New Books on Kids Cruising?

[2divers]

Besides Tom Neal's books, What other books out there have people found for taking kids cruising?

Kai, Your past Comments still reign hands down as some of the best advice I've heard yet and I fully intend to make use of it as soon as possible.

2divers

[2divers]

"Fun Afloat" by Theresa Fort - Cool activities for families that boat...
Loaded with things for younger kids to do (including the whole family) specifically geared for kids aboard boats. Lots of simple crafts projects and some very cool old fashion projects too - like learning how to measure speed with a float and rope! It has a variety of activities and games that range from the just plan kid fun -like turning two kids loose on the deck with a can of shaving cream, to drawing, to observing nature and describing it and even several very simple science projects to help establish things like salinety of water, a hydrophone, making a thermometer and making a plankton net.

The book itself is spiral bound with heavy laminated covers and thick paper pages. It looks like it should hold up pretty well!

The only draw back on this book is that it is out of print currently and I had to place and order on Amazon used books. I got one about 3 weeks after ordering it and for pretty cheap considering the cover price new was ~$20. Mine came in good shape and I can't see anything wrong with it.

Anybody else have any good kid books? If not I'll just keep posting as I find them.

2divers

[2divers]

by Lyndsay Green
Copyright 1990 so it's a little old.

Not a bad book and it answers a lot of my basic questions about living aboard with kids both short and long term. Chapters include:
1. Making the decision 2. Preparation of the boat and Safety 3. Health 4. Play 5. Eating aboard 6. Sleeping 7. Tangential Concerns and 8. When it is all said and done.

The book is really geared for telling new parents who don't want to give up sailing about how to keep VSP's (very small persons) safe and happy. The chapters are all really a compilation of practical examples and first hand experience with babies and toddlers. They don't pull any punches including an adminition by one family of witnessing the accidental fall of thier young daughter down the companion way stairs and the ensuing crying on all sides while bruises and a fat lip are tended to.

lots of advice on on things like diapers, cribs and sleeping places, small life vests and harnesses, lovies and toys.... all those things that ssullivan and I are going to have to get used to in small spaces.

2divers. Thank for that. Always glad to contribute.
I think how a book is used is far more important than the book itself. It is sad that reading to our kids has become such a rare activity. Some of my best memories of my grandmother are sitting by her side while she read to me. I really do not remember the stories, but I can remember the color of the chair, and even what she smelled like. I could just picture that rediculous cow jumping over the moon Your kids feed off your feelings. If you are reading a book that has you completely removed to another place, offer to read it to them. Even if the story is not one that they would read theselves, what you bring to it while you are reading to them will make it real. My wife and I occasionally read to each other when we are excited about a story. It is fun to share the adventure of the story, and brings you closer together as a family.
With all of the "How To" books about raising children, I am surprised the shelves are not full of books about cruising with kids. Sounds like an oppertunity

[Entlie]

I'm sending a reply in Two Parts:

Part 1: Hoping this isn't off-topic, but some captivating favorites of our grandchildren (and grownups, too) are:

Carry Own, Mr. Bowditch, by Jean Lee Latham, and illustrated by John O'Hara Cosgrave II. A wonderful story of Nathaniel Bowditch's life as a child at sea.

Captains Courageous (Bantam Classic), by Rudyard Kipling. A great story, about a kid with an attitude, who has life changing experiences at sea.

Mysterious Island, by Jules Verne. Buy the book without illustrations, and have a big tablet of paper handy for the kids to sketch as you read aloud - the island, the characters, Jup, etc. Wonderful descriptions. Resist the urge to skip to the ending.

And lastly, Arthur Ransome's "Swallows and Amazons" series of classic childrens books, set in the English Lake District between the two World Wars. The kids have many adventures in a small sailing craft, and the books are illustrated by Ransome.

Our grandkids as young as 6 have read these, and they are all great for read-aloud sessions.


Entlie
Sailing Catamaran Sunspot Baby

[Entlie]

Part Two:

We watched a flock of kids playing on a catamaran in Stuart, Florida last winter. They were taking turns flying out on the bosun's chair, and clambering all over the boat. Not an adult in sight (a good or bad thing?), and the kids were having the time of their lives. We saw a well behaved group of pre-teens take a dinghy ashore at Monument beach, Great Exuma, follow all the safety rules, and after playing on the beach for hours, return to their mother ship. And a young man of about 10 piloting a small motor powered skiff in the Indian River, wearing his life jacket, and not ripping up the waters, and clearly knew what he was doing. Makes us wish our grandkids are closer to get more boating experience, but they love it when they can.

