What is The Right Age for Sailing With Kids

[Camp Director G]

Hi All,

I'm hoping to hear from people who have done it, or are planning to sail with kids. I have a 3 year old and another on the way, and I'm wondering what is a good age to take them out for a somewhat extended sail. Ideally, I'd probably do Carib., or maybe Med, for something like one to four months, mostly island hopping with no major blue water. Generally, I've sailed cats so I doubt I'd be on a monohull, but not against it. I'm just wondering what insights people have who have sailed with young kids as to what age is good for taking them out for a while. Let me know what you think.

[Pete7]

You might want to read up about Eric on Rebel Heart. 5 days out on a Pacific crossing had a number of problems including a sick child. Chose to abandon the boat to stay with the child.

http://www.therebelheart.com/blog/



Pete

[Suijin]

Originally Posted by Pete7

You might want to read up about Eric on Rebel Heart. 5 days out on a Pacific crossing had a number of problems including a sick child. Chose to abandon the boat to stay with the child.

Really Pete? The guy asks about cruising with kids and all you offer up is a horror story? Sheesh. Shame on you.

Camp, I think it depends on your kids and their relative maturity and curiosity. It's as much about what's manageable for you as it is about them having a rewarding experience.

My parents started taking me out on extended cruises when I was about 5-6 if I recall correctly. I guess I was old enough to keep myself entertained, follow some basic rules, and enjoy the trip. I have extremely fond memories of it. Magical.

Certainly some parents take kids younger than that. Again, it's about what works for you and what you can manage.

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by Suijin

Really Pete? The guy asks about cruising with kids and all you offer up is a horror story? Sheesh. Shame on you.

Which shows just how quickly it can all go wrong especially with young kids. You would rather give an impression through rose tinted glasses of sandy beaches and BBQs?



Pete

[Camp Director G]

Hi Pete, good info, and things can go wrong only a few feet from shore, but I'm not looking to do any blue water cruising. Rebel Heart was 1100 miles out when they ran into trouble. Just looking for info on what age people sail with their kids.

[RonRicco]

Obviously a lot of variables, but we took our 3 year old girl on a 2 month Bahamas trip. We weren't doing many overnight passages etc which made it easier, but she was very easy to manage anyway, loved being on the boat and could sleep while under sail. Most of the boys I know that were/are that age would have required a lot more "attention".... Not that it wouldn't have worked, it just would have been more difficult.

We also did quite a bit of sailing when the girl was one, but I have to say that did put a lot of pressure on mama for obvious reasons.

I guess the point is, depending on the kid, 3 seemed to be the perfect time for us as our girl could follow rules and was somewhat independent compared to earlier years...

[UNCIVILIZED]

There are lots of blogs which specifically cover this topic if you do a search. Including some by folks who are members here who have/are writing about their adventures of sailing with kids. And many of us get quite an early start. My folks got out first boat when I was 3, & I was instantly addicted. Which it's quite common to have this happen with kids so long as the parents enjoy being on the water. And plenty of my mates had similar starts, ditto on their kids. Including one of my honorary nephews who started at 1 month old. We have a pic of him with line in one hand, & a beer bottle in the other at that age

One blog of a fairly well known sailor who got an early start is Liz Clark's www.SwellVoyage.com & she's on Instgram, & Facebook too. She started equally young, sailing with her folks on a cruise in Mexico. And took off in her own boat in her 20's. Which she's financially self supporting, & has been cruising for close to a decade on her Cal 40. Currently in French Polynesia. And articles on, & by her are in a bunch of magazines; Latitude 38, Wet Sand, etc.

So long as it's fun, there's no such thing as starting too early. Quite a lot of folks get raised on boats. Including my neighbors at the marina who had their son onboard from the time he was born. Or the kids on Anasazi Racing

[travellerw]

We are currently in the Carribean wiht 3 kids.. Our kids are 9, 7 and 6.. Most cruisers we meet have kids around this age (usually between 5-10). We have met some cruisers with younger kids, but not many. This year, kids 5 and younger have a hard time finding playmates. However, next year might be completely different and more younger kids head out.

I guess what I'm trying to say is the ages of cruiser kids seem to vary year to year in the Carribean. However, between 5-10 there are usually a few. Don't discount how important it is to find playmates for the kids!

[s/v Moondancer]

All our kids and our 4 grandsons sailed from being toddlers. They loved being places, being in the water, on beaches, snorkeling etc but hated being confined on a boat. As 4 yr-old Willie said after a day sail,

"This is boring we went no-place and caught nun-fish!"

We then let him spend an hour night snorkeling with a couple of 5 ft tarpon attracted by his dive light and he was enthralled. We spent a week at a hotel marina that had a massive pool and a kid's club and they loved every minute...

The bottom line is that it is the activities you organize and not the sailing that they enjoy. Their favorite is when we turn the spinnaker pole into an over water swing and dive platform!

On the subject of being off-shore with small children...If you had ever pulled a long weekend of call in a pediatric ER or peds ICU you would not contemplate taking them off-shore, or at least I would not...there are just too many possible medical emergencies in the first few years of life that would make for a frightening experience. Even for a physician with lots of antibiotics!

