Sailing children: making the most of kid´s adventures at sea
Sailing with children presents a unique opportunity for parents to combine adventure, education, and personal growth. Be it the boat itself, ever-changing weather patterns or the shores you reach, all make up a unique backdrop ripe for learning and exploration. Each pursuit, whether hands-on or contemplative, helps connect with the maritime world while enhancing essential life skills and fostering a deeper understanding of their surroundings. In this article, we lay down essential hints for sailing parents, delve into the onboard safety of sailing kids and suggest ten engaging activities.
Essentials for sailing parents
Depending on your own skills as sailors, taking your children with you on board may pose a more or less big challenge for you. But don´t be afraid: Even the smallest children usually love the gentle motion of a sailboat. Kids are far less prone to becoming sea-sick and their sense for danger or fear of heeling, the noise made by the waves or gusts in the rigging surprisingly often do not bother kids. In any case: if you covey a sense of safety and relaxed manners, your kids will mirror it.
Of course, children are crew members and should be treated equally when it comes to onboard safety. They need special kid-sized life-jackets (remember: solid floating devices for marinas, automatic inflating life-jackets for underway!) and high-quality tethers should be minimum equipment. Make sure your kids know how to properly wear and safeguard the life vests. It is recommended to urge them being securely connected to the boat via tether at any time.
Depending on the age, weight and height of your kids, a dedicated net all along the boat´s guard-rail might make sense as well. In any case, do a proper safety briefing before casting off (every single time you start a sailing day out on the seas) and makes sure your kids know how to safely traverse the boat´s cockpit, up on deck as well as down below. Remember: “one hand for the ship” should be their first memorized phrase.
There are plenty of books written by sailing parents, suitable for kids of any age. Check online or a book store if you find a narrator that fits the family size and sailing program of yours. You may also include your local boat dealer into your considerations when you are in the process of choosing a new sailboat for your family: his expertise may help to draw up a kids-friendly specification, improving comfort and safety for the youngest sailors.
Fighting boredom at sea: sailing children´s biggest adversary
Experienced sailing parents will surely agree: boredom is one of the most apparent downsides of sailing with kids. Depending on the age, the restricted space, no way of giving in to their need to move around and waste their body energy as well as the often uneventful hours and hours of sailing can quickly turn into most annoying situations. As there is literally no way out, these situations can quickly deteriorate and escalate into all-out disputes, pondering silence or outright refusal. Recalcitrant teenagers? Well, a boat is a “social reactor”. So, how can sailing parents avoid kids becoming bored and thus demotivated?
Incorporate your kids into route planning: when planning your next weekend sailing trip or sailing vacation, your kids should have a saying. Ask them what they would like to do, what they would like to see. Take the chance to motivate your children by showing them a little online documentary about the sailing area and its history, instill a feeling of lust and pleasant anticipation. If your kids feel that they are listened to and you care about their wishes, they are much more open to joining you on your next trip.
Adjust time at sea to the age of your kids: Depending on the age of your children, try to avoid long legs of sailing during daytime. Even if you enjoy the view onto a breathtaking coastline, kids usually don´t fancy hour-long sailing sessions. If you have to bridge long distances, try to introduce a night-sailing session so that your kids can sleep. For you as the skipper and adult crew, this can be an additional highlight as sailing by night has its very own attractiveness.
Respect the needs and wishes of your children: children want to discover. They want to run around, want to have fun, explore and most of all – they have to waste the energy of their young bodies. The restrained surroundings of a boat make them feel like handcuffed. Have multiple stopovers, arrange for swimming sessions, have a full stack of (water-)toys ready at hand. If your sailboat is equipped with WiFi (á la Starlink or 5G GSM-based connectivity), allow media time on their tablets or video-streaming with their friends at home. Kids also need to rest: A sailing trip can at times be very stressful. Make sure they can find a good night´s sleep and proper meals. A little treat at times, a sweet “reward” for tackling their first storm for example, can raise spirits immediately.
Treat your kids as full crew members: Of course, children are not and never will be supplanting adult crew members. But by treating them as part of the crew, you can tease out a sense of responsibility, the urge to take over certain (easy, children-approved) tasks and thus pride. Depending on the age of your kids, taking over the helm for a while, watch and adjust the sails trim or easy maintenance tasks are indeed a great way to make tham an active, purposeful and valuable part of your crew.
