Even if you can sail as an experienced sailor and have set sail to explore the world in a wonderful and exciting adventure, it is up to you to be prepared to sail safely with kids. Here are some tips for sailing with children to ensure that your water trip is an experience that your family will never forget. Children can be reckless, and you need to implement safety features before your children even examine the boat.
Why Sailing With Kids?
Sailing trips are an excellent opportunity for children to get to know life at sea, nature, and other countries. Admittedly, it is difficult to make things a little less dangerous, but your children will build lasting memories by taking a sailing trip. They enjoy the sea, help you, play, swim and sunbathe on the boat.
Safety first!
The same general safety rules apply to boats whether or not there are children on board. The risk for toddlers and children on boats is 100 times greater than the average car or house. So this article has a lot of safety questions to make sure you are up to date. You can also learn more about safety tips to keep children safe in the water and at home.
Tips For Sailing With Kids
Sailing Skills
One of the most important tips when sailing with children is to put safety first. The best thing you can do to encourage your children to be confident, self-sufficient, and safe sailing is to teach them some basic skills. This behavior leads to teaching the basics of sailing how to trim – trimming can take a lifetime until it is perfect, but it is easy to do with a child’s attention and gives them the feeling of mastery of a concept.
Comfort
The most obvious thing is to bring your children’s safety blanket or teddy bear to the trip. You can also have sailing games and other boat equipment for babies to keep them happy and entertained.
Teaching Basics
Teach your children the importance of wearing sunscreen and sunglasses, as the glare from the sailing boat and the water can be intense and harmful during the trip.
Daily Routines
Do not be surprised if sleeping on the boat changes the children’s typical daily routine a little (some kids will be lulled by the boat’s rocking and slept like an angel), but this is not the case with all children. It shortens the sailing distance if the children on board aren’t bored. For example, instead of sailing for four hours, you sail for two hours with a break when you stop at the beach so the children can play, and in the second two hours of sailing, you run out of time.
Integration
As children get older, it’s more important than ever to involve them in decision-making while they’re on a boat.
Boat Rules
Children have crazy ideas about how much fun it is to jump around on a moving boat. Catamarans have plenty of space inside, which means the children can play and fly around on the deck, and they love to jump off the stern where it is easy to get out of the water. Non-slip shoes are a must for boating, and deck shoes leave no abrasions on the boat deck, so one pair is sufficient for each child.
Learning From Others’ Experience
Bestseller in the sail book category, this is the parent bible for cruises with families. They know that a sailing family with a dream of cruising has bought in as they watch their children grow into an insane bunch of capable, independent, and special people.
Which Boat?
One of the first things to think about when planning a cruise with children of all ages is what is the best family cruising ship and the best for you.
The Bottom Line
In short, if you become a cruising family, your boat is your means of transport for your home, your classroom for children, and the birthplace of many life-long memories. Many cruise families who set sail with older children report that it is a rewarding and enriching experience. This is why we fell in love with cruises with children and why we believe that transatlantic cruises for children are the ultimate option for a family holiday or even living.
