Hi! We spent five years living aboard and sailing on a couple of sailboats (34ft then 42ft). We began our journey as a family of 3 on the east coast of the UK in 2017 and sailed across the North Sea to Northern Europe. After a couple of years exploring the continent, Jersey in Channel Islands, the Isles of Scilly, the south coast of the UK, and having a baby(!) - we set sail south down the Atlantic coast from Cornwall, UK and sailed down to southern Portugal when Erin was only 8 months old. We have PLENTY of tales to tell! Now we're ready to share our experiences and all the knowledge we picked up to help other families get out on the water sailing. Come join us!
Boat Safety Blueprint π Offshore Sailing Tips β΅οΈ Life Jackets π¦Ί A Crisis At Sea π€ Offshore Medical Kit βοΈ Passage Meals π₯ͺ An Unintended Dunking ππ»ββοΈ #3
Hi Reader, Welcome to the third edition of 'Families Afloat'! The brand new weekly newsletter full of inspiration, stories and invaluable information for sailing families. If this is the first one you've received - welcome aboard! It's great to have you here. If you want to have a read of previous newsletters, you can find them on our homepage https://familiesafloat.co.uk. β Now, on with this week... the theme for this week is 'Safety at Sea'! I've tried to gear as many of the newsletter areas towards keeping your family safe at sea - one of the most important things there is to do when going cruising (in my opinion!) β΅οΈ Enjoy! π β What You Should Be Thinking About This Week'The Ultimate Boat Safety Blueprint' When you move aboard a boat, you gain a whole new set of responsibilities. Everything that happens to you is your fault. Just let that sink in for a minuteβ¦ (pardon the pun!) ALMOST EVERYTHING that happens to you, is YOUR fault. Once you leave port and are out at sea, getting help if there is a problem is so much harder than when youβre on land. Thatβs why itβs your responsibility and yours alone to check that everything is safe, secure and in full working order BEFORE you leave your anchorage or marina. From checking the bilge pumps work to having the correct safety equipment onboard to doing a visual rigging check β itβs all your responsibility. Once youβre out at sea (especially when doing long crossings where there is no-one close by to help β think hours, days, even weeks sometimes before you can get the help you need), youβre on your own. Iβm not saying that to scare you because that feeling can be incredibly liberating - if you look at it the right way. Take pride in learning to maintain and fix everything onboard. If you take the time to learn new skills and be responsible for your own safety, youβll feel safer and your confidence will grow. The best thing you can do is: to make sure your boat is in the best condition it can be in AND have all the equipment you need onboard BEFORE you head out of port! β Kim from Sailing Britican has put together 'The Ultimate Boat Safety Blueprint' to help you get your boat ready before you leave port from a safety point of view. She has sailed 000's of miles with her family (Simon and their daughter Sienna) and they provide sailing experiences aboard their yacht Britican for those looking to gain an insight into the cruising lifestyle. Keeping their yacht 'Britican' in tip-top shape and as safe as possible is very high on their list of priorities so you can be sure her advice comes from tried and tested methods. β What have you learned from Kim's Ultimate Boat Safety Blueprint? Let us @families.afloat and Kim @sailingbritican know over on Instagram. We love being tagged in posts and stories! π β Boat Tour of the WeekI don't know about you, but I LOVE looking around other people's boats! Every week I will share a new boat for you to take a look around. See if you can imagine living on it while you go sailing with your family. β This week we are switching to two hulls and touring Sailing Zatara's Privilege 585 Catamaran. After sailing over 12,500 nautical miles from the USA to Australia on a monohull, the Z-Crew made the switch to a catamaran to continue their journey. I have to admit, I have serious boat envy watching this video! π The space... the galley... flat sailing... all the gear that is onboard... OMG! This is a serious family cruising yacht - thanks for sharing her with us Keith and Renee! While you're over there, why don't you give Sailing Zatara a follow on Youtube, join their 502k+ subscribers and follow along on their journey. β β Do you have a family sailing yacht boat tour you'd like to share? Please let us know and send us the link. Email submissions@familiesafloat.co.uk with the subject 'Boat Tour of the Week' or send them to us on Instagram @families.afloat and you could be featured here very soon! β Sailing Tip of the WeekThis week we are looking to All At Sea to share their Top Tips for Offshore Sailing Safety. All At Sea asked Hank Schmitt (of the North American Rally to the Caribbean (NARC)), Hank George (of the Salty Dawg Sailing Associationβs (SDSA) Caribbean Rally), and Jeremy Wyatt (of the World Cruising Club (WCC), which hosts the ARC, ARC+ and Caribbean 1500), to share their top safety tips for offshore passage making. Together they came up with some excellent safety tips in a number of areas for those that plan to go sailing offshore. Find advice on sailing experience needed, vessel choice, top safety equipment to have onboard, pre-departure safety checks, choosing a weather window, safety underway and dealing with emergencies on passage. Read the article here: Top Tips for Offshore Sailing Safetyβ β Gear ReviewOne of the more obvious things you can do when going sailing on a boat is to wear a life jacket incase you fall overboard. It will greatly incase your chances of staying afloat and being rescued. This week, Baltic have very kindly shared a number of links that are crammed full of information to do with