A BOAT FOR EACH STAGE
While for many long-haul cruisers their boat becomes synonymous with home, one yacht is not always right for all ages and stages. Pat Schulte has spent two decades cruising and adventuring (recorded in his long-running ‘Bumfuzzle’ blog), but the Schulte family swapped boats several times to meet differing needs, writes Erin Carey.
Twenty years ago, in their late 20s, Pat Schulte and his wife, Ali, decided they needed a big adventure. Despite never having stepped foot on a boat, they bought a 35ft catamaran after just four hours of looking, and within a few months were at sea, pointed west.
The couple completed their circumnavigation four years later, unscathed, but feeling slightly done with boats. They embarked on some land travel, driving from Argentina to Alaska in a vintage VW bus, and had their first child, when boat life lured them back. Their two children spent their early years on a 43ft Spindrift monohull cruising all over Mexico. That was followed up by a couple more years on the road, before deciding to get another boat – this time a motor trawler. The family cruised the Caribbean in a 42ft Grand Banks that was capable of covering the short distance hops between islands quickly and comfortably.
However, after a couple of years Pat and Ali were at anchor in Aruba, waiting for a weather window to open up to take them to Panama, when they decided to change course once again. Their children were growing up fast and the perfect age for a truly epic adventure. So the family opted for Bumfuzzle number four, a Nautitech 40 Open catamaran, for their second trip around the globe.
While Schulte doesn’t recommend choosing a boat in a few hours, he points out that all boats are a compromise and you can turn yourself in knots trying to find one perfect yacht. “We chose our current boat mostly based on online reviews and feedback from current owners. We also wanted a boat known for having good sailing capabilities.
“It’s exciting to be planning a second trip around the globe. Our goals are very different for this trip. We’re scuba divers now, which puts many new places on our agenda. The Pacific is so vast that maybe one season won’t suffice. Staring at world cruising maps with the family is an entirely different experience.”