TOP 4 TIPS FOR CRUISING WITH KIDS

TIPS FOR CRUISING WITH KIDS

Christine Myers on Delos, a 53-foot Amel ketch, has been cruising with Stephan Regulinski and their son and two daughters for five years, covering four continents and 40,000 miles (Figure 1-2). When they left in 2000, Drew was 13; James, 10; and Avery, 8. They began their adventure in the Mediterranean, cruising Turkey, Europe, the British Isles, Scandinavia, the Canaries, and West Africa, then the Caribbean and Panama, and finally the Galåpagos, Polynesia, and New Zealand.

The crew of Delos (left to right): James (15), Stephan, Drew (18), Christine, and Avery (13). (Kelcey Chandler photo)
Four issues have been critical in making cruising with her children a success. These include homeschooling, socialization, health and safety, and teamwork Christine put together the following thoughts to help adventurous parents who follow in her wake.

Homeschooling 

The first question all over the world has been "What about school?" The idea of homeschooling can be daunting when planning a cruise. Few of us are teachers, and parental attitudes range from it being a necessary evil to an opportunity to explore the world together.
For younger children, the challenge is to teach them reading and basic skills. Some parents wait until the children are able to read, and can entertain themselves during passages, before setting off. Kids of primary and middle school age usually need several hours a day of intensive school time, which includes answering questions, working on time management skills ("no snorkeling until the week's work is finished"), supplying resources for research, and satisfying insatiable curiosity. When your crew is in high school, your concerns are whether they are being sufficiently prepared for college and where to find help for subjects in which the parents are weak. Often you can arrange tutoring exchanges when wintering or waiting out the cyclone season.
When I asked George Day, publisher of Blue Water Sailing, about cruising with kids, he replied, "If you have a difficult kid on land, you'll have a difficult kid on the boat; if you have an easy kid on land, you'll have an easy kid on the boat." As far as personalities are concerned, I agree, but school performance has been less predictable. The transition to homeschooling can take six months, which is approximately how long it took us to adjust to family cruising. If possible, get the children used to one new environment before introducing the other.
These suggestions will help make boat-schooling a success:
• Pick an appropriate curriculum. To find a curriculum you are comfortable with, attend a homeschooling conference, where vendors demonstrate texts, enrichment tools and techniques, and a wide range of distance-learning options. Talk to your kids' teachers about what issues you can anticipate in their learning trajectory. If you have a firm end date, be aware of the environment they will return to and plan accordingly. Calvert, the traditional cruiser's school, ends at eighth grade and may not provide the breadth or creativity many modern kids crave. Several correspondence schools, such as Oak Meadow and Laurel Springs, offer Internet- or text-based options through secondary school. Sonlight Curriculum offers a Christian elementary option. The Universities of Nebraska, Texas, Missouri, and California, among others, provide a challenging secondary curriculum for general education or college preparation. Whatever the choice, one conclusion is certain: your child will not be behind in school when you return (no matter what the anti-cruising in-laws predict). Boat kids who transition to a land high school or college use the resilience and flexibility that they learned while cruising to rise to the new challenge.
• Share the teaching load. Too often, the mom ends up burdened with all the teaching responsibilities, which contributes to female cruiser burnout. Parents need to teach to their strengths or at least divide the work fairly. On Delos, I supervise social studies, English, and Spanish; Stephan does math and science.
• Adapt schooling to the realities of cruising. Schooling is traditionally carried out in the morning, with swimming and exploring done in the afternoon. Field trips are the soul of family cruising. Whether Näsiting Ephesus, discovering a pearl farm or participating in Carnaval, you can incorporate your milieu into writing assignments that enrich your lessons. During physical education, the whole family might hike, swim, snorkel, or windsurf. Create a system that suits the style of your boat. Our friends on Gambit use a credit system; every five days of work completed earns the child two days off, to be "spent" on interesting activities like scuba diving or goofing off when other kid boats are around. Other parents work on a six- or seven-day system. For some kids, passages are a great time to catch up on work; for others, especially older kids standing watches or those prone to seasickness, reading and writing will be problematic while underway. For passages, try books on tape or CD. or Audible's iPod downloads.

• Bring lots of good books. Books are precious possessions for most cruising kids. Stock lots of good ones that can be reread or traded and worry about the waterline later. Invest in high-quality reference books, such as The Usborne Book of World History, The Usborne Illustrated Dictionary of Science, and the World Almanac for Kids, and buy books such as the Smithsonian guides for any special interests your kids have. In port, use local libraries. At least a few books in English can be located anywhere. When you are finished with books, you can enrich the life of an island child by passing them on. 