life jackets (after all, life jackets and safety products are their speciality!) βHow to choose a life jacketβ βSafety Tipsβ βBaltic Environmental Initiative with more information here tooβ βUnderstanding the art of layering 24/7 365 days a yearβ β We have personally had experience of using two different Baltic life jackets with our daughter from when she was as young as 3 months old! The Bambi life jacket is for very young children and fits kids from 3-12kg. You can see just how much Erin has grown between when the two pictures were taken and it still fitted her. π β β β β β β β β β β Once Erin had outgrown the Bambi, we upgraded her to this style. I can't find exactly the same one on the website but the most similar style looks to be the Skipper life jacket (I think the name of the jacket is a good fit. π) β What life jackets do you use when sailing? If you use one of Baltic's life jackets, tag them on Instagram @balticlifejackets - they love seeing their products being used! β Epic Cruising MemoriesRemember how I said almost everything that happens at sea is your fault? We have a 'fun' story about our arrival in France after we crossed the English channel in July 2020... β Winter 2019/20 was spent at Falmouth Marina in Cornwall, UK.
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As well as all the usual jobs and maintenance that we did during our time attached to the dock, we also had a baby, oh, and covid took over the world!
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Safe to say, it wasn't a typical winter season.
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However, we planned to head south as soon as we could and spent time getting our boat ready accordingly.
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July 2020. It was time to go! The world was opening up again after all the lockdowns. We got an extra crew member onboard to help out and turned our bow southwards.
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We had plenty of wind to get us across the channel (I wasn't able to help out - Erin wouldn't let me go and I was trapped down below being incredibly sea sick π€’ no sea sickness tablets allowed when you're feeding a baby still π«).
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Apart from that, it was an uneventful passage and we reached the shores of Brittany. We decided to stop off and anchor just before Brest so we could have a breather.
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Anchoring is something we're very familiar with and we've had a lot of practise doing it. So, we started up our usual routine while heading to our chosen spot.
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We were motoring along, everything looking good. Dave slowed down and put the engine into neutral and then reverse.
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Nothing happened.
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He tried again. Still nothing so he put it into forwards again.
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Nothing. π³
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We couldn't understand it. It had literally JUST been working and powering us forwards. The engine was still running but it just wasn't engaging.
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We had been motoring directly into the wind towards the bay we had been aiming for but with no forward motion from the engine, we were now drifting.
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We still had the sails available to us, but because the wind was on the nose, try as we might, we just couldn't get into the bay. There was land behind us that we really didn't want to get blown towards and be unable to sail away from or have to anchor on a lee-shore. We were getting worried.
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The next thing we knew we had a helicopter buzzing right overhead telling us to move.
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We thought they'd come to help us but they were telling us to move out of the way as there was a submarine trying to surface in the area! π³
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We ended up calling for help on the radio as we needed to get into port to find out what the problem was with the engine and the Douane (French customs) came out towards us and offered us a tow into port.
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Believe me when I say we tried our hardest to not have to have a tow but the area was, on the whole, unfamiliar to us.
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We had visited Camaret-sur-Mer a couple of years previously and remember there being a very strong current where the headland stuck out on the way towards Brest that we didn't want to go through without an engine.
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So, we agreed. We would be assisted into port.
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Some of the Douane crew jumped onboard and helped to sail us into Brest while we also had their rib alongside to tow and assist. They tried to work out the problem en route but couldn't see what was wrong. We also had all our paperwork checked too on the way!
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Immediately upon our arrival, I was marched to the cashpoint. The assistance into port cost us an eyewatering ~β¬600. What a great start to our trip. π©
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Once we were safely tied up a the marina, we got to work identifying the problem so we could fix it.
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Somehow the Douane had missed the sheared off bolts that were now sat at the bottom of the engine bay. After a quick look we realised that our drive shaft was no longer connected to the engine! No wonder the propellor wasn't turning!!
