That is the key I think. Even folks that don't think bashing into waves on an extended beat can enjoy the cruising life. True you do have to have a sense of adventure, but I think the benefits of the lifestyle outweigh those times you might wish you were doing something else.

Therein I think probably lay the problem for the 8 at issue. If your first real offshore experience is spending a couple weeks bashing into waves, your first impression of cruising is likely to be that the bad outweighs the good.

Had these folks started out with little passages -- something like the Bahamas is ideal for breaking in the crew, they might have had a different perspective of what it is all about.