However, when our grandkids first came aboard Sunspot Baby we found ourselves saying No No No, and worried about their safety and our sanity. George was ready when they came for the next visit. The Yacht's and Pirates School was in session. They learned about pirates, privateers, and buccaneers. We took a sailing trip to Bath to look for Blackbeard's home. They each made up a pirate name, and they made pirate flags which we flew on Sunspot Baby for their whole visit and they took them home for their bedrooms. We read books aloud, and watched the old Blackbeard movie. We went to a "What pirates ate" workshop at the Maritime Museum in Beaufort. They walked through boat yards and picked out shoal draft and full keel boats, and studied topside configurations. They are home schooled kids, who do well in a learning environment, so now the ettiquette and safety issues are easier to handle for all concerned.

If you make it fun, time aboard is better for everyone.

Entlie
Sailing Catamaran Sunspot Baby

[2divers]

by Nan Jeffery

Ok not to make everyone think that I like all the books I read, (which I don't.) I am only adding the ones to this forum that I find are worth something in some way.

This book is more based on traveling with children away from home and overseas. One chapter specifically deals with sailing. Just incase you might think some of the stuff in this book won't work for you, It was written by a lady with twin boys, who traveled widely. I have some faith in her advise with that kind of experience.

More specifically this book gets into the nitty-gritty of daily life and how to manage it traveling with kids (anywhere at any age). Chapters specifically address What to Take (chapter 2), Sailing (chapter 6), Traveling with babies (chapter 10), Medical Concerns (chapter 12) and Social Needs (chapter 13). Each chapter is divided into a series of discussions on various aspects of the chapter with a section for pitfalls to avoid at the end.

While they travel in a much more primitive format than I would choose on most occasions (being the luxury loving person that I am) I really like the philosphy that they adopt, basically: travel slower and spend more time in an region exploring, not trying to see everything all in a few days. She also seems to be very homeopathic and back to nature. What we would call a "granola girl" here in the states. Nothing wrong with that and in some respects it is a very good thing, but she does see the world through that prism on occasion, but not often.

So not so much a sailing with kids book, but a philosophy book with lots of practical advise and examples of how to take care of kid problems before they start. Always be prepared!

2divers

[2divers]

This is probably one of the better books I've found so far. It covers from very small babies all the way to early teens. As far as practical experience and how to do's, this book is pretty well got it all.

Some of it more on the parent level discussion of what do you expect? What are you going to set as the limits for YOUR children? with examples from what I would consider foolhardy to overly protective and everything in between. It is definitely geared more toward the Ladies mind set and thought process, but it will provide a lot of food for conversation between parents on what they think they ought to be doing. At least my wife and I have had several very long and in depth discussions on several of topics from this book. We figured it would go a lot easier if at least we were in agreement when we started.

Chapters include:
For Saftey's sake - detailing the difference in examples from various parents on when to wear lifejackets and when (and/or what age) are they allowed not to. It also discusses the philosphy of wearing harnesses vs life jackets and very important things like "have you tested the jacket on your child in the water", or "do they float head up or feet up" to be more specific! This chapter changed some of the ways we think about safety with our daughter!

Ship Shape - this chapter covers the basics like boat design, sea kindliness, dangers above and below decks for small children, toddler proofing and many excellent examples of dangers they have witnessed and ways to minimize them.

Babies on Board - this chapter details lots of things like the first law of sailing with babies on board "The skipper of a yacht with a baby in the crew should regard any assistance that he gets from the baby's minder as a bonus!" and the second law "For a mother, the baby will ALWAYS come first." Also covered are things like safety seats, strollers vs kid backpacks, getting ashore with a baby, bath time, feeding, diapers, traveling (sailing from point A to B) with a baby or toddler, the wonderful list of 50 things to do with a toddler and lastly stories from other cruising couples!

Sailing with Children: Midshipmen or Mutineers? - how to keep (with examples of what not to do) your children enjoying life aboard and getting them to help or at least believe that they are helping. If you read some of the other posts in this forum you will get a good idea what works and she really reinforces those theories with some practical advise on how to set goals for your children over five.

Messing about in boats - Dinghies for kids, under oars, under sail and dingy leashes (also known as "MOM! DAD! We're STUCK!!!!! HELP!!!!!!!)

Last chapter is on Sea Sickness - acclimatisation, keeping your balance, preparations, remedies and coping with sea sickness.


Like I said probably the best book I've read yet by a lady who has traveled pretty extensively with her children as babies through teenagers. Read the introduction, it's worth it.

2divers

[schoonerdog]

I have found most of the ones that specifically about kids and boats are really dated to geared towards weekenders and not cruising --except Tom Neale of course.

