46 Februar y 2015
practical: families
My husband and I planned to begin
cruising in 2015 with no long-term
destination or timeframe; we would sail
to where the wind and paid employment
took us.
We kept the sailing dream alive by
messing about in our trailer sailer while
we saved. After eight years we were in a
position to start looking for a boat to turn
our plan into reality. We found the boat.
A 45 foot sloop, Radford design made
of steel and in a marina literally five
minutes from our house. After the usual
purchase process we were about to
meet with the boat broker to negotiate
a purchase price but an hour before the
meeting we found out I was pregnant.
Finding out I was pregnant caused
a very quick reassessment of the plan.
There were many valid reasons why we
should not proceed, to play it safe and
stay living in a house. We decided to
keep the meeting with the boat broker
and if successful in purchasing the
boat, we would give the plan a go. We
would rather give it a go than always
wonder if we missed an opportunity to
fulfill our dreams.
We were successful in purchasing the
boat and, after the initial excitement,the reality of our situation hit. How
were we going to prepare the boat for
our baby?
As new parents do, we read the books
and reviewed the shopping lists from the
shops that sell all things baby related.
We found that most things just were
not appropriate for a sailing boat. We did
not have the space or the capacity to run/
charge the electrical appliances and, given
the close living environment, wondered
how relevant some things were.
We began the process of sorting out
what we needed versus what the books
and shops said we should have.for a baby
Preparing a
sailing boat
Bringing up a baby on land is
dangerous enough but Rachel Maas
shows that the added risks of a baby
on board a yacht can be mitigated
with proper planning, preparation
and understanding.Enjoying a
sunset at
anchor.