Yes, that is my primary concern - the safety of the crew and those around us, with that of the boat being a close second. My son has sailed with us quite a bit and I've been working with him on the basics. If this trip happens we would have pre-trip meetings to go over basic safety. One of the first orders of business once we get on the boat (aside from proper use of a marine head) would be to show them how to get the engines running and the sails down in case something happens to me, how to ease/release the sheets to de-power the boat, and how to use the VHF radio to call for help if necessary. We would also go over items such as MOB procedures and other pertinent safety requirements. I would try to get them involved in running the boat right off the bat so that they would be more helpful in the day to day sailing as well as in the event of an emergency. Of course I would be very conservative in terms of not taking any unnecessary risks that might result in me being out of commission. Maybe hiring a captain for a day or two would be a good way to be able to get going and still teach them some basic skills. We do have other options as well in terms of bringing experienced people along which we might consider. We also own a Moore 24 here at home where I could do some basic safety instruction before we leave and get them comfortable on a boat. They'd just have to realize the difference between a smaller boat like the Moore which can be man-handled, versus a large cat where proper technique is necessary. Maybe a few of them would want to take an ASA course or two before heading down.

One thing I'll add is that all of these kids are quite involved in action sports and grew up windsurfing and kiteboarding. Some of them have done a bit of dinghy sailing as well. They are capable and smart kids who are familiar with wind related sports and I'm reasonably sure they could get up to speed pretty quickly on the basics of handling a boat. Not to say I would in any way trust them to sail the boat themselves or that they already have the skills to sail a boat, but I think with a little bit of initial coaching they could come together and figure things out if it came down to it. That said, if I thought there was a reasonable chance of putting them in that situation I wouldn't even be considering this trip.

Matt