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!
SAILING WITH YOUNG CHILDREN SPECIAL! πΆπ» Thinking about sailing with your children (aged 0-4) β΅οΈ Don't miss this week! #4
Hi Reader, Welcome to the 4th 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). This week we're focusing on sailing with really young children (aged 0-4). Not all areas of the newsletter are purely about that but that's the theme that has guided me in my selection of things to share this week. We have a new topic every single week so there is something for everyone. If you know someone that will find this newletter useful, please forward it to them so they can benefit! π β What You Should Be Thinking About This Week'Everything You'll Need To Go Sailing With a Baby' In February/March 2019 when we got pregnant with our daughter we were living on a 1974 Dufour 34 (10m) sailboat in a marina in Cornwall, UK. As is probably normal when you get pregnant, I hit the internet and started Googling! I had so many questions about just about everything. The problem was, all the information was geared towards people that live on land in a house. There wasn't really anything available for people living on a boat and being pregnant! So, I read and read and worked out what was relevant and what really wasn't. I put together a guide for other sailing families on what you do and don't need for having a baby on a boat and also being able to go sailing with them. It's called 'Everything You'll Need To Go Sailing With a Baby'. 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. This week we are touring Rianne & Gerben's Beneteau 57 called 'Perfect Sense'. They live aboard with their little boy Benjamin. They have also just had a little sister for Benjamin called Eleanora. Perfect Sense looks like a beautiful family sailing yacht and a great size for all those adventures! β β If you enjoyed watching that, why don't you follow them on YouTube or pay them a visit on Instagram? β Do you have a family sailing yacht boat tour you'd like to share? It can either be your own boat or one you've found on YouTube! Let us know here.β β Sailing Tip of the WeekThere is always something new to learn on a boat. Each week we'll uncover a new skill. This week it's all about sailing with very young children! Spinsheet have put together an article called 'Sailing With Your Infant: 5 Tips for Getting Out on the Water'. It covers some great tips that aren't covered in the article I shared earlier so is well worth a few minutes of your time to read. Head over to go and have a read. β Gear ReviewI was thinking, what has been the most useful piece of equipment that we bought to use with Erin onboard...? A life jacket is an obvious choice but I've already shared the ones we used with Erin in last weeks newsletter along with some really useful tips from the manufacturer: read it here if you missed it.β β Another thing that we bought that we ended up using MULTIPLE times a day (and still do now even though we are currently on land!) was the Chicco Pocket Snack Children's Booster Seat that we used as a high chair for her onboard. Most people on boats are short of space - floor space especially - we certainly were! So we had to think outside the box for where to put Erin at mealtimes. Option 1 was to get a chair that could be attached to the table but we had a folding table with a big lip on so that wasn't going to work for us. Option 2 was to get a portable, folding chair that could be put away when not in use. We went with the second choice and found the Chicco Pocket Snack Children's Booster Seat. It was absolutely perfect and we've had so much use out of it. It's still in pretty much perfect condition (apart from the straps being a bit grubby because... kids and food lol) and it's been used SO much and in so many places. Because it's foldable it makes it really easy to transport around with you. We've not only used it onboard, we've taken it out to multiple restaurants with us when we weren't sure if they'd have a child seat or not and are now using it in our apartment while we have a break on land. It can be attached to chairs really easily with the straps that come with it to make sure it's secure or it can also be used on the ground without being attached. (Just be aware that it can become a game when they realise if they throw their weight sideways then they fall over. π) Erin's been using hers since she grew out of her Bumbo seat and is still using it now at over three years old! It's grown with her really well as the table that comes with it has three adjustable positions and you can lengthen the straps that keep her in place on the seat too. The best part is the price - it's amazingly cheap for what it is and the value you get out of it! π (Anyone that knows me knows I like to get the best value for my money. π) β If you're in need of somewhere to sit your little one on your boat (or even on land as an alternative to a normal high chair) then I highly recommend the Chicco Pocket Snack Children's Booster Seat. Find it on Amazon UK | Amazon USAβ β β As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases - the links above 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. π β Sailing & Cruising TipsWho better to learn from than those who are doing it already?! β "Find your cruiser tribe - you'll be happier if you have understanding friends and help!"