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Long story short, we managed to get it fixed and added checking prop shaft coupling bolts and making sure they're super tight to our pre-sail checklist!!!
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Who knew they could shear off?! π³π
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Now you do - add them to your checklist too!
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I don't even want to think about having to have tried to fix this while we were out sailing π³. We were very lucky we were close to shore when it happened and could access help to get us back to port safely.
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Robyn Hawkins - @sailing.mutiny and @families.afloatβ
β β β Tell me your Epic Cruising Memories! Good or bad, we want to hear! Email submissions@familiesafloat.co.uk with the subject 'Epic Cruising Memories' or send them to us on Instagram @families.afloat and you could be featured right here! β Galley Recipe of the WeekCooking in a galley can be challenging enough while you're tied up to the dock as they are generally very small spaces with limited equipment onboard. Add in trying to cook while out sailing and it's a whole different ball game! Everything moves constantly. Nothing stays where you leave it. Keep that in mind, ESPECIALLY when you're dealing with knives!! Drawers can fly open unless they're locked shut. Everything rattles inside the cupboards (unless you stuff random tea-towels in there to stop it all from moving around!) β If you plan ahead with your meals to make them as straightforward and easy as possible, especially for the first few days of a passage when everyone is still getting their sea legs, then you can rock your galley game! Some passages are better than others. It all depends on the sea state and conditions while you're out there. We've had countless passages when it's been snacks grabbed out the cupboard or random bits and pieces lobbed in a bowl to get out the galley as fast as possible but other times, I've been able to bake! β This week, Behan from Sailing Totem has kindly allowed us to share her blog post where she wrote about the passage meals her family ate while sailing from Namibia to St Helena across the South Atlantic Ocean. It's a pretty impressive menu! Check it out here: Passage Meals: What We're Eating at Sea. β What do you think? What do you eat on passage? Why don't you let Behan @sailingtotem know on Instagram how impressive their menu is! β Sailing Cruisers TipsWho better to learn from than those who are doing it already?! This is an excellent tip to follow when you're out on passage whether it's day or night. β "Nobody leaves the cockpit unless someone is watching them."
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Kate & Iain - @followintrepidbearβ
β Kate and Iain sailed from the UK in 2021 down to the Algarve in Portugal before heading into the Mediterranean Sea which they are now enjoying while living aboard their Najad 391 - 'Intrepid Bear'. β Do you have a really useful tip you'd like to share? Email submissions@familiesafloat.co.uk with the subject 'Sailing Cruisers Tips' or send them to us on Instagram @families.afloat and you could be featured right here! β YouTube Video of the WeekThis newsletter, my video of the week on YouTube is 'Our OFFSHORE Medical Kit' by Sailing SV Delos. It's Part 1 of a 4 part Safety Series they have shared on YouTube. All of them are well worth a watch! The reasons I've chosen it are...
Go and check it out! β β Have you watched a really good video this week? Email submissions@familiesafloat.co.uk with the subject 'Video of the Week' or tell us about it on Instagram @families.afloat and you could help your fellow cruisers find some epic content on YouTube. β Pets CornerOur furry friends are most definitely part of the family. Each week, we'll share a picture of our favourite boat dog or cat (though we're not limited to those - show us what other animals you have onboard!) This week it's Freddy who lives on a Westerly Sealord with @lauren_thesailorspath. Isn't he cute! π₯° Lauren says: Freddy is Jack Russell cross and is 5 years old. He has lived on a boat his whole life - heβs currently 3/4 of the way through a UK circumnavigation. Heβs climbed mountains and sailed with dolphins but most of all he just loves to play fetch! Want your salty seadog (or cat, or other pet!) to be featured in the newsletter?! Tag us on social media @families.afloat or send us an email at submissions@familiesafloat.co.uk with the subject 'Pets Corner'. Make sure you include a funny fact about your furry friend! β Cruisers Confession of the WeekSometimes things don't go quite the way we planned... Each week we'll share an embarrassing moment submitted by your fellow cruisers so we can learn from their mistakes (and probably have a giggle in the process!) β "When Sienna was three she often told Simon to, βGo faster! Go faster!β when in the dinghy.
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One time Simon went fast and the outboard jerked in a strange way (of which it has never happened again).
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Needless to say, Sienna was launched out of the dinghy.
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Simon immediately dove in, the engine cut due to the kill-cord pulling out, and grabbed Sienna quickly.
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She was wearing a lifejacket.
