Hosting Guests on a Sailboat: 18 Visitors by the Numbers

In short

In our first 20 months aboard SV Aphrodite, eighteen people stayed overnight with us: nine women and nine men, aged 3 to 75, from Canada, Mexico, the United States, the United Kingdom and Switzerland. We pulled together some statistics about hosting guests on a sailboat that might interest other cruisers and future guests, and we thank the friends and family who came to visit.

Since we set sail, we’ve had a total of eighteen people stay overnight with us aboard SV Aphrodite. We’ve been onboard ourselves for 20 months.

Hosting Guests on a Sailboat — By the Numbers

Here are some statistics about hosting guests on a sailboat that might be of interest to other cruisers and future guests of SV Aphrodite:

• 90% of our visitors went to shore to sightsee, visit restaurants and visit beaches
• 90% went sailing (meaning we actually left the harbour during their visit and raised the sails)
• 90% went up front, on deck, while we were sailing
• 60% shared an overnight stay on our boat with nine other people (10 people aboard)
• 55% took seasickness medication at least once during their visit
• 40% went snorkeling
• 40% washed at least some of their clothing by hand, and hung it up to dry outside
• 40% showed signs of dehydration (for example, dark urine and swollen feet)
• 30% experienced seasickness to the point of throwing up
• 30% experienced a second-degree sunburn, requiring aloe lotion with lidocaine and, in one case, a special prescription medication
• 20% had special dietary needs (vegetarian, vegan or food allergies)
• 20% rented a car for a day
• 20% were 16 years old or under
• 20% were non-swimmers
• 20% dropped something overboard by mistake
• 20% left something behind on our boat by mistake (for example, jackets, a game, earphone case, and toy car)
• 10% saw nurse sharks underneath our boat (in the Jumentos, Bahamas)
• 5% brought a hair-straightening appliance
• 5% are repeat overnight guests (hmm, is there a message here?)
• 0% wore Speedos
• 0% required hospitalization or contracted a serious illness, such as Zika or Hep C.

Our data is drawn from a sample of nine females and nine male visitors, ranging in age from 3 to 75. Our visitors were from Canada, Mexico, United States, United Kingdom, and Switzerland.

A big thank you to our fabulous guests — our friends and family including: Mark, Caroline, Anthony, Elizabeth, Ewa, Collette, Emily, Teena, Carl, Dad, Marthe, Paul, Anastasia, Ilya, Rick A., Braden, Findlay and Jorja.

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