Keep your kids occupied: if your children are too young to take on active duties, make sure you keep them busy when sailing. Boredom is often the start for conflicts. When packing your stuff for the trip at home, urge them to bring their favourite book(s), crayons, e-Readers or tablets and even board- or ball-games with them. Swimming utensils like an SUP, diving goggles and snorkel or a water gun for a proper fun-battle can be used during the trip. Those will keep spirits high, as well as the fun factor, and the looming hazard of boredom away from your family boat.
Plan shore-based activities: as much as you love to sail your yacht and enjoy her full potentials, have shore-days and layovers in a marina or at an anchorage a set part of your sailing trip. Many marinas offer bike rentals: a great way to explore the coastal areas, wildlife and natural reserves or just have fun. Organize a trip to a nearby medieval castle or amusement park. Why not spend a day at an aqua park or zoo? Those “land days” – especially if chosen by your kids – can be the highlights of the trip, occasions they look forward to and can´t wait to happen.
Make for “safe spaces” for your children: sometimes, all that children need, is a secure and quiet space to calm down. This can be their own cabin, a corner in the sailboat´s saloon or – when at anchor – the “far away” bow section of the boat. Not every retreat from the hazzle of a sailing trip is a sign for depression or sadness. Sometimes, all it takes is an hour or two of resting and recharging their batteries. Make them comfortable, get them their favourite hot chocolate or even – as an exception – a can of soda, and let them have a little time of peace. You will quickly notice that they will come back with full enthusiasm and joy.
How to turn your kids into sailors
A great way to light up the same enthusiasm and pleasant anticipation for sailing in your kids that is burning in yourself as the boat´s owner, is a sailing course. Check your local sailing schools for kid´s courses: the Optimist-class is a great first step for your children to learn not only the essentials of sailing but to take their first steps aboard their “own” boats. Understanding sailing physics will reduce fear of heeling, gusts and the motions of a boat.
Acquiring their first sailing certificate will not only make them proud, but also turn them into valuable assets as full crew members for your sailing yacht. Sails trim, helming the boat, checking the yacht prior casting off, berthing the boat – all of these tasks will be a lot easier when your kids evolve from “guests” to proud able seamen. It´s really never too late to start a sailing course: usually, having acquired a swimming badge is the only requirement for your kid to attend a sailing course. Try it – it will make sailing with your kids much more easier and fun.
Safety at sea: number one priority for sailing children
As much fun as it is, safety concerns should be your top priority when casting off with kids. The younger they are, the more emphasis should be placed upon this topic. Here are some crucial tips for sailing parents to make sure that your sailing trips remain a fun thing and don´t turn into nightmares:
A children´s-safe sailboat: there are a number of tools and equipment which can help to make your sailing yacht “kid´s approved” in terms of safety. Some of which are essential, like tethers, some may be over-exaggerating. Talk to other sailing parents and ask for their experiences, read dedicated books or online resources. Your local dealer may also be a great source of input.
Kid´s approved safety gear: it cannot be stressed enough that children need special life jackets. The younger a child is, the more weight is in its head: body physics are “upside down” which is the reason why life jackets for adults (often tied together in hair raising ways to fit the kid´s bodies) often do not work and rather pose a threat. Invest in a high-quality automatic life jacket to be worn when underway. Solid life-vests should be used in a marina or for swimming. Have kid´s tethers which connect the steel harness-ring of the life jacket to the boat ready and in use at all time. Depending on the age of your kid, these tethers can be bought to be opened only by adults or these can be equipped with mechanisms which can be operated by the child itself. Complement your boat´s first aid package with children´s medicine: bruises and cuts are most likely to occur. You might also want to stack up antifebriles and mild (herbal based) sea-sickness cures.
A proper, kids-adjusted, safety briefing: even if you have established a sailing routine already within your family, don´t slacken off having proper safety briefings before casting off. Constant repetition is a great way to time and again solidify your kid´s awareness. Adjust the tone and style of your briefing to fit kid´s needs: you may have a “Pirate Captain´s” briefing, become a submarine commander or the ship´s kobold. This will raise attention and focus, the issue of onboard safety quickly transforms from being a boring, sometimes fear-instilling, necessity into a fun first highlight of the sailing trip. Incorporate your kids into the briefing: ask questions about certain issues, don´t always do it as a dull front-of-class lesson.
