I love sailing. Everything about sailing holidays appeals to me. It has adventure and keeps your mind occupied, you can change your view several times during a holiday, find deserted beaches or busy nightlife, be as lazy or as adventurous as you want. The main reason I like sailing though is the challenge although this year will be slightly different…

37-ft. Catamaran

Photo: 2hulls.com

Our beautiful baby girl, Summer, arrived in April and myself and my fiance have been on a steep learning curve ever since. We took a 37ft Catamaran around Turkey for two weeks last year and were keen to go sailing in Croatia this year as we’d heard good things about it. We didn’t however consider the fact that we’d have a highly dependent small child with us when we went and last week, panic set in!

Thank god for the internet though. I scoured forums and websites looking for all the information I could and have condensed my findings into five handy bite sized tips;

1. Boat modifications – Nothing major here, unless you have a very understanding charter company! I’m just talking about taking netting material with you or buying some from the chandlers whilst you’re there to tie onto the vulnerable gaps between guardrails where an adventurous toddler could slip through. Lifejackets should be sized and purchased here before you go unless you know the country you’re sailing from has good facilities available.

Children under 1 year can’t wear a life jacket so you’ll have to improvise. I’m going to lash fenders onto the carry cot to make a ‘mini lifeboat’ and then hang this up from a strong point (the child can happily sit in it and won’t feel the boat rocking when it’s suspended.

2. Plan your meals – Summer will be weaning when we go so we still need to take bottle’s and have found these great steriliser bags too. If you’re worried about the country you’re visiting not having your usual food or your weight allowance not stretching to 5 cartons of cow&gate, you can go to tinytotsaway who’ll deliver everything for you!

3. Get insured with a decent provider – Time to ditch attempting to save a few pennies on the price comparrison sites I’m afraid and start looking at what the policies are actually offering. I used to really skimp on travel insurance but thankfully, after a lot of searching, I’ve found a travel insurance company that meets my scrooge like tendencies and my new responsibilities as a father.

4. Plan your itinery – All good sailors know that time spent in preparation is never wasted and this is especially important when sailing with children. Alongside your usual route, saftey, communications, victualling, weather and crewing planning you should also bear in mind the need to give the child (and the mum / dad) a bit of a break. You may also need to stop more frequently than usual to top up on freshwater, electricity etc.

5. Climate – Children aren’t as good at regulating their body temperatures which usually isn’t a problem when we’re in our nice climate controlled houses however, boats can be very different. You can buy vents that capture the wind and funnel it through the boat.

There maybe a 6th tip when I come back off our holiday saying something like ‘hire a babysitter for a week’ but in summary, it seems that taking a child with you sailing isn’t as precarious as it sounds at first and as long as you prepare and use caution (the staples of any good sailor anyway) you should be okay.
Good luck!
http://www.carhire-excess-insurance.com/

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