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Original poster

Sailing with 9 month old

25 replies

slapcabbage · 27/06/2006 15:21

Does anyone have any experience of sailing with under ones? DH and I have got the opportunity to go sailing for a weekend in Scotland with friends but I'm not sure how DS will cope - he's 8 months now and still can't crawl but would be 9 months when we went. What about safety stuff - how would we fit a lifejacket on him?!

OP posts:

zippitippitoes · 27/06/2006 15:27

You can get small buoyancy aids but I think sailing with a child that age would be unenjoyable and impractical..are you sailors yourselves?

NannyL · 27/06/2006 21:01

i have sailed with children as young as 3 weeks old

its all very do-able and enjoyable.... we basically strapped the car seat in for if its rough.

we used a highchair thing that you strap to a chair but used it on the floor...

depends what size / style boat you have.... i reckon you need at least 40ft to be comfortable though!

also found motorbaoats much easier than yachts.... cause you get where you are going much quicker... ie a channel crossing in 3 hours rather than all day...

also pick your mariners carefully.... some a much more 'baby' friendly than others (ie many have large sinks that you can easily use as a baby bath and babychagnung areas in the showers etc.... where as some "dont" at all!

you can easily use a life jacket... we did on a 3 week old...

also my top hint is.... Put on Reains.... then life jacekt then the strap that you hold on to (after the life jacket) makes holding onto the child safely MUCH easier.... in the mariener i put a wrist strap onto the reins so that i could not accidently drop the reins and he was always suitably attached

LOADS of people have lots o happy times sailing with babies and young children (and dogs) it CAN be done and is done by loads of people!

be sure to research your mariners first!

Skribble · 27/06/2006 22:24

Agree it really depends on the size and type of boat. Also how much sailing you will be doing. If you are based on the shore and taking turns sailing up and down the loch, then some one stays with car, picnic and baby, thats what we do. If it is full load up and sail away for the day then perhaps not. It gets very cold out on the water and it would be a long time for you to take turns to hold on to him.

Our kids age 6 and 9 yrs love sailing but as I said we are based on the bank and everyone takes turns then comes back for food and drink, while laughing at daddy and uncle trying to get the dingy back up the right way.

Also if you are not a strong swimmer or a competent sailor it will be enough for you to keep your wits about you. Again this depends on the boat and type of sailing, might be a 60ft luxury vessel.

edam · 27/06/2006 22:34

Don't want to rain on your parade but IME sailing is wet, miserable, stressful and NO FUN. Although that could just be the a*se of a skipper we had when we tried it...

Skribble · 27/06/2006 22:51

we sail in something like this great on a nice day, exciting and fun. espacially when you do this

Skribble · 27/06/2006 22:55

One man is abit like this bit scary on your own .

NannyL · 28/06/2006 08:43

Edam we had loads of fun with 1 yar old 5 year old and 8 year old...

in fact we had a whole sumemr holiday for a month on a boat.... and then did the same again the enxt year (except in a bigegr 50ft boat!)

It can be fun and sure was for us...

also spent almost every weekens 'away' on the baot as well.... though we were in the solent so it may not have been as cold as scotland...

spent th summers doing brittany, normandy and the channel islands...

lots of other freind families came along too..... (up to 6 families who all knew each other) so often there was more than one family.... sometimes all 6... means the children have loads of people to play with (perfect for football / rounders in the park etc.... and the grownups can have 'adult meals' and adult time too... generally on the "next boat" while the kids watch their DVDs / play their games on the other boat next door!

we had a few mariner days when it was raining.... so all the children made a mini boat / raft thing which we raced across the marina....

(bear in mind there was always one child at least 10 years old on the other boat.... and the boats were moored RIGHT NEXT to each other!)

have such happy memories of all the sailing / yachting we have done with the children!

We ALL loved it!

Kathy1972 · 28/06/2006 09:21

Oooh fab thread.

We haven't sailed since dd was born in June 05, but we took her on my parents' motor cruiser last autumn with no probs. (Of course, she wasn't walking or crawling then, so it was a different kettle of fish.)
A friend of ours (admittedly a dangerous lunatic in other walks of life ;-) ) used to take his girls sailing in the Broads as babies - he used to wedge the carrycot under a thwart.
We are currently psyching ourselves up to taking her out in our Canadian canoe on the local canal to see what happens. We have a baby lifejacket and are planning for one of us to hold onto her full time. Reins are a great idea - we had been tending to think it was a bad idea to have her tied to the boat in case anything happens and we can't get her disentangled, but tying her to one of us makes sense.
Libby Purves has some advice in 'How not to be a perfect mother', I think.

zippitippitoes · 28/06/2006 09:25

I assumed sailing in a 36 foot yacht with an interioe like this here

and sailing for the day, like this here

A luxury suncruiser would be different.

I can't see the fun in holding on to a baby all day. And a 9 month old is going to grizzle if put in a car seat all day..it depends on the weather and how much "sailing" you do..sailors like to get going not drift along with no wind surely!

I agree sailing is great with older kids who can join in especially if you are in greece or somewhere.

And another pic here

zippitippitoes · 28/06/2006 09:38

lol they were all different pictures but you can't link to them individually on that site!

Kathy1972 · 28/06/2006 09:39

Well a bigger boat that you can adapt a bit is going to be a lot easier - eg if you have a deep cockpit and you can have safety netting all the way round, with the carseat only for emergencies, obviously that's more fun all round.
Agree about holding onto a child all day, Z, but often a day sailing means an hour or so sailing, then stopping for a picnic for a while, etc, rather than going all day.