Frequent safety practice: it´s great and adventure to have “safety drills” aboard your sailing yacht with your kids. Make sure that the weather conditions are nice – least wind as possible, warm temperatures. Having an MOB-session is a huge adventure: your kids may dress up a big fender as “Mr. Manoverboard” – their mission is to sail a chicken gybe and get him back on board. You may also have them jump from the bathing platform, wearing their life jacket: this way they can see how fast it is inflating and how safely it will make them float on top of the water. Safety practices should be fun – and incorporate real-life lessons.
Foster self-protection and responsibility: children steadily learn and become fit in tackling everyday´s life issues. At home, they have quickly understood that stove and oven is a no-go area, that the medicine chest in the bathroom is off limits and that they cannot just walk through the front door outside. As parents simply cannot have a 100% fulltime surveillance, it´s self-responsibility you want to make them acquire. Same goes for your yacht: rather than always being on their tail all the time, make them self-aware to care for their safety. This starts with “always one hand for the ship”, to wearing a life-jacket (with connecting the tether) by themselves and watching out for hazards. You will be astonished how fast kids adapt and take over responsibilities!
Don´t work with fear: fear is a bad teacher. Always. As much as you would like to point out to the real life dangers of sailing, like falling overboard, hitting one´s head with the boom, getting crushed between boat and pontoon and so forth – don´t work with fear. Kids, especially young children, are very susceptible for fear. In their heads, these – well-meant – warnings can quickly turn into nightmares. Fear can result in blockade and rejection. When talking about the dangers of sailing, be factual, but not overly specific.
Is sailing with a baby safe? If your kid has just arrived, how is sailing with a very young baby? There are many reports of newborn babies taken on sailing trips. Indeed, the gentle motion of the boat, a lush anchorage and the overall relaxed atmosphere of a leisure yacht can be a very positive environment for a baby. Sailing parents may be less stressed out as well. Provided that your boat is baby-ready, infant car seats can be a great tool make sure your precious is safely fixed during sailing. Special precaution in terms of falling hazards (especially down the entryway and overboard) should be a matter of course.
Remember: passive safety precautions are great and should be taken very seriously for you as the family´s captain. But don´t underestimate that your children themselves in exercising active safety will make the difference. An acquired first sailing certificate, their swimming capabilities and above all, their understanding and acknowledgement of safety issues will make the picture complete. Don´t overrun your kids with tasks, but incorporate them as crew members with clear responsibilities. They will grow, fast. So will do their self-awareness and thus the level of safety for your family´s sailboat.
Sailing fun with kids: ten onbord activities
It's never too early to learn the fundamentals. This is especially true when they're presented in a fun, engaging manner. The activities below showcase how essential sailing practices can be transformed into interactive games - all of which simultaneously foster confidence, train skills, sharpen focus, and enhance problem-solving abilities. As a bonus, those are also preparing them to handle real-time scenarios on the water.
Sailor´s knot tying contest
Learning point: Knot tying is essential for securing boats and ensuring safety at sea.
Materials needed: Ropes of varying thickness.
Brief description: Hand each child a rope segment, then showcase a distinct sailing knot. Encourage them to mimic the demonstrated tie, maybe within a given time limit. As their skills sharpen, attempt introducing more intricate knots to elevate the challenge.
Safety tips: Supervise closely and ensure no ropes are left around to trip over.
Kids at the helm: steering practice
Learning point: Mastering the art of steering a sailboat is an absolute basic capability for any sailor. It also lays the groundwork for skills like docking. This practice will seamlessly transition into other life applications such as driving cars and operating machinery.
Materials needed: Life jackets and a clear, obstacle-free path.
Brief description: Place the child at the helm and guide them as they take turns steering the boat. Demonstrate how subtle shifts impact the boat's course, letting them feel the boat's response to their actions.
Safety tips: Ensure constant supervision, with an experienced adult always ready with a hand on the wheel for added safety.
First navigation skills
Learning point: Early exposure to navigation tools and techniques can cultivate a lifelong interest in exploration and geography.
Materials needed: Simple navigation charts, a compass, and a mock route.
Brief description: Present the child with a basic navigation chart and a compass. Outline a mock route on the chart, encouraging them to trace and guide the course, emphasising landmarks and direction. Throughout the exercise, drop trivia about notable marine landmarks, ask them questions to challenge their understanding, or introduce slight route variations to test their adaptability.
Safety tips: Always verify any suggested routes by children with experienced sailors on board.
Onboard games for sailing kids: marine exploration
Diving beyond the sails and ropes, these activities plunge children into the marvels of the marine world. Learning about how a boat is built and its components, the vast oceans and their richness of marine life or the ever changing weather patterns deepen their connection to the sailing adventure.
