Reality Cruising Adventure
Tired of the same old hum-drum vacations to the tropics? Lounging on the beaches of five-star resorts not turning your crank anymore? Let Mike and Rebecca Sweeney of Zero To Cruising give you a real-world cruisers adventure that you’ll remember forever!
Just look at the fun weekend of experiences we have in store for ZTC guests:
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Saturday morning: UNDERWATER ADVENTURE!
Bored with snorkeling over fish-infested reefs? Get your underwater fix the way real cruisers do — by scrubbing the bottom of a boat. And the catamaran Zero To Cruising has not just one hull for you to ‘cut your teeth’ on but two, so you’ll get hours of fun in the warm Caribbean waters! View the amazing sea life that can grow on a hull lacking sufficient anti-fouling paint. Everything from bright red sea moss to crusty little barnacles are waiting for you in this nautical playground. All equipment supplied.
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Saturday afternoon: SPLISH AND SPLASH!
Remember the fun you had in childhood water fights? That and more is waiting in our deck-scrubbing adventure! Slip and slide across soap-covered decks as the warm sun beats down upon you. Splash your friends as you move about the boat. Experience the joy that comes from revealing the gleaming white decks that are temporarily masked by salt and grime. You bring the bathing suit and we supply the rest.
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Sunday morning: LET IT SHINE!
Ever experienced the pain and embarrassment that comes with a lopsided suntan, acquired by lying motionless on a beach chair? That won’t happen on ZTC, especially with our afternoon stainless-polishing competition. As you go head-to-head with your fellow polishers to make each piece of steel on the boat sparkle, you’ll be moving from station to station, bending and twisting, exposing the various parts of your body to the sun’s warming rays. At the end the day, you’ll not only have the satisfaction that comes from a challenging day of battling against your friends, you’ll have a full-body tan that can’t be matched by those hiding under umbrellas on the beach in the distance.
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Sunday afternoon: PIRATE TREASURE HUNT!
What about a shore excursion? Don’t fret… we’ve got that planned for you too, and it just may be the highlight of the weekend! But don’t think we’re going to let you wander aimlessly from shop to shop like a typical tourist. Far from it. We’ve got a real treasure hunt organized for you, where the prizes that you’ll be hunting for are two of most valuable cruiser commodities: water and fuel! With a dinghy full of brightly-colored jerry cans, you’ll head for distant shores in search of the “gold.” Mislabeled maps and out-of-date guide books will add to the excitement. When you finally locate your “booty,” you’ll get to pretend you’re real pirates as you ferry it back to the ship. More fun than you can imagine is waiting for you on this special outing, only available from ZTC!
Now for the bad news: availability for this ultra-exclusive weekend vacation experience is extremely limited. So, to guarantee your spot, you must send a non-refundable $1000.00 US deposit (50% of the total booking fee) to Zero To Cruising. Give us a weekend and we’ll give you a cruising experience like no other. Guaranteed!
After an exciting day of living the cruising lifestyle, we’re definitely not going to leave you high and dry. No Way! This amazing adventure includes a generous portion of the beverage of your choice, either warm domestic beer or boat wine, both of which are considered a delicacy by cruisers everywhere!
In case you haven’t figured it out, this is a joke. Sorry. Please don’t really send us $1000.00, unless you really want to. No, that was a joke too.
Hahahahaha! Cracks me up! sounds like a blast:)
Dani
We have a long waiting list!
Hi Mike and Rebecca –
I am looking for a Gemini in Mexico – Isla Mujeres to be specific. Are you coming this way?
Please email me – joe@zialater.com
Cheers – Joe Boyle
Hi Joe
No, it will be quite some time before we make it to mexico. I think our friends on the big ketch Joana 1 just arrived there though. They just came from Cuba. Good luck with the boat hunt.
Mike
And you have mail.
Sounds like a BLAST!!!! Sign us up.
Done! You guys are too experienced for the basic course though. We’d need to through a tropical storm into the mix just to keep it interesting.
Awesome post. I just wrote an, admittedly less humorous, post on this topic. I’d be pleased to get your thoughts on what I missed…
http://runningdownwind.jakedimare.com/skipper-hobbies/
Hi Jake
Nice post. You pretty much covered the bases, although you might want to include gasoline engines (outboards) as well.
I would love to say that I “enjoy” each of the activities you listed, as in a Hobby sense, but that would be far from the truth. Hopefully you can make that happen.
very funny! just came across the site …. you guys are really livin the dream!
