Ever daydream about what it's like to quit your job, sell your house
and most of your possessions, say good-bye to your neighbors, and set sail with your
family--permanently?
Tom and Mel Neale did it 18 years ago, and they've made it work.
In 1979 the Neales left their law and education careers and traded their home in a
suburban neighborhood for a three-room boat. Now, their neighborhood is a Chesapeake
Bay cove, or a secluded Bahamian beach, or anywhere else they choose to anchor.
The Neale family, Tom, Mel and daughters Melanie and Carolyn, put
some 5,000 miles a year under the hull of Chez Nous, their Gulf-Star Sailmaster
47.
For the Neales, living aboard and cruising is about taking control
of their world and their environment, a sometimes difficult but always rewarding
existence.
All in the Same Boat is one family's testament to the
belief that you can lead your own life, whatever that might be. For the Neales, it
hasn't been a vacation. Instead of mowing the lawn, they fix the watermaker or make
bread from scratch; instead of trying to find good schools for the kids, they made their
own good school; instead of living to work, they work to live, making time for adventure
and play. Here is how they do it, and how you can do it too, with hard-won tips,
practical suggestions, and life lessons on everything from developing a cruising frame of
mind to choosing and customizing the right boat to dealing calmly with the myriad
problems, big and small, that will ship with you on your journey.
Mel and Tom Neale gave up their suburban home and careers in
teaching and trial law to move aboard their Gulf-Star Sailmaster 47 Chez Nous in
1979. Since then, they've raised two daughters aboard while cruising nearly 5,000
miles a year along the U.S. East Coast and the Bahamas. Tom, a widely published
cruising author, now writes Cruising World's "On Watch" column.
Tom and Mel Neale left their 9 to 5 world nearly two decades ago and
never looked back. Here's everything you need to follow them:
- Choosing the right boat
- Preparing the crew and boat
- Provisioning for long-term cruising
- Raising--and educating--kids
- Getting along in close quarters
- Earning a living--and how to hold on to the money
- Keeping in touch
- What to expect in the cruising life, and how to handle it
- Learning what you can leave behind
- Making the ocean your backyard
