Summer cruise with a two year old (are we mad?)

[oldharry]

So am I, if isolated anchorages is all that you are going to do. For them the passage making has little more interest than a long MWay run in the back of the car: its what you are going to do when you get there that matters. That means a lot fewer isolated anchorages, and a lot more going ashore, usually in Marinas to avoid hazardous dinghy trips. (The only time I had a child OB was during dinghy transfer. Thankfully my strict rule about LJs etc, saved the day). Even then you have to think through what you are doing: is there much current that woudl sweep an OB child away for example.

Sailing with smalls is fine, but its not the same as the sailing you have been doing up to now. Handle it right and in a few years time you will have up and coming new crew to train up! Let them get long term bored with the boat and you have had it for sailing holidays until they are old enough to do their own thing while you get back afloat!

 

[JumbleDuck]

That means a lot fewer isolated anchorages, and a lot more going ashore, usually in Marinas to avoid hazardous dinghy trips.

I respectfully disagree. I think marinas are far more dangerous places for children, because it's so easy to get off the boat and disappear out of sight. Stuck on a boat in a nice isolated anchorage they can't go anywhere or do anything without you knowing.

It's true that dinghying ashore with a parent is more hazardous than walking ashore with a parent, but the risks in both cases are pretty tiny.

Of course we all bring out personal experiences to bear. I sail with a crew who has been exploring anchorages alone under oar since the age of six and who always tries to talk me out of going into marinas.

 

[oldharry]

We got round it with a bilge keeler, drying out most tides. Total winner on sand: dig a seawall round the boat against the incoming tide. Huge excitement for all trying to patch up the walls and gets rid of a lot of excess energy! On a smaller scale, a sea wall round the boarding ladder is equally challenging. Visitors used to wonder why I carried a garden spade aboard...

But i suggested marinas as the child in question is only a toddler, will be hung on to fairly firmly by mum, and probably not into sand engineering projects yet!

 

[johnalison]

I have always found children to be strange animals, though I believe that I may have been one once. We used to have mega-tantrums from this one every spring, when she objected to the idea of putting on a life-jacket. She eventually got over it and always came with us when she could after that. She is running the Brighton Marathon next weekend, although middle-aged now.

 

[Kelpie]

I love the idea of drying out on a beach and building a wall- we have beaching legs and Loch Moidart looks a stunning spot for this, at least on Google Earth. Maybe a bit much for this year, but the rate at which he develops is astonishing. I suppose I was the same once!

Tomorrow we're going to go for a gentle drift in the shallows in the Avon, just to see how strong his urge to climb back out might be.

I think that it'll be a bit step forwards when we get to a point where he can go in the dinghy with just one adult accompanying. At what sort of age have people felt safe to do this?

 

[JumbleDuck]

I think that it'll be a bit step forwards when we get to a point where he can go in the dinghy with just one adult accompanying. At what sort of age have people felt safe to do this?

There was no time when I wasn't happy to do this. Mind you, I have always had rigid dinghies which perhaps present a bigger barrier to escape.

 

[KenMcCulloch]

I love the idea of drying out on a beach and building a wall- we have beaching legs and Loch Moidart looks a stunning spot for this, at least on Google Earth. Maybe a bit much for this year, but the rate at which he develops is astonishing. I suppose I was the same once!

Tomorrow we're going to go for a gentle drift in the shallows in the Avon, just to see how strong his urge to climb back out might be.

I think that it'll be a bit step forwards when we get to a point where he can go in the dinghy with just one adult accompanying. At what sort of age have people felt safe to do this?

If not duffer won’t drown?

 

[wotayottie]

To hell with all that. They are kids and have to put up with things; it's your other half you need to mollycoddle.

I was going to say "true" but then I have often thought that the only person who doesnt understand baby battering is someone who hasnt had to cope with an infant crying who cant be pacified. The other half you can usually reduce to stoney silence. The two year old is much more difficult and often more vocal.

You know your sprog. You are the only people who can make this decision.

 

[Kelpie]

Yesterday I took the wee guy for a paddle in the dinghy. He'd been in it before, of course, but only in the vice like grip of his mother.
I was relieved to see that his instinctive reaction was to sit down on the floor and generally make himself as low as possible. Absolutely no inclination to stand up or climb out- this is good! So I'm now wondering if it would be ok to simply tether him to my LJ, and we should be good to go, Very short distances and good weather only, of course.

In other news, he thought the forecabin was brilliant and spent the rest of the morning climbing in and out of the v berth over and over again. So it's looking promising...

 

[westhinder]

In other news, he thought the forecabin was brilliant and spent the rest of the morning climbing in and out of the v berth over and over again. So it's looking promising...

If my experience is anything to go by, you will be surprised at the amount of entertainment young kids will find inside a boat. Their imagination is so much richer than ours. No screens or other electronics needed either.

