Is it a good idea to take your kids on a summer vacation sailing trip? The short answer is yes, but you have to use common sense! We give our tips & tricks for sailing with small children on board.
It's by far the easiest to sail with children before they've learned to crawl. Then it's just a matter of putting the lift down on the deck in the saloon or at the bottom of the cockpit, depending on the wind and weather. Until they can sail on their own and take on the role of skipper on board the boat, there's a long learning process and a lot of experiences that allow you to spend a lot of quality time with your children.
The most important factor for good experiences and quality time with children is that all adults on board are calm and safe during the entire time on the boat. Children are super sensitive, and the slightest concern about sailing from even one of the adults on board can be picked up by children and cause them to become worried or scared. This is exacerbated if they are unfamiliar with sailing.
That's why it's extremely important that whoever has the role of skipper on the boat knows all the guests' sailing skills and, not least, their expectations of the sailing trip. The most successful sailing vacations, with or without children, are the ones where the expectations for the sailing trip are set before you set off. And by "expectations" I mean the lowest common denominator of acceptance and the desire to feel the wind in the boat or get caught on the water in bad weather!
Practicalities for children under 2 years old
Children under the age of 2 can be challenging to sail with if you don't take a few precautions before setting off. At this age, they can usually move around quite quickly, but rarely understand the seriousness of a "no" or "stop" from their parents. We've been incredibly happy to have the classic IKEA high chair with us on the road, which can be lashed down around the galley or at the bottom of the cockpit. Then you always have somewhere to attach them if you need to concentrate, for example during port maneuvers. We have also benefited from a car seat with ISO-FIX, where we have installed a couple of fittingswhich the isofix can be clicked onto in the cockpit. This way, children can still see what's going on, which is often an advantage instead of putting them down in the shelter.
When the little ones need to sleep while sailing, a carrycot from a stroller can be placed in the cabin for them to sleep in. When they're a little older, we have and net we buckle it so they can't roll out and down on the floor.
On deck, we attach a safety line to the deck along the length of the boat and snap the children into a child harness with a D-ring at the back to use the child harness as a lifeline. This gives them the freedom to run around the deck without parents having to worry about them falling in. There are also some who fit a searchlight grid along the rail of the boat.
Remember food and drink
Most kids don't enjoy sailing from morning to night. So plan your trips so that you get to port or anchor well before they get too tired or hungry.
When sailing, it's important to have easy access to some food and drink to avoid seasickness. Biscuits, bananas, crisps and lemonade are often a hit. It should be easy and simple and not too heavy on the stomach.
Sailing experiences on children's terms
Most kids get the best sailing experiences when you're in port or at anchor. Few will be interested in whether the sails are trimmed correctly or if they get to steer the boat for hours on end. Of course, you need to involve them, but in small portions so it doesn't become something they can't handle.
For younger children, quality time is often life on the harbor, where simple things like fishing for crabs with other children brings them great joy. Older children can sometimes benefit from finding community with children from other boats. The shared activities of simple cooking can provide good quality time with children, but getting them to do the dishes afterwards, as with most clean-up activities, requires different pedagogical skills.
All in all, when planning your vacation sailing trip, consider what your children will enjoy the most. Is it "blue flag activities" at the harbors where there is often a nature guide who can talk about the local flora and fauna from the surrounding area, or is it a festival near the harbor.
Check the weather forecast and choose the best wind direction
As the skipper of the boat, it's super important that you know the weather forecast and plan the route accordingly. It's a much better experience for children on board to have the wind coming in from the stern rather than sailing on a hard tack.
If you as the skipper are in doubt about whether there are guests/children on board who don't think the trip will be fun, have no doubt. Stay in port and sail on when the weather is right. If you're winded when the vacation is over, leave the boat and travel home by land.
It's usually not a problem afterwards to find someone to help sail the boat home. It's often wrong decisions about the weather or how far to sail that end up resulting in the last sailing trip as a family.
Safety at sea
Safety at sea should never be compromised, which is why children should always wear a life jacket when sailing. Unless they are below deck! The same applies to children in the harbor who cannot swim at least 200 meters. Smaller children should wear a buoyant life jacket that fits their weight and remember to fasten the harnesses that go between their legs. This prevents the child from slipping through the bottom of the vest if they fall into the water - or if they need to be lifted out of the water.
If they do fall into the harbor, it can often be a challenge to get them back to shore quickly. Most vests for smaller children have a strap at the neck cushion, which makes it easy to pick them up with a boat hook if there is no swim ladder nearby and they can't swim. The strap can also be used to attach a primitive form of lifeline that prevents the child from getting outside the cockpit when sailing under sail.
Personally, I've spent many hours on the water with my family and both our children have been on summer vacation sailing trips in Denmark for many years in a row since they were a few months old. Today they are grown and competent on a sailboat and we can go on vacation together where we charter a boat, but now they are the skipper and first mate and my wife and I enjoy relaxing in the company of our children.
Man Overboard maneuver (MOB)
If a small child falls overboard at sea while under sail (God forbid), keep the following procedure in mind when performing the MOB man overboard maneuver.
Shout children overboard!
Throw something into the water. If you don't have a MOB buoy at hand, just something that floats (a fender cushion or similar). Maybe the person who has fallen into the water can hold on to it, otherwise you have an extra landmark to indicate where the person may have fallen overboard.
Press the MOB button on the chartplotter if it is within arm's reach.
Make sure there is someone constantly watching and pointing at the person who has fallen overboard. If there's a bit of waves, you can lose sight of them surprisingly quickly!
Start the engines.
Bring the sails (if you only have sails available, either turn your boat quickly upwind or use one of the these methods depending on wind direction and wind conditions).
And return to the one who fell overboard.
Make sure to position the boat so that you can rescue the person in the water from the lee side of the boat.
Before taking children sailing, it's a good rule to make sure all adults on board know their role in the event of a MOB, and it's always a good idea to practice it.
Head out in calm weather and familiar waters with plenty of space. To simulate the person who has fallen overboard, use the heaviest mooring rope that is wrapped nice and tight and tied to a fender. Then practice the above procedure.
Written by
Mads SailZoo day 9. June 2023
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