Sailing with kids ...

The following is the text of a blog about sailing with kids.  Of course, that will be a huge consideration for our journey.  Most of these things are things we've already talked about, but I like that it was already all written out, so I don't have to write it myself right now!  I'm just trying to get this thing started, so that it becomes part of my mindset.

LINK: http://www.sailfarlivefree.com/2012/02/cruising-with-kids-dont-leave-dock.html

TEXT:

Cruising with Kids: Don't Leave the Dock Without Them!

Sailing wouldn't mean nearly as much to me if I couldn't share the joy that it brings me with my children.  In fact, when I sail with my kids, the two biggest joy-producers in my life collide to create my fondest memories.  I guess I'm lucky that my kids love sailing nearly as much as I do.  I've been told that a teenage day may come when they'd rather be somewhere other than harnessing the wind with dear old dad.  But until that day comes, you can bet I won't be leaving the dock without them.  Anyone else with kids knows that cruising and sailing takes a few special considerations to accomodate their needs.  What follows are my tips for cruising with kids on board.

Use jacklines, harnesses and tethers.  Safety is a major consideration whenever you sail with kids, but what exactly do you need to do differently?  If we're cruising, we typically have our jacklines installed on deck, even if the kids aren't with us.  But when they are with us, the rule on our boat is that the kids must wear harnesses and be tethered to the jacklines if they are on deck while we're underway.  Obviously, conditions must be calm for the kids to be allowed on deck in the first place.  Depending on your cockpit design and the conditions, you might also consider tethering your kids when they are in the cockpit.  A simple pad eye provides a good tether attachment.  There are multiple kid-friendly harness and tether systems available.  We use the Children's Safety Tether/Harness from Cal June.  This rig is lightweight and kid-sized.  It's not necessarily designed with offshore work in mind, but considering it's for kids it does the trick.

Notice the PFD's, jacklines, and tethers. Harnesses are hidden
beneath the PFD's. Lifeline netting is also visible.

Life Jackets/PFD's are a must.  This one almost goes without saying, given that the U.S. Coast Guard and most states actually require children of specific ages to wear life jackets at all times.  Even without local regulations and requirements, our kids wear life jackets whenever they are anywhere on the boat, except in the cabin.  This includes while docked or anchored.  Additionally, there are certain conditions where we require our kids to wear life jackets even while in the cabin.  During rough passages and when excessive heeling and/or tacking is expected, wearing a life jacket in the cabin can help protect ribs and shoulders from injury if they fall down.  We recommend letting your children help pick out their own personal life jacket so that it's comfortable and fashionable in their eyes, which helps ensure they'll have a better attitude about wearing them.  It's a net-positive if your kids want to wear their life jackets even if you have to endure the sight of Winnie the Pooh or Barbie on your otherwise classic and classy ketch.

Get kids involved.  Let them turn a halyard winch, or steer, or operate the GPS, or help with the dock lines.  The more they're involved with actually sailing the boat, the more they'll love and understand sailing.  Both of our daughters now instinctively know that it's their job to help secure dock lines when we return from a sail.  They also both can name most of the features on the boat (standing rigging, mainsail, mainsheet, tiller, shroud, spreader, etc.) and their purpose.

Learning how to stand watch at just 5 years old!

Lifeline netting.  Install some today.  While jacklines and tethers will keep your kids on board, netting adds another level of security and also helps keep other objects that invariably get dropped on deck (boat hooks, fenders, etc.) from falling off.  Another bonus: lifeline netting keeps dogs from falling overboard too!  Our netting isn't the fancy cargo-net style you can buy at West Marine, but rather just some simple thin cordage laced between the lifelines and toerail (see the first picture in this post).    

Give them their own "corner" of the boat.  Just like at home, kids need a space on the boat that they can call their own and set up to their liking.  Our kids use this policy liberally and often commandeer the entire cabin while we're out sailing.  It's not uncommon to see stuffed animals, Polly Pockets and coloring books strewn from the chain locker in the vee berth clear back to the aft quarter berth.  Maybe we need to tighten up the boundaries on their personal boat space, but you get the idea.

You can tell these two don't like cruising at all.

Instilling a love and respect in my children for sailing is important to me.  Being safe, having fun, and having responsibilities are all part of the equation.  If I play my parental cards right and at least one of the little buggers ends up with my sailing addiction, perhaps one day when their dad (me) is too old to sail and is considering a trawler, they'll have a nice Oyster 54 I can hitchhike aboard.