Boat knowledge: name the parts
Learning point: Gaining knowledge about boat parts and their terms not only makes subsequent sailing lessons more intuitive but also simplifies and enriches conversations about the vessel and its operations.
Materials needed: List or diagrams of boat parts.
Brief description: Initiate this activity by handing children a list or diagram of boat parts. Encourage them to explore the sailboat and match the parts on the boat to their respective names and diagrams, discussing their functionalities as they find each one.
Safety tips: Ensure children steer clear of any restricted areas or equipment on the boat.
Weather watchers
Learning point: Understanding weather patterns at a young age deepens a child's connection to nature, cultivating a respect for the sea's ever-changing moods and building a foundation for intuitive and safe sailing decisions in the future.
Materials needed: Cloud chart or a basic weather guidebook.
Brief description: Begin by equipping the children with a cloud chart or an introductory weather guidebook. Ask them to scan the skies, identify different cloud formations, and predict the upcoming weather. As they grow more adept, challenge them by organising timed quizzes or introducing more advanced meteorological signs, allowing them to deepen their observational skills.
Safety tips: Secure children in safe vantage points, especially when weather is unpredictable.
Marine life passport
Learning point: The immense diversity of the marine ecosystem offers a vast learning potential. Framing it within a passport-style activity also provides an opportunity to introduce concepts of geography, the significance of passports, and the stories behind stamps from different countries, weaving a tapestry of interconnected knowledge.
Materials needed: Marine Life Passports (passport-like booklets with illustrations or names of marine animals), stamps or stickers, pencils or crayons.
Brief description: Hand out Marine Life Passports to the children, each page showcasing a different marine species. As they navigate the waters and spot a particular creature, they get to stamp or sticker that page. For added depth, encourage them to jot down the time and location of their sighting or an intriguing fact they've learned.
Safety tips: Ensure children remain safely seated or secured when observing marine life, especially if they're keen to lean overboard for a better view.
Kid boat crew: maintenance and duty tasks
Depending on their age, involving children in maintenance and routine tasks aboard a sailboat taps into a fundamental psychological need: the desire to feel useful and significant. As children grow and develop, their sense of self-worth is often intertwined with their contributions and roles within a group. On a sailing voyage, the boat becomes a microcosm of community life. Being entrusted with tasks, even minor ones, enhances their feeling of belonging. It allows them to see themselves as valuable contributors, fostering a genuine sense of pride and accomplishment. Even more, if your kid has already acquired a first sailing certificate on a small dinghy or jollyboat, being allowed to take over the helm of the big yacht, trim her sails or operate the anchor winch, is a huge boost for their self-confidence and pride. This also takes off some of the loads from you as the skipper: sailing kids can really be a very useful and valuable part of the crew.
Boat maintenance assistant
Learning point: Grasping the essence of maintenance fosters a lifelong ethic of valuing and caring for personal possessions. There's also the potential to introduce, if desired, the idea of earning rewards, such as pocket money, for taking on such responsibilities.
Materials needed: Cleaning supplies + maintenance checklists.
Brief description: Equip children with basic cleaning supplies and guide them through the process of tidying up specific areas of the boat, like the deck or cabin. As they become proficient, introduce them to more involved tasks, such as inspecting ropes for wear or assisting in minor repairs.
Safety tips: Use only child-friendly cleaning products and ensure constant supervision, especially during tasks that involve tools.
Daily duties roster
Learning point: Introducing responsibilities fosters teamwork and can enhance leadership qualities.
Materials needed: Duty roster chart and any equipment related to the specific tasks.
Brief description: Structured routines provide a sense of purpose and discipline. Craft a "Sailor's Daily Schedule" for the children, where each has set responsibilities throughout the day. Whether it's sounding a morning bell, keeping an eye out for other vessels, or helping prep meals, the consistency provides predictability amidst the transient nature of life at sea. As a progressive step, occasionally let the kids design their own schedule, emphasising teamwork and collaboration in dividing the duties.
Safety tips: Always supervise children, especially during tasks involving potential hazards.
Kids love stories: make them interactive and interesting
Tales have been the heartbeat of childhood for ages, shaping dreams and fueling curiosity. As kids set sail, weaving stories of maritime adventures, about legendary sailors, and distant shores can go to great lengths to illuminate the sea's vast canvas.
Storytime
Learning point: Leveraging these narratives paves the way for deeper explorations into history, literature, and the world's varied geographies.
