACHES WITH A
COMMON OUTCOME: AN UNMATCHED
EXPERIENCE WITH SPOUSES AND KIDS.