# how to sail with 1 year old? safty matters...



## Elin Avrunin (Mar 26, 2016)

hello all! im new here and need your advice!
Our family planing to sail this august @Spain (Ibiza+majorca+mallorca) with my sweet baby that will turn 1 year old.
we are sailing at "Bavaria 42".
i would love your advice about how to protect him while sailing- sleepin and cet. 
gussing that till then he would do a little walking and crowlling over pillos and stuff so im wondering which berrier can i make at the bad?
also, do i need to bring with me car seat? what's the rools of baby travelling in cabs at this part of europe?
*would love to hear every idea/ suggestions/ insight!*
10x a lot from baby Lavie & I


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## Erindipity (Nov 29, 2014)

The use of the English Language here is appalling, but the question is valid.

The Littlest, when aboveboard on Boats, need to be tethered to whatever or whomever is immediately available.
A low Freeboard aft makes it easier to scoop them out, when they go over and under, but this shouldn't happen.

Life Preservers and aft Boarding Ladders may find some eventual use here, during retrieval. But this shouldn't happen as well.

Tethers. Harnesses. When at Sea, things Can Happen to the Littlest Leftalones. So don't allow these things to Happen.

(This concept also works for those who consider themselves Grown-Up, as well.)

¬Erindipity


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## T37Chef (Oct 9, 2006)

This topic has been covered numerous times... try searching Cruising and Sailing with Children - SailNet Community

Tether and harness, car seats, and pack n plays are your friend. Of course a proper PFD


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## TomMaine (Dec 21, 2010)

Elin Avrunin said:


> hello all! im new here and need your advice!
> Our family planing to sail this august @Spain (Ibiza+majorca+mallorca) with my sweet baby that will turn 1 year old.
> we are sailing at "Bavaria 42".
> i would love your advice about how to protect him while sailing- sleepin and cet.
> ...


Hi Elin. If English is your second language, yours is quite good! 
We sailed with babies. At one year old, we used a typical baby carrier which the baby mostly sleeps in.

It was like a basket with a handle. And it doubled as a car seat with the baby strapped in the carrier and the carrier secured to the seat belt. That works well getting the baby on and off the boat and gives a good place to nap in the cockpit or cabin.

At about 1 to 2 years old, we used the Vee berth as a secure place to sleep during the day. In our case, I put together a frame with nylon screening (doubled up for strength) in it that closed off the Vee berth. You may have another berth on the Bavaria that could serve. The screen allowed us to keep an eye on the baby at all times. Ours loved the motion in the Veeberth.

As they got a little bigger and were walking, secure lee cloths in pilot or settee berths worked great. These formed safe play areas even in rough conditions. A safe place in a boat underway, where bumps and bruises are minimal, is tough to find.

Another favorite of ours was a secure seat that could be clamped to our table. Belted into the chair, they would spend a lot of time there, eating, and watching the fascinating sights of a moving sailboat.










A one year old that isn't sleeping requires a persons full attendance on a sailboat. That person (watching the baby) shouldn't be expected to do anything else.

Once they begin to walk, they simply have to have a correctly sized PFD on at all times above decks. And for us, they never left the cockpit under sail or at anchor, unattended. Never. Don't trust netting.

Cabs anywhere I think would be fine with a suitable baby carrier - seat.

The best thing we ever did with our babies was take them sailing, immediately.


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## paulk (Jun 2, 2000)

We took our 1 -year old on a self-drive canalboat cruise in France and had the same issues. She learned to walk about two weeks before we flew over. A harness and tether (a leash for us to hold, really) enabled her to walk around on deck grabbing whatever she needed to hold on to. A tiny lifejacket provided more reassurance for us. We took an adjustable barrier gate with us so we could block off passages as needed down below. You could also use one of those or keep her in the cockpit by blocking the companionway hatch. We also took lots and lots of disposable diapers. This was an unnecessary hassle. The tiniest towns we went through - the ones with just one café and a post office - would have three different brands of disposable diapers piled high for sale at the sole general store.

P.S. I wonder how bad our "English" would be if our spellchecks were set to something like Portuguese.


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## Scotty C-M (Aug 14, 2013)

Elen, a +1 to what Tom said (post #4). We raised 3 children sailing quite bit (not living aboard). It worked out fine for us. When they were small, my wife was pretty much on watch of the kids all the time. Safe spaces down below and tethered on while underway if they were on deck while they were toddlers - and always in rough weather.


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## pdqaltair (Nov 14, 2008)

Erindipity said:


> The use of the English Language here is appalling, but the question is valid.
> 
> The Littlest, when aboveboard on Boats, need to be tethered to whatever or whomever is immediately available.
> A low Freeboard aft makes it easier to scoop them out, when they go over and under, but this shouldn't happen.
> ...


a. How is your Spanish?

b. Language, boat, freeboard, boarding, ladders, leftalones, sea, can, happen and grown-up are not capitalized. Littlest is non-standard English and probably poor usage. Aboveboard is vague and could mean outside the cabin, but could also mean one deck. Leftalones is not a word. "So don't..." is a sentence fragment. Tethered to whatever is available is careless wording; there are some terrible choices available. Basically, there are no more than a few words separating serious errors in the above post.


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## SailingJoanne (May 5, 2016)

TomMaine said:


> Hi Elin. If English is your second language, yours is quite good!
> We sailed with babies. At one year old, we used a typical baby carrier which the baby mostly sleeps in.
> 
> It was like a basket with a handle. And it doubled as a car seat with the baby strapped in the carrier and the carrier secured to the seat belt. That works well getting the baby on and off the boat and gives a good place to nap in the cockpit or cabin.
> ...


Useful tips there! I agree.:svoilier:


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