Let's plan a transatlantic sailing adventure!

So we're thinking about sailing with our five amazing daughters to ... somewhere across the Atlantic.  We've mostly discussed a trans-Atlantic trip than the around the world or other alternatives.  I think that would be an amazing event whose preparation, execution, and completion would provide valuable education, information, and general life-motivation.  

Will we ever do it though?  That seems to be the big question.  But, before I go on, let me introduce our family.  

Tim - the dad.  He'll be 49 years old in a couple months and has had a decades long desire to sail on a big journey.  His experience to date is some sailing school time and several years ownership and operation of a 24-foot San Juan fixed keel sail boat.  I've now run out of things that I know about sailing, so I'll stop there.  Tim is a mechanical engineer by trade, but would rather do something creative and productive on his own rather than work in a manufacturing community that has essentially held him in bondage for way too long. 

Debi - the mom.  That's me, by the way.  I'll be 45 years old in six month.  I have 5 kids at home, age 12 down to 1, plus a grown daughter with two sons.  I am just ready for anything.  I don't see things in the usual way, and, to me, it seems perfectly normal to be planning some big adventure, even though we don't have the "how to" figured out.

Lydia - the 12-year-old.  She's sensitive and loves her family.  She is artistic and loves to sing, play, and be with her parents.  She's kind and fair, but also quite feisty!

Danae - the 11-year-old.  Danae is quiet and serious and brilliant.  Sometimes she seems surly, but she's absolutely precious.  She's a big girl, but she's also my eternal baby.  She is a big snuggler, which makes me very happy!

Myria - the 9-year-old.  Myria is silly and sensitive.  She fits in well wherever she is, as they all do.  I think Myria is a thinker.  She always seems to have something working in her little mind.

 

Tayten - the 7-year-old.  Tayten is definitely a horse of a different color.  She, I believe, is a poster child for distractibility.  Her mind is very specific with the way she sees things and gets frustrated if she can't see things through that she's set on.  Tayten is good and honest and fun.

Laurel - the 1-year-old.  Laurel is definitely the sunshine in our family in that the family definitely seems to revolve around her!  She's fun and always a source for entertainment and wonder.  

So that is us in a nutshell.  I'm starting this diary today because I realize that if we do this trip, then we'll want to have recorded the adventure.  When will that adventure start?  Well, in my opinion, it started a little over a year ago when we visited the traveling Nina and Pinta museums in downtown Chattanooga.  We started seriously talking about getting a boat and sailing for a year at that time.  Laurel was only about 5 months old then.  In fact, it was after the exhibit at the bottom of the steep grassy hills the girls were cardboard surfing down that Laurel sat unsupported for the first time.  It took her a while to get used to it, but that was the day.  Since then, we've talked a lot about that adventure that we might someday take.  It occurs to me that we need to seriously immerse ourselves in making it happen, or it will be like so many other "one of these days" things that never get done.  

Yesterday, the family watched Captain Ron, the Martin Short movie about a family inheriting and sailing a Formosa.  It was fun to watch and imagine being us.  Today, Tim started looking at a sailing family's blog about their "Around the World" sailing adventure that seems to have ended after 50 days.  I think that family's cutting their trip short because "the dynamics of (their) family weren't right for the trip at that time" made me want to start this diary.  Currently, I'll be writing this "blog style" and e-mailing it to Tim for him to read, add to, and maybe stay inspired by.  Ultimately, I'd like to make it a real blog ... maybe I should start that soon.  I'm not super familiar with how they work.  Anyway, and ULTIMATE ultimately, I want the information to be available to use to write a book or two about our adventure, if it makes an interesting enough read, and maybe a "how to" book.  

Okay, so about our trip ... it's probably years off.  I hope only three, but it might be more.  We are looking at boats for sale all the time.  We want at least a 50-foot boat, but we've seen some 60-footers that have appeal. We're really hoping that, by keeping an eye on it, that the twisted economy might present us with a heckuva deal at just the right time.  

Here's a quick "to do" list as part of our preparation: 

• Complete basic and advanced first aid classes for the whole family.
• Learn emergency survival techniques.
• Determine the most efficient food items to take on a long ocean journey.
• Take a few sailing classes.
• Practice confined living.

Okay, so that's my first "blog" entry.  (What does BLOG mean anyway?)  Now to find a place to post it.  (OBVIOUSLY, I FOUND A SPOT!)

CHEERS!