Congrats!!!

Our son is now 10 years old and spent several years of his childhood
cruising Mexico and our local islands off the coast of Southern
California.

As we had our boat for several years before the birth of our son, we
also had some modifications to do to prepare.

First- plan on swimming lessons as soon as you can! Ryan started at 11
weeks, and it wasn't too soon. His first longer than weekend trip was
at 9 months, and we were anchored around the upper Channel Islands or
off shore for 6 weeks. When he was at the age of 4 we cruised Mexico
for 9 months, and again when he was 6 for six months.

Some initial considerations a Where will the baby sleep? Do you
have a lee cloth that you can hang to provide a contained area? When
the weather was calm, our baby slept in the V-berth (his 'bedroom'- more
on that later) with a net stretched across the opening, and the walls
well padded with pillows and rolled up blankets. When it was rough, we
were more likely to have him in the aft cabin with us, or in the main
cabin with a lee-cloth.

We lashed a car seat into the dinette for regular use. The baby ate
there, played there in rough weather and slept there when we needed him
to... The model we used had a padded rest across the front, so it
provided a good surface for his activity (or his head!).

I bought a 'Kiddy harness', a cute one for keeping hyper kids from
running away, and remade it with stainless steel hardware, and had the
closures as 'D' rings. The leash that came with it was regular webbing
with a worthless plastic clip. I replaced the clip with a locking
caribiner. When our son was tiny I fastened the harness in the back.
As he got older, we fastened it in the front as he took more
responsibility for his own safety. By the way, I actually bought two of
those harnesses... His Pooh Bear wore one whenever he came above decks,
too. Needless to say, Pooh Bear didn't have a rebuilt model!

We took along a blow-up swimming pool for hot days at anchor when we
wanted the baby to stay in the shade. We used it a few times, but
generally we just played in the water at the side of the boat that
afforded the most shade.

Kiddy life vests come with a convenient handle at the top of the
'pillow'. You can tie a rope to the handle and swing the baby down to
the dinghy (or haul him up to the deck). These life vests have a leg
strap. You DEFINITELY need to use that strap as it's very easy for the
baby to slide out.

We always had used out V-berth as a guest/storage area. We decided to
establish a 'space' for our son early on that he could know was solely
his own. Turning over the V-berth was easy, and provided a a light,
airy, contained inside space as a play area. That became critical! Kid
and toddler toys are a real hazard on a moving boat.

We found that long term cruising with our child was VERY easy, but
perhaps not the best choice for him. He loved the whole trip when he
was 4, but really missed his extended family, his friends and his dog
when we were in the trip when he was 6. It was hard for him to make
friends with other cruising kids and then have them pull up anchor to go
someplace else after a day or even a few hours of play. I'm not clear
on how much or what type of cruising you plan, but you ought to take
these considerations into account.

At 4 our son was responsible for all of the trash sorting, storage and
disposal on the boat. He had an authentic knowledge of what 'Reduce,
Reuse and Recycle' meant! At 6 he was fishing everyday (along with Dad)
and provided EVERY fish meal we ate on the trip (nearly daily). We had
very much a Hunter-Gatherer lifestyle, and our 6 year old was a critical
part of our success. At 10 he still reflects on the fact that he was
able to provide for our family. The whole cruising experience has
provided him an enormous amount of personal confidence.

Of course, you'll want to be reading to your baby all the time (you've
started already, haven't you?) so think about some 'Treasuries'. Many
authors or publishers produce collections of children's stories. The
Treasury of Peter Rabbit comes to mind as does the Little Golden Books
Treasury. These are easier to keep track of and they stand up to the
environment better than smaller books.

I didn't think this response would be so long, and I'm sure there are
dozens of things I didn't think to write about. Cruising with a little
child is just about as good as it gets!

Joe Wood wrote:

We are expecting a blessed event in late February. I'm looking for
information on people's experiences in day sailing, weekend cruising,
and longer cruising with infants and very small children.

Considerations, Gear, Sources, etc.

Joe Wood
jlwood3 at erols dot com