THE 10 (TRUE) ARGUMENTS TO PERSUADE YOUR WIFE TO EMBARK FOR A SABBATICAL YEAR

1 – The children

This is the sledgehammer argument, the one that can only hit the jackpot. You will be able to enjoy your children to the full, watch them grow up and give them all your love… In general, this argument is far and away the strongest!   

2- The children (part 2)

As this is the surest way to persuade your wife of the merits of your nautical adventure, hammer home the advantage: this will open their minds; they will meet new cultures, various new people. And if she is worried about their schooling, just tell her they will have the best teacher ever…her!

3 – A beauty programme

Yes living aboard a boat is better than going for thalassotherapy. You swim for several hours, which develops the muscles easily and above all, whilst enjoying yourself. You eat nothing but fish, which is excellent for the figure and finally, you sunbathe all the year round. In short, life aboard a catamaran is one long beauty programme…

4- Safety

What’s it going to be like on the water… can it be dangerous? But that’s exactly why you want to leave aboard a catamaran - it sails without heeling, is unsinkable and in addition it is very comfortable!

5- We’ll get bored on the water

You just have to give her all 94 numbers of Multihulls World. Pure happiness afloat. Some good stories of families, young retired people and couples in perfect harmony with their element. If after reading them she still thinks she will get bored on the water, she is being dishonest!   

6- Healthy reading

To make her want to leave and live on a boat, there is nothing better than giving her some good books about the sea. An excellent means of persuading her, using people other than yourself….
Leave her to devour ‘Histoire de Partir’, to show her that ‘it’s possible’. On the other hand, before you give her ‘Un Temps pour un Rêve’,  tear out the first pages, where Geoffrey has a dreadful nightmare, (which still make the hairs stand up on my head!). Not good for persuading ‘madame’…

7- The interior decoration

If ‘madame’ likes interior decoration, dangle in front of her the fact that a catamaran is like a house, only better: the interior will have to be personalised, so that everyone (especially the children) feels at home. No point in telling her straight away that this personalisation will concern mainly the chart table, or that the accessories will actually be a watermaker and solar panels…  

8- No seasickness

Aboard a catamaran, those who suffer the worst from seasickness are immediately revived. You can put a glass down on the table and it will still be there at the end of the crossing… And the children will each have their own cabin aboard (unless you have 6 children…). The arguments in favour of the catamaran can swing the balance the right way. It’s up to you to find the right angle, according to the woman you wish to persuade…

9- Show her the joys of sailing…in the right place.

This technique is underhand, but oh, so effective. If you want your wife to discover the sea and its pleasures aboard an 8m monohull in February and in Brittany, you are in for a (big) disappointment. But you never know, you might be lucky… However, to leave nothing to chance, it is best to start with a dream destination, and very little actual sailing. The ideal: the Seychelles, the British Virgin Islands or the Grenadines (by chartering the boat directly in the Grenadines, to avoid the crossings). In general, after a week in these wonderful places, you should be able to start talking about living on a boat, and be listened to favourably…   

10- Final argument: love

She loves you, and she said it in front of  the registrar: for better or for worse! So, a year on the water is only 12 months. Nothing to get worked up about! For you it will be the better and for her, you can swear, it will be EXTRAORDINARY (repeat this sentence to her using the same look that you used to seduce her when you were students!)…

These are the 10 irrefutable arguments which should help you succeed in persuading your wife to leave and live on the water for a year. And they work: I started using these technique 20 years ago and I’m close… Between now and our 25th year, I will definitely have succeeded in persuading her (just in time for our retirement)…