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For at least a year afterwards Sienna would say, βGo slowly! Go slowly!"
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Kim Brown - @sailingbriticanβ
β What's the worst thing that's happened to you onboard?! Send us a PM on social media @families.afloat or an email at submissions@familiesafloat.co.uk with the subject 'Cruiser Confessions' for your chance to be featured in a future newsletter. Your oops moment can be shared anonomously or you can put your name to it - it's completely up to you! β Bilge BanterComplete the following (and get as inventive as you want!!!) β You hear another sailor calling a Mayday!
You should _____________________________
β Send your ideas to bilgebanter@familiesafloat.co.uk! The best answer/s will be featured next week. π β Puzzle CornerIt's time to get your thinking caps on. Can you solve our nautical themed puzzle?! β Find out in the newsletter next week if you're right. β Last Week's Puzzle - Answer The answer to the puzzle last week was... "The sailors had their backs against either ends of the ship." β Competition TimeLAST CHANCE TO ENTER THIS COMPETITION! Each month we will partner up with a company to provide an awesome nautical themed prize. This month we have teamed up with Red Panda Publishing. They have very kindly offered one of our readers the prize of one of their nautical Boat Log Books. Visit Red Panda Publishing's author page on Amazon to see the range of cover designs for each of the log books. UK | USAβ β "Since we first set sail, we realised we needed a log book or two to record our adventure how we wanted it to be recorded. There wasn't anything on the market that met my requirements AND the covers were all boring!
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So, I decided to make my own. ββThe very first book I designed from scratch and published was the Sailing Travel Journal. βThe further we travelled, the more sailors we met along the way. Talking to them allowed me to see what others wanted to record and remember about their journeys too. βββ
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The Personal Log Book was created just over a year later, closely followed by the Boat Maintenance Log Book to help keeping on top of boat jobs that much easier. βββ
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Lastly, the Sailing Log Book was published after we had a few more miles under our keel and realised the ones on the market just didn't cut it. β
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βI hope the eye-catching designs and well thought out pages can help sailors record their voyages as they explore our world and sail across the globe." βββ
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Red Panda Publishing - @redpandapublishingβ
β Brand: Red Panda Publishing Prize: Choice of Sailing Log Book (Personal Log Book, Sailing Log Book, Boat Maintenance Log Book or Sailing Travel Journal) Retail value: Up to USD $17.95 / GBP Β£14.95 Giveaway open to: Worldwide - as long as Amazon can deliver to you, you are eligible! (The hardback version of some of the titles aren't available in all countries). This competition will run: During February 2023 and the winner will be chosen and announced in March 2023. β
***If you are a brand or company that is interested in giving away a quality sailing or travel product or gift voucher, please contact us directly at competitions@familiesafloat.co.uk.*** β Really Useful WebsitesEach week we'll share some of our favourite sailing related websites that we have found super helpful and/or found ourselves revisting time and time again. Staying with the 'Safety at Sea' theme we have for this week, we have... β RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea. They provide lifeboats, a seasonal lifeguard service, coastal safety, and research and education programmes. The brave crews risk their lives on a daily basis to help save those that are having difficulty in the water and are on call 24/7, 365 days a year. They majority of those that work for the RNLI are volunteers. Their website is crammed full of useful information with regards to staying safe around the water, for everyone, not just for sailors (they do have a section dedicated to sailors and motorboaters - link below). Although this is a British charity, the information they share is valid worldwide so it is well worth taking a look and having a read. βhttps://rnli.orgβ βhttps://rnli.org/safety/choose-your-activity/yacht-sailing-and-motorboatingβ βhttps://rnli.org/support-usβ β An interesting read from one of their old magazine articles... βLifeboat Services Around the Worldβ β RYA (Royal Yachting Association) The RYA encourage more people to get out on the water but to do so safely. They provide a variety of courses to help people gain experience and confidence out on the water (not just for sailors!) They have training centres in 58 countries and the qualifications you can earn are recognised worldwide. They have a load of safety advice available to view on their website covering a wide range of subjects. I highly recommend a read. βhttps://www.rya.org.ukβ βhttps://www.rya.org.uk/knowledge/safetyβ β What websites do you find yourself going back to time and time again? Let us know. Send us a PM on social media @families.afloat or an email at submissions@familiesafloat.co.uk with the subject 'Useful Websites'. β Have You Found This Newsletter Helpful?Have you found this weeks newsletter helpful? Do you know anyone else who would benefit from reading it? Please forward this newsletter to them and recommend that they subscribe so they don't miss any future emails from us! You can subscribe here!