Februar y 2015 49practical: families
falling down the companionway until
he learnt to climb down the stairs. We
could not isolate the stairs, so had to
supervise our son as he was learning to
climb up the stairs.
The biggest concern in the galley
is our oven. It does not have the heat-
proof glass and is the perfect height for
our son to touch or lean against. After
some brainstorming sessions on the
boat with other liveaboards we decided
the best way to keep our son out of the
galley was to prevent him from getting
in there when the oven was on. There
are various options for this including,
keeping him busy by helping me to cook
(he sits on the top step or bench top
which he loves particularly when I am
making something sweet) or popping
him in his high chair to have something
to eat or watch TV (not when we are
sailing) or playing in the vee berth.
I also take advantage when he is asleep
to do some cooking.
We also installed smoke alarms on the
boat. This was one of the cheapest and
easiest tasks to undertake.
Advice from other sailing parents
Each person we spoke with or family we
read about stressed the importance of
having a seaworthy boat, regardless if it
is for a day sail or an ocean passage.
One lesson we have learnt about
seaworthiness was how easy it is
for boat maintenance to fall to the
bottom of the to-do list, particularly
amongst the demands of a baby,
family commitments, the desire to go
sailing and the need to earn a living.
We often have to give up sailing
opportunities for the unglamorous
tasks of boat maintenance to keep our
boat seaworthy or to prevent it from
becoming unseaworthy.
We were advised to be aware of our
boat’s ventilation and work out ways
to keep our baby and ourselves cool in
summer and warm in winter. As we
have mild winters but hot summers at
the moment, we have installed 12 volt
fans which work when in the marina,
motoring, sailing or at anchor. We also
invested in shade covers (expensive but
well worth it) and chose a berth that
faces north/south allowing us to catch
the prevailing southerly or northerly
winds while in the marina.
“Be careful not to get your baby
sunburnt” was regular advice.
We were reminded of how living on
a boat gives us twice the opportunity
to get sunburnt. Initially from the sun
and then the reflection off the water.
So we cover up as much as we can with
sunscreen, hats and sunglasses.
We think the persistence of putting our
son’s hat and sunglasses on each time he
throws them off is working. We have only
lost one hat into the water so far.
We enrolled our son in swimming
lessons as soon as we could and he
goes to classes each week. Although
swimming lessons are part of the safety
regime to protect our son they are also
exercise, stimulation and quality time
with his dad.
Knowing our son is taking swimming
lessons seems to put a lot of people who
question our choice to raise our son on
a sailing boat at ease. Our viewpoint
is that we should be supervising and
teaching him plus putting up physical
barriers to reduce the chance of him
falling in the water. Swimming lessons
are the last line of defence.Following the advice of other sailing
families and liveaboards, we also point
out where our son could pull himself out
of the water if he fell into the marina.
He is too young to do this at the moment
and if he fell in it would be one of us in
after him, but all advice has been it is
never too young to start teaching him.
There are many different schools of
thought on when and where children
should wear safety harnesses and/or life
jackets. Each boat is a different design,
each parent usually has a different view
and each child is different.INSET: In the high
chair, only when the
boat is at rest.
Exploring while
Medina is anchored.