Circumnavigation with infant/small child

[Krabimike]

We have been planning on purchasing a 40' + catamaran (lagoon) sailing Asia for a year or so then circumnavigation. Lately we have considered a child. Wondering if many cruisers see other cruisers with infant/small child. Pros & Cons? We have a Thai lady that would sail with us and help out. As our plan was to do a lot of diving and exploring.

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[maxingout]

Might be easier to do it with a baby than with teenagers.

[Krabimike]

Originally Posted by maxingout

Might be easier to do it with a baby than with teenagers.

I talked with a couple that just finished 20,000nm and that was what they also said. Kind of destroying my excuse we can't travel with a baby so let's wait!

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[boatman61]

One could say its the best time.. healthy environment.. building bacterial resistance, balance, variety.. wonderful food for a developing mind.. and by the time you've finished traveling it'd be school age..!!
Known a few taken that route then settled somewhere along the way where they felt the best education was..

[Rustic Charm]

Yep raising small children whilst cruising is a wonderful life and education. Just grow a thick skin if your going to widely broadcast it

[dsdmedic]

Originally Posted by Krabimike

We have been planning on purchasing a 40' + catamaran (lagoon) sailing Asia for a year or so then circumnavigation. Lately we have considered a child. Wondering if many cruisers see other cruisers with infant/small child. Pros & Cons?

I would tend to agree with the previous statements that it would likely be easier than sailing with a teenager in general. That said, there would of course be unique issues. I'll PM you with contact info for a couple of families I know who are doing/have done exactly that, they aren't on CF but may be able to help you decide.

Otherwise, there's two books out there that may help you. One is brand new and I haven't had the chance to read it yet. The other is somewhat older and the author is in the process of updating it, but it's still valuable, especially for what you're looking for. The books are:

Kids in the Cockpit by Jill Schinas - Available on Kindle and in Print

I'm friends with Jill, and she's raised a couple of kids to adults entirely aboard, so she should be a good resource for you, though not everyone will adopt their lifestyle.

Voyaging with Kids - by Behan Gifford et al - Available on Kindle and in Print

This book is relatively new, and I haven't had the chance to read it yet. I don't know all of the authors here, but the book has received positive reviews.

Good luck and fair winds whatever you decide!

Darren

[thomaskoll]

We'll start long-termin cruising this summer in Greece but with a toddler on a 30ft mono hull and we are expecting to have a wonderful time.

Did you find this family's blog about the 10 years on a 34ft, starting as a couple and returning with two daughters? Vixen's Voyage- Around the World in a 34-foot Sailboat - Home

[Krabimike]

Boatman61 thanks for the input. Interesting about the bacterial resistance. We were told that a child would be very healthy while at sea as free of bacteria. But when in port, the child would not have a immunity and might get sick often. Need to do some research on this.

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[Krabimike]

dsdphoto, thank you so much for the info! We are both kindle readers and not much of TV watchers so we will dig into those books. Also I welcome any private message for contact info that might steer us in the correct thinking.

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[seasick]

My wife and I started our circumnavigation in 1982 from Puget Sound when our daughter was six-months old. She was four and a half when we reached Hilo our first redundant port. Her sister was born on board in Curaçao.

I have mixed feelings about doing this. Let there be no mistake, long-distance sailing is a dangerous undertaking. If a young child in the United States was exposed to similar risks, there may be grounds for a child endangerment intervention.

It is true that the younger they are, the easier they are to deal with. Just wedge them into a berth and go about dealing with the necessities of boat handling. I can recount numerous times though when we had her secured below while we frantically went about the task of reducing sail and the associated noise of thunderously slapping sails and sheets had her so terrorized as to be considered child abuse. There was nothing for it at the time. We were fighting for our lives and she was traumatized below screaming.

Then there was the day in mid ocean, midday when we were all three taking a nap in a one berth, as our 42' ketch rolled wing and wing down trade wind swells. We woke to find the baby gone. She was too young to walk but somehow managed to crawl out of bed without waking us and climb out the companion way. It took twenty of the longest minutes of our lives to find her. Tears streaming down our faces as we tore from stem to stern leaving nothing unturned, constantly eyeing the wake astern. I pulled up a hanked on jib piled on the foredeck where she sat laughing up at me.

Even if today she can remember little or nothing of the first four years of her life, the experience has formed the foundation of an extraordinary person's amazing life.

We continued voyaging with all four of our kids. All learned to walk on a heaving deck. All have turned out to be the most well rounded individuals you would ever hope to meet. All continue to enjoy sailing to this day.

[CLady]

Read
South From Alaska: Sailing to Australia with a baby for crew
by Mike Litzow

He, his wife, and their 1 year old son sailed to Australia from their home in Alaska. Great book

[thomaskoll]

Originally Posted by seasick

I pulled up a hanked on jib piled on the foredeck where she sat laughing up at me.

Stories like that, our nightmares. Wife and I will go totally paranoid about locking the cabin, life-vests and everything else to make sure our daughter won't go missing.

PS: I was born in '82

[Lizzy Belle]

Originally Posted by Krabimike

We were told that a child would be very healthy while at sea as free of bacteria.

Bacteria do not equal sickness, nor does a lack of bacteria equal good health - regardless of the modern day "must Dettol the world" attitude, the opposite is actually true.

Pick up a copy of "The good Gut" and please, please let kids grow up with dirty hands

The reason people get sick so easily these days is because they've killed of their natural defense against bad bacteria (by killing of the good ones).

My kid was born in 1995, but I raised him as if he was born in 1975 (before we became so worried about "dirty" etc etc) -- which led to him being healthy and well when over half the class would be sick with flu etc. He also has no allergies, which is becoming a rare thing these days.

All I did was not avoid bacteria (obviously, hygiene matters, but clean is fine, don't disinfect) and made sure he always ate a healthy diet including prebiotics and fermented foods / drinks (and little to no processed food!). Easy, simple, cheap and healthy. What more could you want?

[JFN]

Originally Posted by maxingout

Might be easier to do it with a baby than with teenagers.

Pretty much everything is easier without teenagers!!!

[barnakiel]

It will work for you. Our friends made one for each ocean. They too were in a cat and had one extra, sometimes two extra, crew. They all seemed to have plenty of fun.

Congrats & fair winds!

b.