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Leah Kruger - @leah_withbrioβ
β Leah & Jonathan live aboard their 1989 Sabre 42, βBrio IIβ, with their son Zephyr. After falling in love whilst living on opposite coasts, they decided to buy a sailboat together in 2011 βsomewhere in the middleβ. They spent time cruising Pacific Mexico and Central America before transiting the Panama Canal, sailing through the Western Caribbean and up to Maine, USA, where Zephyr was born a few years later. β Do you have a really useful tip you'd like to share? Let us know here.β 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 Morty (the corgi) and Gerry & Charlie (the parrots) from Sailing Yacht Wisdom (@riggingdoctor). Home is on a 1969 Morgan 45 called Wisdom and they're currently based in Chesapeake Bay. Gerry and Charlie are free to roam around onboard which I love! Make sure you check out their Instagram page - there are some epic pictures of these three including one of Gerry walking the plank with a little pirate neckerchief! π β Want your salty seadog (or cat, or other pet!) to be featured in the newsletter?! Let us know here.β β Cruiser 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 "We left Maine with a 6-month old... it was November π₯Ά so we bought a 12v pet heating pad for his bed! πΆ"
Leah Kruger - @leah_withbrioβ
β What's the worst thing that's happened to you onboard?! Let us know here. 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 A teacher at one of the island schools asks you for a donation. You give them ________________________. β βSubmit your answers here.β β Puzzle CornerIt's time to get your thinking caps on. Can you solve our nautical themed puzzle?! This week it's a CRYPTOGRAM! 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 name of the ship is What. If you look at the third statement, it says. βWhat is the name of the ship.β It is a statement, not a question. Did you get it?! β β Competition TimeEach month we will partner up with a company to provide an awesome nautical themed prize. This month we have teamed up with Kim from Sailing Britican. She has very kindly offered one of our readers the prize of enrollment on her online Boat Safety Course (complete with personalisable Manual for your boat) worth $347! β To find out more about it (and enter!), please visit our competitions page - just click the big orange button below! β
Brand: Sailing Britican Prize: Enrollment on their Boat Safety Course and Manual (online) Retail value: $347 Giveaway open to: Entrants worldwide aged 18+ This competition will run: During March 2023 and the winner will be chosen and announced in April 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 leave your details here.*** 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. β JimBSail JimBSail is a cruising guide for European coastlines. It is a MUST visit for anyone that is cruising around Europe or planning to. It contains SO much information about the coastline of Europe and all its ports. Each section has been divided up for easier navigation and then divided again within the posts. For example: Tidal Europe Β» Biscay to Gibraltar Β» Cruising Biscay Ports, North Spain, E to W. The 'Cruising Biscay Ports, North Spain, E to W' page then goes into detail on its climate; the best seasons to sail; hazards, yacht and crew support; people, politics, and fun. After a brief comment on each of the above sections, it then goes on to show a picture of all the various ports along the coast and rates them along with a short description. We got so much value out of this site while we were planning our journey down the coast from the UK to Portugal and also during our voyage too. I highly recommend visiting the website if you are thinking about visiting the UK and Europe or if you are already here. βhttps://www.jimbsail.infoβ β Tom Dove Sail Calculator We used the Tom Dove sail calculator when we were looking at boats to buy as it gives an easy way to work out boat speed, motion comfort and capsize ratio by inputting the specifications of a boat. By generating these figures, we were then able to compare our shortlist of boats to see which would be the most comfortable (on paper), which had the best capsize ratio (I'm all about safety!), and also what we could expect our speed to be through the water to help us work out passage times. Unless you are able to go out for a test sail on every boat you are looking at, it's worth taking the time to see what the on paper figures are so you can have a rough idea in your head of what to expect from a boat. For example, here are the sets of figures for our two boats to compare. See the difference in hull speed, motion comfort and capsize ratio (lower is better for capsize ratio)... I can confirm that the HR42E was definitely faster and more comfortable than our Dufour out at sea too! What figures do you come up with for your boat / boats you're looking at? βhttps://www.tomdove.com/sailcalc/sailcalc.htmlβ β What websites do you find yourself going back to time and time again? Tell us about them here.β 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!) 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 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 and Dave β Experiment
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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,...