 

[dolabriform]

My four year old twins had their first sleepover on the boat at the weekend and loved it now they have their own room in the forepeak.

Their enthusiasm is amazing, surpassed only by their energy. Stopping them constantly wanting to climb everywhere is a fun challenge!

 

[AntarcticPilot]

I have always found children to be strange animals, though I believe that I may have been one once. We used to have mega-tantrums from this one every spring, when she objected to the idea of putting on a life-jacket. She eventually got over it and always came with us when she could after that. She is running the Brighton Marathon next weekend, although middle-aged now.

She's lucky - when I was her age we wore the big, BoT kapok filled things!

 

[JumbleDuck]

She's lucky - when I was her age we wore the big, BoT kapok filled things!

I still have the two Jack Holt kapok-filled buoyancy aids which my sister and I wore as children. I must test them some time. Anyone want to lend me a small child?

 

[sjdtuk]

 

[Kelpie]

Well, we did it, we've done it, and we've lived to tell the tale.
In the end we only had a week- the first half of our fortnight off work was lost to bad weather. But it was a great little trip. Several anchorages in Uist, a couple of nights at Canna. The two year old had an absolute blast. In hindsight I'm a bit embarrassed by all the worries that I had. He was perfectly happy and safe scrambling around the cabin, on deck, or in the dinghy. We had a rule that he always, without fail, had his LJ on when outside the cabin, and was always clipped on to one of us or to the boat.
Never at any point did we have any feeling that he was likely to slip overboard or try to climb out of the dinghy- the natural instinct for self preservation is clearly quite strong. The guardrail netting that we bought remains unfitted, and frankly I'm not sure I really see the need for it.
As to entertainment, the constant stream of new sights, boats, people, dolphins etc kept him well amused. And it's amazing how you can pare down the toys to a handful of favourites.
Thanks to everyone who gave me words of encouragement. Hopefully this will be the start of a long and happy life at sea for the wee man

 

[westhinder]

Well done. Now keep it up. Before you know it, being on a boat will be more natural to him than to you.

 

[KellysEye]

Long distance sailing we met loads of kids including little Rosie was one year old on the day we left the Canaries. The kids were from different counties, some didn't speak English, but they still organised games. They had lessons every afternoon and were the best educated and most friendly kids we have ever met. Make sure he has somewhere safe to sleep and games.

 

[Shuggy]

Three years ago we rode out a bit of a breeze in Loch Snizort with an assortment of children on board. You would have remembered us... we were the ones who lost their dinghy onto the south shore in about 40 knots (painter snapped) and had to deploy the spare one for a rollercoaster ride there and back! So it's not just pensioners...

Thanks for the above posts- very encouraging for our longer term aspirations of becoming liveaboards.
My immediate worry, though, is the short term cruising over the next couple of summers. Probably just doing the usual parent thing of overthinking and worrying too much, but I'm struggling to see what he will get out of two weeks aboard a boat sat an anchor in the middle of nowhere.

Pre-child, we used to love nothing better than a leisurely walk to the top of an unnamed hill to sit and watch the birds fly by, and contemplate the meaning of life. Glass of wine, simple food, good books, and a few choice films on the laptop to while away the evenings. We almost never see another boat, and those that we do see are exclusively crewed by pensioners.

Maybe we just need to sail to the Caribbean

 

[Shuggy]

...and well done too!

Well, we did it, we've done it, and we've lived to tell the tale.
In the end we only had a week- the first half of our fortnight off work was lost to bad weather. But it was a great little trip. Several anchorages in Uist, a couple of nights at Canna. The two year old had an absolute blast. In hindsight I'm a bit embarrassed by all the worries that I had. He was perfectly happy and safe scrambling around the cabin, on deck, or in the dinghy. We had a rule that he always, without fail, had his LJ on when outside the cabin, and was always clipped on to one of us or to the boat.
Never at any point did we have any feeling that he was likely to slip overboard or try to climb out of the dinghy- the natural instinct for self preservation is clearly quite strong. The guardrail netting that we bought remains unfitted, and frankly I'm not sure I really see the need for it.
As to entertainment, the constant stream of new sights, boats, people, dolphins etc kept him well amused. And it's amazing how you can pare down the toys to a handful of favourites.
Thanks to everyone who gave me words of encouragement. Hopefully this will be the start of a long and happy life at sea for the wee man

 

[Baggywrinkle]

Well Done!! Brings back memories ....

Got dragged up the West Coast of Scotland as a kid from as far back as I can remember - every summer holiday. Loved it and met tons of other kids doing the same thing.

When I grew up I named my own boat after Irene MacLachlans cat "McKelvie" - anyone who visited Ardinamir Bay on Luing in the 70s/80s would know who she was.

I've done the same with my kids too ... they love it (in the Adriatic) and are still sailing with me at 21, 23 and 25.



Strap the little buggers in lifejackets and let them get on with it.