Jan 16, 2008 - Cruising with children
by Scott & Ryan Bannerot

A SetSailor asked: "My wife and I are hoping to take a 1-2 year hiatus from work and go cruising with our family, but two questions keep popping up: 1.) At what age would the experience be best for our kids (two boys currently 1 & 3 years old). 2.) If you only had a year, maybe two, where would you spend your time? Caribbean, Med, South Pacific?"

The short answer to the two questions "what age would be best for kids to go cruising" and "where would you spend the time" for me are "right away" and "either the Bahamas or the tropical Pacific". The longer discussion of course draws in several other considerations.

The cruising life is perfect for a pair of children aged one and three. My son Ryan made his first major passage, from New Zealand to Tonga, at age eight months and sailed between Polynesia, Micronesia, and across Melanesia to Australia by age three. The hospitality and generosity of Pacific Islanders played a key role in his development in these formative years, as did the stunning natural beauty he enjoyed above and below water. For example, he and I snorkeled with humpback whales in Tonga when he was just turning three. Parents worry about a medical emergency or children being lost overboard on a short-handed vessel. Even on long passages, I knew exactly how many days' sail it was to the nearest international airport, we had Inmarsat C with full access to instant medical advice, serious medical texts on board, and a substantial medical kit. That doesn't mean something couldn't happen, but something can happen wherever you are, and just look at the rewards. Children must learn hard and fast safety rules on board - always wear a harness on deck and be hooked on during passage, and one adult must always be awake and super-alert on passage. Forward hatches must be locked so kids can't escape from below at night to the deck.

On location, undoubtedly the greatest and most varied fairyland for warm-weather cruisers is the tropical Pacific, above and below the equator, and the Galapagos are not to be missed. It's true that longer passages over remote expanses of water entail some risks that coastal cruising closer to civilization does not. I'd say simply that in the risk assessment, consider that yes, tangible risk is associated with going sailing with kids, as with any other lifestyle. However, once you decide to accept this small risk, you must examine the enormous rewards that accrue. One option short of an "ultimate cruise" to the vast tropical Pacific is to spend the time in the Bahamas. This is one of the most beautiful places in the world, the music and people are lovely, and the reefs, beaches, and islands are superb - and there's easily one to two years' worth of them to explore. The passages between destinations are short. There is the issue of hurricane season, so that perhaps hopping over to Florida and holing up half way across the Okeechobee Waterway for July-October might not be a bad thought. Possibly this might be a good time to put the boat on a hardstand and return home to work a few months and visit family. The Pacific route is of course a bigger plan, requires a more substantial vessel and preparation, and carries with it a bit more risk, but the rewards are off the scale - and you only go around once.

Most of all, children love boats, and they love living in very close proximity to both Mom and Dad. The well-documented phenomenon of hitting the teen years, and associated hormone flood, and not being quite as thrilled to be in close quarters all the time with Mom and Dad won't occur in your family for another decade, and at any rate some teenagers continue to enjoy life afloat. I'd say take off as soon as you can for as long as you can - your children, at age one and three, are plenty old enough to go and have the time of their lives. You'll never look back, and neither will they.

Cheers, Scott and Ryan