By Deb

It always makes me sad to hear a couple talk about how they would have liked to learn to sail but they had a family and had to give up their dream. If you are dreaming of sailing but also have a young family, I would say that there is no better time to get started! There are some additional hurdles to sailing with children, but with a little preparation and planning, they are all easily managed.

Here are the three factors that so often contribute to the demise of the sailing dream for a young family.

1. Lack of on-the-water sailing experience for both parents,
2. A boat that is not suitable for family sailing, and
3. Unrealistic demands on the child.

It is so important for both parents to feel comfortable on the water! This is easily managed by making sure that both parents attend a learn-to-sail class or have some formal instruction in managing the boat. If you want to be sailors then learn to be sailors! Do not think that one person can learn and just teach the other. That doesn’t work well when there are no children involved, and when you add children to the mix it makes it even harder. If one partner has more sailing experience the other, the less-experienced partner is going to learn more quickly, and have more fun, if they are being taught by someone other than their spouse.

I know that when you have a young family, taking time for sailing lessons is hard. I would encourage you to try looking at your lessons as a date night each week for a month or two that will give you the knowledge to have years of priceless sailing experiences as a family. By taking the time to ensure that both parents feel competent and confident on the water, you will eliminate one of the biggest hurdles to sailing as a young family (or as a couple).

The next hurdle to clear is boat choice. The boat that you choose is very important. The boat should not be a high performance boat that is tricky to handle and really tender (that means that it leans over quite a lot when sailing). Open transoms should be avoided and the boat should have good life lines. Many folks like to put netting between the life lines and the deck, which essentially makes the boat into a large playpen. If that makes you more comfortable, that is what you should do. It is important that your boat have space for the child to move around in. Nothing makes a toddler crankier than having to be held all the time and not being able explore (that can take the fun out of it for moms and dads too).

We always used a harness and tether to allow our son to move freely out of the cockpit. Having a system that allows the child freedom while maintaining parents’ peace of mind can make all the difference. When picking out a life jacket, try to find something that will not cause your child to overheat. An uncomfortable life jacket really makes for an unpleasant experience. The same holds true for sailors of all ages.

Once you have the boat set up to keep the kid safe (and parents relaxed), you can think about keeping the kid occupied. Boats can be endless fun for a toddler–put a winch handle in an empty winch and have them learn how to grind, tow a toy boat off of the stern while sailing, bring a jar of bubbles to blow out across the water, and it’s always great fun to be up on the bow and get splashed by the waves. There are so many possibilities! Anchoring for quick swim on a hot summer day is a great way to cool off and burn some energy, and letting a kid drive the boat is one of the most exciting things they can do!

There are plenty of fun things kids can do on boats that aren’t actually sailing, but something that’s often overlooked is that for a child, the tasks of sailing itself can also be fun. It can be thrilling and gratifying for a seven- or eight-year-old kid to interact with the boat, and see how it responds to what they do. Where else can they have that kind of experience at that age?

 

Joe and I are lucky to have been sailing for 41 years. When we realized that we were going to have a baby 28 years ago, there was no doubt we would be bringing another sailor into the world. What we didn’t understand was how much having a child would enrich our sailing experience.

 

Those of you who have sailed with young children, what else would you say to sailors just starting out or thinking about sailing with children? Comment below or let us know on our Facebook page!