Reading Just Cruising and Still Cruising by Liza Copeland was nice because she did her round the world with her 3 boys, so they are naturally a huge part of the story.

I think better than looking at dated books is looking at current cruising family web blogs!

Here are some of my favs

http://www.sailingohana.com/
Family of 4 on a catamaran... great photos. They are in New Zealand now.


Hacking Family Home
Family of four sailing around the world. Older kids but great info on homeschooling and costs for their adventures.

Don Quixote
Fun nutty family preparing to leave soon...


The adventures of yacht Gilana
Another family...


Ghostsailors
Friends of ours in Seattle, younger kids, not cruising yet but living on the boat and prepping...


http://www.svsereia.com/
No kids, but GREAT reads and fun photos and video. Click on "Tall Tales" and then on "T.P.B.P." for a log entry that will make you laugh and cringe out loud!

Vagabond Heart: The sailing adventures of the Hawkins Family
Family with 3 kids aboard a boat cruising around

S/Y Regina, Sweden
another family

tryenghome
Yes one more boat with kids -- see it's not as wacky an idea as you think...

************************************************** ****
This is a lovely poem written by
the mom of the 50
foot catamaran O'HANA (first link) that is posted on a
different web site: This sort of sums up why we're all
doing this! ENJOY! and let me know what you think!



THE RIGHT THING – a poem for sailing Mom’s
by Becky Berger, S/V 'Ohana in Exumas, Bahamas
Mother of 2 little girls

Last night I cried.

The tears just kept flowing and I couldn’t stop.



I panicked

Are we doing the right thing?

A beautiful house with cozy beds, soaking tubs, newly
planted gardens

Neighbors who wave and smile as they pass by

Good friends

Computers humming with 24-hour internet access

Cable TV

Stainless steel appliances, washing machines,
microwaves

Scheduled playdates, Gymboree, music lessons, soccer
practice

Babysitters



Leaving it all



Traffic jams

Kids screaming in the backseat

An organizer so jammed I can’t close it

A house so big I can’t clean it

Running on the same treadmill – scenery unchanging

CNN buzzing with the same stories

Books on the shelf unread, waiting

Glancing wearily at my husband, too tired to talk



I sleep




This morning I woke to a brilliant sunrise

Coffee brewing on the galley stove

He was sitting with the girls,
giggling and waking
them with kisses

I stole a smile from him as I walked out on deck

The cool breeze awoke my senses as I sat at the bow
with my warm mug

I pan our surroundings – coconut palms, white beaches,
a sailboat, an old
wooden dock

Breathing and stretching, I listened

Waves slapped gently against our hull

A seagull calls, breaking the silence

Clocks and schedules gone

Days spent together

We talk. We laugh. We share

I am alive and life is simple

And then I decided…



We are doing the right thing

[Catamount]

For books about cruising with kids, I can recommend:

"Into the Light: A Family's Epic Journey" by Dave and Jaja Martin

[svAlegria]

We have two kids (11 & 7) and are out cruising the Caribbean. Check out our blog. s/v Alegria
Dan

[2divers]

Thanks for Posting the poem schoonerdog. The wife really needed that today.

Dan on SV Alegria - I follow you guys and check your website daily to see how things are going! You help give me a little light to my daily grind and a light at the end of my long tunnel as we are getting ready to leave ourselves.

2divers

[mapaulhusgossel]

Hi everbody,
I am a college student and hopefully a future cruiser, for now I play basketball and study at Davidson College in North Carolina. My thesis is about the impact of cruising on family relationships. If you are interested in filling out a survey about your experiences in the next few months send me a reply so I can save your email address. If you have any directions or quesitons you think I should absolutely ask, let me know.

I am still trying to build my survey so I am open to suggestions of all kinds.

Maxime Paulhus Gosselin #14

[ZolaSail]

"Cruising Kid" is book writen by a young kid (Dom Goncalves) from his perspective about cruising with his family from south africa through the carribean. I was a few years older than him but our mothers where/are good friends from our time living aboard in St. Martins. its a good quick read from a childs perspective.

Amazon.com: Cruising Kid: Dominic Goncalves: Books

[capcook]

Originally Posted by 2divers

Besides Tom Neal's books, What other books out there have people found for taking kids cruising?

Kai, Your past Comments still reign hands down as some of the best advice I've heard yet and I fully intend to make use of it as soon as possible.

2divers

I would like to recommend "Black Wave" not because it is going to be one of those rosy stories about sailing into the sunset, but because it conveys some of the negative side that you know must be there... Still a great read, really enjoyed it. I am already sold on the idea of sailing with the 2Ks and wanted to read something that was realistic accounts... it can all go wrong but life is full of risks as these guys found out... still they say they would do it again...

Cheers