Thanks Travis. We are trying!
Okay, I don’t have a thousand bucks but …. How about I scrub and clean your vessel inside and out daily, run errands, wash dishes and pay you a daily rate to boot?!
I’m thin but seriously out of shape and really want to find a rigerous training program for about one month somewhere for a serious kick-start to a new fitness lifeatyle. And you two look like you could be the ultimate trainers!
How about it? Could you guys use a cleaning/polishing slave who would be willing to pay you a modest wage in exchange for daily fitness training and a place to live during the deal on ZTC?
Hope to here back from you!
Sorry Outta Shape (Lynn)… we pretty much have the ZTC maintenance thing down to a science. I do respect your desire to kick-start a new fitness program so vigorously though. If you need any specific training advice, send a comment through on Rebecca’s fitness blog. See today’s post…
http://www.zerotocruising.com/you-dont-need-to-exercise/
Boat wine?
In other words, CHEAP wine.
What a GREAT web site!! As newbies (guinea pig crash dummies), you’re the perfect source for a “real world” look at the cruising life which (as you’re discovering) is not “crisp blue blazers with white slacks holding a chilled dry martini as the sun sets perfectly over calm warm waters”. As you mentioned, it’s more along the lines of “warm domestic beer and boat wine”. (It’s amazing what boaties will swill down smiling all the while.) Anyway, keep reporting in as often as you can with more observations and learning experiences. It’s all good.
Hi Tim
Thanks for the very nice comment! We appreciate it.
Jesus when you said 1000 bucks I nearly bought the dream boat I’ve been lucking at and got my flight sorted and headed your way to set up shop.
Sounds like you had a lot of fun in the sun, my dream, and have been trying to get my wife involved but to no avail, have fun, regards john
If you do take her sailing, make sure it’s on a very calm day and don’t do anything silly. Good luck!
Well hello Mr Sweeney long time!. I see that things are well that’s great.I just wanted to say hi and glad to be able to follow your adventures. Iam still hoping that I will see you on the tropical beach one day . Iam recovering from a motorcycle accident and very grateful to be alive, my doctors said after I woke up 20 some days later that they should be putting toe tags on me fortunately their was someone watching over me.I often think back of the days at the dojo and of course the floor installations I had done. Again I just thought I would throw you a line and say hello I hope all is well. Who knows maybe one day you will be able to give me some personal get into shape training tips lol.Take care have fun.
P.W
Hey Peter
Nice to hear from you. I didn’t know about that accident but so happy to hear that all is well know. Scary.
Let me know when you’ll be in the islands.
hey guys lived aboard for seven years we sunk by one popular towing company wont say the name but color is yellow and black…….my husband died because of all the stress being a new widow looking for any suggestions on how to get on as a crew member.
Check out:
http://www.desperatesailors.com
That is our friend’s website and it has a good Crew Finder section where you can create a profile listing your experience.
Just spent some enjoyable time reading through your blog. We are on the way to a similar adventure. Really appreciate the tips on staying in shape.
Greetings from north of the Arctic Circle.
s/v Bandon
Jack & Barbra
North of the Arctic Circle? Wow. I look forward to checking out your blog!
HAHAHAHA!!!! This page is AWESOME! It really caught me off guard and got me laughing! The Travel Channel needs to produce a show for you two!
Glad you liked it.
Travel Channel… are you paying attention? Hello?
Hey Mike,
First I have to say I am addicted to your blog! I have started from the beginning and am currently up to May of last year! I read it everyday and can’t wait to meet up with you two somewhere in the beautiful blue waters some day.
Just so you know that both you and Rebecca are spoken about on a first name basis (as if you lived around the corner) with my husband. It has been our dream the last 5 years to do what you two have done. We have the boat (32′ Rennisance AMI-Jellicle Cat) that sees lots of use! Heading to the Bahamas next month for 3 weeks. Easy for us we live on the Gulf coast of Florida.
We have finally moved onto step 1 seriously selling off all our stuff! Where the heck does it all come from??? We are working on finding good long term renters for our house on the river. Then we will move aboard probabaly head to the Keys and find a marinia there. Hubby has to work about 2 more years, then we will be free!
Looking forward to actually meeting you two and to some awesome adventures!
Renee
Hi Renee
Thanks for the very nice email. It’s fun to read something like this while I am in the process of working on today’s post.
We never made it to the keys but have friends who love it there. Perhaps you’ll never want to leave?
Keep in touch!