FioFio · 28/06/2006 09:43

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

zippitippitoes · 28/06/2006 09:44

depends on the ops friends really ..whether they have childre and whether it's their boat?

If I was sailing for the weekend I'd expect to sail IYSWIM

Original poster

slapcabbage · 28/06/2006 10:49

Thanks a lot for all your comments - really useful. The boat is about 35ft I think. We sailed in it last summer when I was pg and it comfortably slept 6 (and has central heating!). Our friends don't have children but have sailed with a very small baby before so I'm not too worried about them (and it was their idea!). DH and I are both good swimmers if not experienced sailors. Still haven't decided so keep the comments coming. I think my main reservations are DS sitting in a car seat too long and having to spend a lot of time below if it's rough.

OP posts:

NannyL · 28/06/2006 19:48

dont forget if its rough and you are then 'forced' down below you are very liekly to be sea sick...

being down below in a yacht in rough weather is NOT nice

WriggleJiggle · 28/06/2006 21:39

Wow, how exciting. Done lots of sailing, but no experience of babies and sailing, will keep checking posts to find out more. Sounds fantastic - Go for it!

WriggleJiggle · 28/06/2006 21:40

Its only a weekend. If you don't like it when you're there then you can always spend one day on boat and next day on shore.

Skribble · 28/06/2006 23:40

TBH I would pack babes of to PIL or someone and go and really enjoy it.

Kathy1972 · 29/06/2006 12:17

Oh, just remembered. Seasickness tablets really knock'em out cold, so don't forget to give a double dose.

Only kidding - actually I imagine you can't give them to babies.
Seriously, if it was going to be really rough I probably wouldn't go. The trouble with w/e trips is that if it takes a while to get your sealegs it's time to come home before you have even got them.
Unless, of course, you are the kind of person who just gets so happy when you are at sea no matter what the conditions that you will sit there happily throwing up into a bucket and going 'I'm having a brilliant time! I know it looks like I'm not but this is fantastic!!!'

Seasickness tablets can be really effective but often they need to be taken the night before to have any effect (or they only kick in once you've had a nap), and they do make you seriously drowsy.

I have heard that often babes don't suffer seasickness as much as their parents, but this might be mostly kids who have sailed from an early age, rather than ones who are going for the first time.

MadamePlatypus · 30/06/2006 00:05

Libby Purves wrote a book about sailing around the UK with her 3 and 5 year old. Can't remember the title, but it is on Amazon - I think its called something like 'One Summer's Grace'. I think she also took her children sailing as babies - I'm sure there is something in 'How Not to be a Perfect Mother' about breastfeeding till 9 months because it was less hassle than bottle feeding on boat.

Skribble, how old were your children when they started dinghy sailing? Is that a Wayfarer?

NannyL · 30/06/2006 08:09

at our local sailing club they start them "sailing" from 3 years...

well the 3 year olds typicall sit in the rowing "rescue baots" or front of oppies and hold sails...

those 3 year olds can normally pretty much sail (optomists) by the time they are 5 / 6 years old...

Our sailing club is lucky.... we are based in a chichester harbour (pretty safe really.... cant wash out to sea ) and we also have a big mill pond.... which is rarely more than a meter deep and you really ALMOST cant come to harm there.... you just run aground on the other side... (lots of it is LESS than 1m deep)

By 10 years old (some only 8) they are good enough to sail independantly on the SEA (in the harbour!) obviously always several rescue boats (RIBS) around when the children sail and only in good conditions etc

elastamum · 30/06/2006 08:28

I wouldnt fancy it much with a baby, although small children enjoy short trips. We have sailed with our small children from about 4 upwards for short afternoons out on a fairly big boat (46 ft) and our rule with small children is one adult for each small child and one to skipper the boat. they all need lifejackets and safety harnesses and we insist all the little ones are clipped on out at sea and only sail in good weather. The problem with toddlers is that they dont have any sea legs and tend to fall over and may get hurt. When sailing with small kids we also insist that adults wear lifejackets as if one of the kids falls in you will have to go in after them. We also take a portable DVD player for the trip home at the end of the day when the kids are tired and just want to chill down below. If you can find a babysitter you will have much more fun on your own. I did cowes when my eldest was 9 months and it was my first big break!

MadamePlatypus · 30/06/2006 10:21

NannyL, we are always talking about moving to Chichester. Talk of 3 year olds in Optimists might just about swing it for DH! We live near the Thames, and I used to sail alot around Kingston and Ham when I was teenager - you have to do alot of tacking!

Skribble · 30/06/2006 16:59

Yes BIL has a wayfarer and DS has a AB. Both were rescue cases that we got for nothing. BIL swan down and dragged one up from the bottom of a loch where it had been for ages and the other was given to us by some one who had it in lying in their garden. Both needed lots of work and BIL is now an expert fibre glasser.

Life jackets and wet suits are picked up at boot fairs. People think we are well off when I say my son has a sailing dingy but to be honest it has cost us very little.

Skribble · 30/06/2006 17:02

Sorry meant to add both have been out sailing from about 3yrs. Old enough to sit properly and hold the rope for the front sail. Under 3 yrs I doubt you could get a jacket to fit well enough to be of any use, its all very well holding on to them but if you capsize in a dingy it would be easy to let go especially if you are hit with the beam as it goes over.

Sailing in the lochs is good fun as we have a base on the shore with a proper picnic and MIL is happy to dry the little ones and warm them up while we fart about for ages.

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