CLASS ACT

CRUISING WITH THEIR CHILDREN ALLOWED RALF AND DINA SCHLAEPFER TO FULFIL THEIR PACIFIC DREAMS, ALTHOUGH SET LESSONS WERE OVERTAKEN BY THE SCHOOL OF ADVENTURE

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Sailing the paradise of the Pacific Ocean with my own boat had been my dream since forever. The first big question was when would be the right time for the adventure? Should I take time off work or retire early? Since our daughter was born in 2009 and our son in 2011, early retirement was clearly the better option, when the kids were old enough to enjoy and remember the trip, but not so old they missed important school years. The age of the kids from 7 to 11 seemed perfect, so we set the date for 2018.

Having chartered yachts around the world, with one exception all monohulls, the second question was what boat to buy? My wife, Dina, was clear about the space she wanted for a trip over one year. Accordingly, we were looking at 70ft to 80ft boats but soon realised that this size would mean having professional crew on board. Discussing with friends who’d done similar trips led us to consider multihulls.

A catamaran would provide the same living space, while being more compact and shorter than a monohull. I also wanted to have back-ups for the key systems, and a catamaran comes with two engines, two propellers, two rudders. In addition, with two hulls and short, light keels, catamarans are practically unsinkable and can enter much shallower anchorages. After a year of evaluations we decided on a Saba 50 from Fountaine Pajot, which would provide for us the right balance between weight, space and performance for long bluewater crossings.