Between broken bones, ear infections, asthma attacks and febrile seizures our 4 very active grandsons have made a dozen visits to the ER and it is those emergencies that you have to plan for.

Good luck and enjoy sailing with the kids. The weeks our grandkids spend on the boat are the highlight of our year!

[accomplice]

We have five kids, and we regularly cruise with seven or eight children on-board (*).

In my experience, when they're very young it is pretty easy, diapers aside. You can strap 'em into a car seat, and wedge them, and they'll sleep for hours on end with the motion. The next few years -- through age 4 or so -- are tougher. I know people who have cruised with kids this age, but I wouldn't want to. It takes an adult or teenager per child simply to watch/care for the child. By the time they're four or five, they usually have the physical capacity to get themselves safely around the boat. They can carry their own pack with games/snacks when you go ashore. As they get older, it gets easier. By the time they're 8-10, I've found they start being useful as crew -- mounting fenders or tossing a dockline, for example. By the time they're a 11-13, things change. They either enjoy sailing and cruising, or they don't and will let you know they don't. They can be very useful as crew (I've had 14yr olds aboard far more competent than some adult crew). Some in the tween/early teen years just want to stay below decks and use their electronic toys, some want to participate in the sailing, and others are more socially driven and want interaction with their friends (* see travelling with 7-8 kids, above).

Our youngest is now 9, but since we parent to the middle he's about at the maturity level of a typical 11-12 yr old. Things have gotten a lot easier in the last year (ages 8-14) -- when we get to most ports we let them all off leash, ask them not to split into groups any smaller than 2, and give them a per-diem for food and snacks. If we are not at a slip or there is no water taxi available, I give each group of kids a handheld VHF and tell them to call when they need a pickup. Oddly, they know how to use a VHF better than a telephone.

It also depends a lot on the kids. One of our children (now 12) is not a fan of sleeping onboard. One of my nephews (now 6) would never leave the boat, if he had a choice.

In my experience, children (and adults) rise or fall to meet one's expectations. And, if you present options to kids, they may not choose the option you want them to. Kids push back much less on firm boundaries than on flexible ones.

[Stu Jackson]

Are you aware that there is an entire section of this forum for kids?

Families, Kids and Pets Afloat - Cruisers & Sailing Forums

[zeehag]

if you use a microscope , err magnifying glass you will see a 6 month old in momma's arms in cockpit. that is beth with naomi.
naomi grew up to be an architect with a 35 ft sloop of her own.
she sailed baja haha 2 times, second time thru canal and to providence rhode island.
funny how those learning to be at one with the water do so much better in sailing than those who donot start early.
early start sailing teaches responsibility and focus.
my brother and i were 6 and 7 when we started--only due to our residency issues--we moved a lot as dad worked for dupont ha haha almost as much moving around as a military family.
my sister and younger brother started at earlier ages due to the relocation slowing down in 1954. dougie was 1 and janet started at 6 months or so...
the way to do this early is to have a good grasp of infection and prevention there of, and knowledge of how to teach kids properly.
give em stuff to do --i had throat of gaff and i had port jibsheet. donny had peak halyard of gaff and stbd jibsheet. when we befouled the throat with the first masthoop we did the repair--hauled our uncle up mast without dads help(i was 8 and donny 7 at that time)--was our mess we fixed it. as it should be. we learned better than in school when out on boat.
btw--the boat we all learned to sail is a 36 ft gaff rigged raceabout, built 1903. we got to her in a leaky old rowboat. she is a registered historic place/treasure.
kids learn well. they learn responsibility and focus while sailing at young ages--not the kind of learning where ye sit in a different boat and shout and yell at the kids in the dinghies--but the hands on with family in a bigger boat learning.
this pic was a family outing thanksgiving weekend 1968. i wore a white scarf and my cousin and i were just before the mast as we saluted anothe r uncle who was chief of staff to governor rockerfeller. they stood on the bank of catskill point as we left for the day s sailing. that was last time i ever saw my aunt and uncle on the point, as i left ny state shortly thereafter. was also last time i saw or sailed that beautiful lil boat. .
she is a special part of our family.

[Redline452]

Our daughter was born end Nov (coming up to Oct haul-out, my wife was starting to bit a tight fit through the cabin door). Baby was on the boat as of May launch the following year, and every summer since - she's now 10. No long or offshore cruises but up to 4 weeks through the Thousand Islands.

I'd say best ages to be aboard are... those from shortly before birth until death.

[Larry T.]

What is the right age for sailing with kids? I'm 74 and I even go sailing with my grandkids quite often. They don't seem to mind me being there.

[Scorpius]

Get "Just Cruising" and "Still Cruising" by Liza Copeland. They circumnavigated for nine years with their three boys, the youngest of whom was 2 when they started. They home schooled them (with help from the BC Correspondence program) and all turned out well.

Teenagers get bored on a boat. Younger kids do fine although they do have to be kept busy and given opportunities.

Enjoy