Sailing with a baby

[Guest]

Our daughter is now 9 months old & although she sailed a few times last year she didn't move about too much.

Does anyone have any practical advice for looking after young children aboard, mostly day sailing?

We are sorting out a suitable lifejacket, harness & guard rail netting to keep her aboard & I think the autohelm will earn its living. We have also bought a child carrier to be able to walk around with her ashore & a big lee cloth to act as a cot to keep her in. Thanks

 

[Guest]

Sounds like you have thought of most of the ideas we used with our two.We had a car seat with lashing downeyes both in the cockpit and below.This was used until the youngest was about 3.I did some sailing on my own with them (one at a time )The seat was usefull at stressfull times like reefing the main ,picking up moorings etc.Best wishes from Graham, Wendy and Crew.

 

[Guest]

Can't really add to that.

One bit of advice from the famous Des Sleightholme was that toddlers can put up with about 1 hour of passage per year of life. That was certainly true of our two year old last season. Two hours and she was ready to jump ship. Everything else seems to depend on the kid's temperament. Some will stay put and others just HAVE to explore and get into trouble!

 

[Guest]

All the previous advice is great, I also found that I felt better if my daughter was wearing a cycle helmet while we where sailing, just in case. They are not very expensive, and you can get one to fit a 1 year old and pad it out. Good luck and have fun.

 

[Guest]

You seem to have thought it out pretty thoroughly - well done! The level of tolerance of sea passages varies enormously from child to child - mine were quite happy with a day at sea, as long as it was followed by a day - preferably two! - on the beach.

Making sure they are secure against being thrown about in a seaway is a primary consideration, which you seem to have thought through pretty thoroughly.

As they get older (which in retrospect happens very quickly!) involvement in handling the boat is great fun. My eldest was a quite competent helmsman at age 5 - for about 15 minutes at a time!

Pretty views, sunsets, mountains or birds are only good for about 3 seconds interest - what do you DO with a pretty view other than look at it? Youngsters need something more entertaining.

My forecabin became a computer centre later on - with its attendant hazards: start the engine and voltage drop crashed all the computers!

Oh, and do NOT allow marine life aboard: (apologies to those who have read it before from me!) but it took me until well after midnight to evict the crab that had escaped after being brought aboard, and in whose presence there was NO chance of anyone going to bed!

 

[Guest]

I was reminded on a similar string a few weeks ago of just how much assorted junk we used to carry.

Allow about 3 times as much volume for the baby as for an adult.

My daughter was sailing at 3 months she slept most of the time - and still does given chance.

The car seat is a good idea though mine was happiest sat on the cockpit floor playing with pieces of rope.

Go for it

 

[Guest]

Re: Sailing with a baby/toddler

You dont mention the kind of boat youn sail. Babies very quickly become toddlers and during those years we sailed with our two sons in a cruising cat. Most cats have the cockpit and saloon all on one level so we fixed gates down into the two hull so the kids could either be safely below in the hulls or in the saloon/cockpit which is quite a large area. We have a photo of the two kids playing in a paddling pool in the cockpit whilst the boat was broad reaching at 12 knots. We also carried bikes with kiddy seats and used to beach the boat and ride to the pub. Whatever happens dont give up although you will fell like it sometimes.

 

[Guest]

REAL Owd sea-dogs ALWAYS have crabs! nm

nm

 

[Guest]

Charles Watson
Our daughter is now 9 months old & although she sailed a few times last year she didn't move about too much.
Does anyone have any practical advice for looking after young children aboard, mostly day sailing?

Well Charles, you never got back to this thread that you started... Anything *you* can add now? She's coming up two now eh?

Both my daughters started sailing about 9mo. before they were born. Probably, the older was conceived on an 18-foot cat out in the middle of the lake at night. As newborns, they sailed in a car bed, lashed to the tramp(oline). First year, they'd sleep for *hours* through the middle of the day, when they would not sleep otherwise. We figured it might have been the sailing motion and sounds as comforting.

Once they were able to stand, the carbed still served, but it had to be stocked with toys. They would still sleep a lot though.

Next coupla years, sailing was a way to get to the beach. They could handle a couple or three hours of sail, but then we had to hit the beach for a break.

At some point they drifted away from sailing. School activities, friends, etc etc. Had some great sails with them when they brought friends along to go for a sail on Dads boat.

so yeah, go sailing with baby. I miss mine!

Lock

ps... same with swimming. Older girl didn't start `til she was over a year. Second started at a coupla months. Start `em young!

 

[yachtcharisma]

Having just got back from a week pottering around Falmouth in a Corribee with our 9 month old I couldn't help noticing the thread. Would endorse most of what has been said, especially about short trips - hence the decision to spend the week exploring the Falmouth estuary. I did the sail down from Plymouth singlehanded, Lisa and Emily joined me at Falmouth.

I'd be interested to know what others have done about sleeping arrangements? After spending ages trying to work out how to make secure cotsides for the quarter berths we ended up cutting some 3" thick foam to fit the cabin floor, which gave a secure berth with nowhere to fall. But it would be quite nice to tuck her away in a berth somewhere - biggests disadvantage was that in a one-cabin boat like the Corribee, Emily's bedtime really had to be ours as well, so we all compromised on about nine o'clock (mind you, after a day looking after a very active nine-month old, nine o'clock was about as late as we wanted!).

Interested to hear from anyone else doing the same sort of thing. A baby certainly provides a talking point - after two days at Falmouth Yacht Haven no-one seemed to walk past without an enquiry as to how she was doing! Mind you, we felt rather humbled when a Westerly GK24 tied up in front of us and produced two adults and no fewer than five children!

Cheers
Patrick

==================
Sailing a Corribee
vzone.virgin.net/patrick.fox
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[quaelgeist2]

Our son has sailed with us from 8weeks onwards.

He enjoyed it as we could notice - and, yes, he and we got a lot of attention in harbours and at sea. When he was 6months we sailed across to France and he had fun ther, too.

Sleeping arrangement: Leecloth for one saloon berth (yes we appreciated good weather to stay up somewhat longer - but then again, they sllep well at early ages)
25ft - bow cabin for wife and me, no aft cabin)

Somewhat difficult time when he passed two years, got active and refused to put on the lifejacket (no arguments - iron rule, only thing that worked swiftly)

Sold that boat when he was 3 and he enquired for about 3-4 weeks sadly where "our boat" was, But he has adopted the new one well, since it has his own quarters (bow cabin)

All in all - apart from being short handed at times (single handed at times two) great experience and no reason not to do again...

chris

 

[Avocet]

We had no problems until our daughter was about 3. Up until then, she slept a lot, didn't move about much and got all the stimulation she wanted just looking around and watching the world drift by her car seat in the cockpit. PLENTY of sun cream was always needed and a good parasol. A baby bouncer to hang from the boom when tied up was a good entertainer (both for the baby and passers by!)

After she got mobile things got much worse. Des Sleightholme's rule of 1 hour per year of life worked up to about 3 but then dropped off sharply and now (at 4) she gets fed up after about an hour. I guess it depends on the kid. After a season where we only sailed for (I guess) about 10 hours in total, we moved the boat to a lake. It's not very interesting for us but compromise seems to be the key. We get an hour sailing and then she gets to run about, feed ducks, eats sweets etc. While sailing, the lake is flat and calm enough for her to move about freely down below and her toys/games don't get thrown all over the place.

She's showing signs of taking interest in the workings of the boat now so things might be looking up. Hopefully in the next few years, she'll take to it and we'll be able to get back into salt water.

 

[Mirelle]

We have a seven year old boy and a six month old ditto.

So far so good; leecloth up.....