TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Chartering with a baby!

All, looking for some advice on how to ensure smooth sailing with what will be a 9 month old baby. We’ve booked a Helia 44 owners edition (3 cabin) for December 2020.

Has anyone taken a little one onboard? What did you learn?

My husband and I are both experienced bareboat charter captains. We will be bringing grandparents, aunts, and uncles on board for lots of helping hands.

Note - please keep the Coronavirus conversation separate. I’ll be watching the situation and will cancel if need be.

Any must pack items? Besides the standards.
What did you find best for sleeping arrangements?
Long dinghy rides vs taxis? Thinking great harbor to white bay.

I would start by switching to a 4 cabin boat with the number of people you appear to have onboard. Since the baby won’t be very mobile yet I don’t think you need netting. I would invest in the very best life jacket you can buy and bring it from home and one of the good portable crib options.
G

Re read that and it does sound excessive. One set of grandparents and uncle and his girl friend. 6 adults and 1 baby.

Take a look at posts by Mike Kneafsey. He has lots of great tips and experience. Below is the link for at least one that might be of interest...

http://www.traveltalkonline.com/ubb...ling-with-a-one-year-old.html#Post155584

Thank you. Very helpful indeed. The “don’t” comments made me chuckle!

I would actually be one of the don’t people but I know it won’t change minds. A lot can happen on a boat and when it goes bad it can happen quickly. The baby gains little by way of the trip at that age. I normally tell people to wait until a child is 4 and can snorkle face down with a mask in the pool. The flight issues with babies concern me just as much as the sailing side.
G

We brought our son for his first trip at 6 months. We brought the smallest pack n play available. It was really tiny by comparison and worked great. Had a life jack as well which we tested prior to our trip. Brought our baby monitor as well since the boat had a generator. It really was easy. Just one person watching him at all times when he was awake. Just held him on our lap in the dinghy rides. We even did a little hiking.

Here's a selfie of him while hiking

https://photos.app.goo.gl/apafHWg3NsQgUJAK8

So stinking cute!

We took two trips with one of our son's onboard (they were both between 6-9 months old when they went). Both did awesome and my parents enjoyed a week with their grandson to snuggle. Other than a good lifejacket for dingy trips ashore or sailing, they required nothing other than a good hat and some sunscreen. We didn't keep them in a life jacket "at all times" and they spent a lot time sleeping in a berth with their grandma as we sailed. We loved the experience!

Our first charter with our children was when our first born turned 9 months old while on charter. 41” catamaran. We charter all the time with them now and they are 3 and 5 years on a monohull. Different ages have different pluses and minuses. Retrospectively, chartering with an infant is easy...they can’t go anywhere. Bring your routine child care basics. We always slept our little ones in portable pack and plays when they were small. Particularly, the Lotus travel crib. Small, light and travels well. We put it on a bed. Get a good life jacket. We didn’t always have her in it while on the big boat, but ALWAYS while in the dinghy. We made the great harbour to white bay trip on the dinghy with no issues. Go slow if needed. We packed a portable sun shade we could use on the beach, a beach parachute type sheet, etc. Get good sunblock. Long sleeve UPF tops are great then you only have to sunblock the face, neck and legs. Consider a reusable swim diaper or no diaper for large portions on the day depending on last poop. Who cares if they pee on you? Limits diaper use and frequent changes because they get wet all the time. Always have PFDs on the parents too. We would try to time sailing when she would nap. We kept sails shorter then we would optimally like. If we knew we had 2 hours to sail. We might head out and for little, put her down for nap underway, and she would sleep for an hour or so, and then we would be moored and ready to play. That’s about it for now. Feel free to ask any specifics if you want.

Hey Maggie. My wife and I live on a 46foot cat in the caribbean, and we have a 10 month old grandson who lives on st. martin. He is often on the boat and does well. There are great child life jackets... get one And, i think you will find that it is the best sleep he or she will ever get