Materials needed: A curated collection of maritime stories or history books.
Brief description: Set aside a dedicated 'Story Hour' where tales of maritime adventures, from daring pirates to intrepid explorers, come alive. Select a narrative that resonates with the current journey or destination. As children listen, captivated, occasionally pause to point out real-world locations or landmarks relevant to the story. As a progression, invite them to craft their own sea tales inspired by their experiences.
Safety tips: Choose a cosy and secure spot for storytelling, preferably shielded from strong winds if on deck.
Historical log keeper
Learning point: Maintaining a log integrates daily observations with historical learning, fostering both a sense of responsibility and a deeper connection to maritime traditions.
Materials needed: Logbook, pens, reference materials for historical facts.
Brief description: Entrust children with the responsibility of maintaining a yacht's log, just like sailors of the past. Daily entries can include weather conditions, navigational bearings, or any wildlife spotted. Additionally, they can note down stories or historical facts related to the locations they pass. Over time, this log becomes a record of their journey and the maritime history they've learned. To progress, encourage them to sketch or illustrate events, tying in the storytelling aspect.
Safety tips: Ensure children are seated safely when writing, especially if conditions are rough.
Kid´s boat birthday
A great way to make your kids – and their friends – happy, is a thorough birthday-party aboard your boat. Choose for a nice summer´s weekend, have your kid invite a number of best friends and organize a fun, adventurous and unforgettable weekend aboard. Sailing isn´t priority here as many of the guests may not be accustomed to being on a boat. Treat the boat more as a “base”, an unusual location. A perfect birthday weekend could be like this:
Planning a boat-birthday. Make sure to collect the other parent´s approval for sending their kids aboard. The guest kids should be able to swim at least. Prepare a dedicated program for the parents so that they know where you are and what the plan is for the children. Make sure that the other parents know about safety precautions (such as having enough live jackets aboard). Look for a place where you can drop your anchor: this should be a safe, secluded little bay or cove, best would be a place where you are alone. Make sure that sailing to and from that location doesn´t eat up too much time.
Friday afternoon: arrival of the guests. The parents hand over the guest kids at the marina. After a welcome drink and snack, you (with the help of your kids) start a basic fun safety briefing. You explore the boat, explain where to sleep, where to sit and which are the off-limits areas. You may then cast off to drop anchor in a nearby cove or bay. After a tasty “pirate soup” for dinner, kids proceed into their sleeping bags, listening to a nice spooky bedtime story.
Saturday´s birthday activities: In your invitations sent to the guest kids, you may have come up with an overall theme for the birthday weekend. This could be anything maritime from the all-time favourite “pirate school” to a “secret agent training camp”. Together with your child, invent a plan of activities, which make up the “lessons” of the pirate school. For example: a swimming contest to the shore, an SUP-battle with capturing the flag, jumping off the bow, rescuing a “treasure chest” from ashore … your fantasy finds no boundaries here. Your sailboat is the theatre stage on which a set of activities unfold. Snacks are served, drinks are plenty. For the evening dinner, if permitted, a highlight could be a camp fire at the beach of the bay, with the kids roasting their fishes on sticks.
Sunday: Raising anchor after breakfast, you sail back to your home marina. As a last highlight, have your kids throw “Mr. Overboard” into the water and stage a wild rescue. After this exciting last highlight, dock your boat. When the guest kids are collected by their parents one by one, have your child hand our prepared “pirate certificates” or “secret agent passports” to their guests, share pictures in a whatsapp-group to keep parents updated.
After the boat-birthday-weekend: making videos and edit them to a nice little movie nowadays takes little time and effort. You may cut a cool video and send it to the parents a few days after the party. It is a nice keepsake and perfect completion of the “pirate certificate” handed out.
Boat birthdays are true highlights for kids. These can be a motivation to accept and love your sailboat, foster their commitment and their interest in sailing. Be guaranteed that after one such a perfect boat-birthday-weekend, your kids will demand one for the next years to come.
The bottom line
Setting sail with youngsters is an enchanting mix of adventure and learning. If made safe, the sea presents endless possibilities for immersive activities that perfectly balance enjoyment and enlightenment. Ensuring children are actively involved and deeply connected to the journey nurtures their innate curiosity. The unique setting of a sailboat allows them to savour every daysailing trip, every weekend aboard and ever vacation spent on a yacht, translating each into invaluable lessons. These cherished memories will surely echo with gratitude and wonder.