β By doing this, you are helping our community grow. The more of us there are, the better this newletter will become! β Join Us on Social Media β Items I Think You'll Find Really UsefulDo you have any log books to record your sailing journey? I've designed and published a range of sailing log books using all the knowledge and experience I've gained over the past five years. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases - the following links are paid links. The price of the products are exactly the same as if you'd found them yourself on Amazon. If you click on them and go onto purchase, Amazon will pay us a small commision which helps us out with the running costs of producing this newsletter at no cost to you. β PERSONAL LOG BOOK For the sailor who likes to sail on a variety of boats, for those working towards qualifications, for those that like to keep track of facts and figures - this one is for you! βAmazon UK | Amazon USAβ Search for "Red Panda Publishing - Personal Log Book" β SAILING LOG BOOK This one is for those of you that enjoy tracking your voyages in much greater detail. It's got space to note down all the important facts and figures in columns and rows like a traditional sailing log book but you can tweak it to suit your needs using the empty columns left for this purpose. βAmazon UK | Amazon USAβ Search for "Red Panda Publishing - Sailing Log Book" β BOAT MAINTENANCE LOG BOOK For your pride and joy - your boat! This one has been designed to stay with one vessel. Keep on top of all the jobs and maintenance that are essential onboard to make sure your yacht is kept in tip top condition. βAmazon UK | Amazon USAβ Search for "Red Panda Publishing - Boat Maintenance Log Book" β SAILING TRAVEL JOURNAL A cross between a diary and a log book. Keep an overview of your sails and the destinations you visit. Note down the facilities everywhere you go (I got SO excited when I came across a good shower at a marina when we first left π) using a pre-printed checklist yet still have space for writing all those important details of what you saw, what you ate, who you met etc. βAmazon UK | Amazon USAβ Search for "Red Panda Publishing - Sailing Travel Journal" β FAMILY LIFE AT SEA A collection of interviews with eleven sailing mums to inspire anyone who is thinking about sailing with their family. It's totally doable (although will require a few changes here and there!) There are some very funny anecdotes in here and a wide range of experiences. βAmazon UK | Amazon USAβ Search "Red Panda Publishing - Family Life at Sea" β Enjoyed Families Afloat?βFind out how you can support us here so we can keep sharing Families Afloat with you all each week. π₯° β Thanks for joining us! I really hope you enjoyed reading this week's edition of 'Families Afloat'. Hope to see you again next week. In the meantime, fair winds and following seas! Robyn, Dave, Erin and Scrappy β Experiment
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113 Cherry St #92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2205 |
Families Afloat | Sail Away Together
by Robyn, Dave, Erin, and Scrappy
Hi! We spent five years living aboard and sailing on a couple of sailboats (34ft then 42ft). We began our journey as a family of 3 on the east coast of the UK in 2017 and sailed across the North Sea to Northern Europe. After a couple of years exploring the continent, Jersey in Channel Islands, the Isles of Scilly, the south coast of the UK, and having a baby(!) - we set sail south down the Atlantic coast from Cornwall, UK and sailed down to southern Portugal when Erin was only 8 months old. We have PLENTY of tales to tell! Now we're ready to share our experiences and all the knowledge we picked up to help other families get out on the water sailing. Come join us!
Hey Reader, I hope you've had a great week. Did you see my email last weekend where I told you I'd just relaunched Families Afloat as a brand new website?! Visit Families Afloat by clicking the image above or the links in the email Have you had a chance to check it out yet?! I'd love to hear what you think of the new (and IMO very much improved design! Let's be honest, the last website was a bit crap...! π) It's still early days for it but I'm adding new posts to it as often as I can. What...
Hi Reader, Iβm back!!! Itβs been a while since I emailed and a LOT has happened since then! Weβve moved back to the UK from Portugal and are in the process of trying to resettle into βnormal lifeβ. The bottom line is that itβs not going very well - moving back in the middle of winter probably wasnβt our smartest move! π Weβre missing boat life like crazy and have started boat hunting again π. The other thing Iβve been doing which has taken up a LOT of time is redesigning Families Afloat from...
Hi Reader, Welcome to the MAY edition of 'Families Afloat'! The monthly newsletter full of inspiration, stories and invaluable information for sailing families. If you want to have a catch up of our previous newsletters, you can find them here: NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE. This week's topic is what cruising is really all about... Fixing your boat in foreign countries! π I'm pretty sure that almost every cruiser we've met has had to fix their boat abroad at some point in their journey, if they haven't,...