• Share the knowledge. Some of our friends have organized able seaman classes. Other crews have set up an orienteering course or taught jewelry making and traditional crafts. Be generous in sharing your knowledge with other people's kids you can teach anything from bread baking to fiberglassing to guitar—and trust other cruisers to do the same. 

• Enroll the kids in local schools. Parents on kid boats regularly enroll their children in local schools, more for the social-cultural experience or language facility than for education. It's often not difficult to arrange and offers a pleasant respite from home-schooling. Don't worry about kids falling behind. Drew is still friends with kids from her school in Spain in addition to being fluent in Spanish.

Social Life 

Social issues become crucial as kids get older when they begin to play a huge role in decisions about where to cruise and with whom. Depending on the child and his or her social needs, that can mean anywhere from ages 6 to 11. While there are opportunities to interact with local kids and play with visiting friends and family, the nexus of social life will be other cruising kids. Their age is nearly irrelevant; it's the fact that they are not adults that counts. 

The golden rule of social life is men you find a compatible kid boat, be willing to jettison your plans and spend time together. 

Yes, you are cruising for family time together, but in the interest of sanity, be flexible and creative. The original cruising plan is only the idea that gets you out there. Making the cruise work is about recognizing the needs of all concerned parties and embracing spontaneity. Though we will not promise any visitor that we will be in port to meet them, we will brave gales to make a kid's birthday party.

Finding other kid boats is worthwhile work Keep checking in on the marine nets and the Internet. Track cruising families via the Noonsite family page, Seven Seas Cruising Association (SSCA) letters, and by asking at marinas. Check-in with rally organizers to see who's on the roster. When you do find kid boats, exchange e-mail addresses and keep in touch. 

Cruising on a buddy boat for a day or a week makes the most of limited time v€ith friends, with the bonus that they do more schoolwork on other boats than they do at home. Visits from cousins and friends are a wonderful way to share your lifestyle, keep up important relationships, and get that all-important social time. A kids' radio net during passages will let everyone stay in touch on a transoceanic voyage. Riddles, contests, stories, and complaints are all welcome during a special time for junior crew that gets them comfortable with the radio while improving morale.

Health and Safety 

You can recognize a boat with dogs or toddlers by the netting around the guardrail. Cruising with little ones takes patience and vigilance. As they grow, safety issues are more about horsing around on deck, on land, or in the water. When we are underway, our kids are tethered on deck and during watching, and we use good sense elsewhere. Their health is usually much better than on land, as they aren't in contact with as many germs and generally are living a healthy lifestyle. We haven't encountered exotic illnesses or life-threatening injuries, and our medical chest is overstocked for our worst health crises: tonsillitis, cuts that needed stitches, and a close encounter with a sea urchin. Still, we keep track of boats with doctors on board for radio advice, just in case.

Teamwork 

The transition to cruising is bumpy, with moments of despair as well as elation. So it's like life was before, with a change of venue. V%at's different? For one thing, the maid is permanently off duty. Our teens placed a hotel sign on their cabin door: Please have this room made up as soon as possible. They're still waiting after five years at sea. Stowage and strewage are ongoing issues, both in terms of comfort and safety. Rules are the same as on land. Make the rules together and hope for the best. 

The crew needs to be a team, which means that everyone contributes according to his or her abilities. One of my best time investments was ensuring that all the kids learned to cook Yes, it's more efficient to do it yourself, and you may sit through a few bad meals, but it's worth it. Kids who aren't old enough to stand watches are proud to contribute on a passage by feeding the crew, even if it's by cutting up fruit or heating an already prepared meal. And while you moms are at it, make sure dad learns, too.

The crew needs to be a team, which means that everyone contributes according to his or her abilities. One of my best time investments was ensuring that all the kids learned to cook Yes, it's more efficient to do it yourself, and you may sit through a few bad meals, but it's worth it. Kids who aren't old enough to stand watches are proud to contribute on a passage by feeding the crew, even if it's by cutting up fruit or heating an already prepared meal. And while you moms are at it, make sure dad learns, too. 

Living in close quarters magnifies issues of personal space and time. There isn't room to nurse hurts or grudges, or space to sulk, so you have to cope. Siblings who may not have spent a lot of time together have to learn mutual respect and to share space. Respecting a parent as captain is important, but so is respecting the crew. Barking orders when you're stressed doesn't necessarily teach what you would wish your kids to learn. You will need to explain why and how and keep your sense of humor. Some day your patience will be rewarded with a crew that can Med moor to make the yacht club proud or weather a nasty storm and still be able to dance on deck. Remember: It's not about about