So we took our 5-month old son Oliver sailing this past weekend and…it was a blast!
We wanted to make sure two key things would happen:
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- We (the parents) enjoy the day!
- Our baby is kept safe, warm and dry.
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Ultimately, 1. is a function of 2., so I will focus this post on the baby. Unless you don’t like sailing, in which case I’d recommend taking a scroll and finding another post that might be relevant for the activities you love.
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We came in with a lot of equipment and gear to test out: bassinet, bouncer, blankets, toys, layers of clothes, pacifiers, bottles, Boppy pillow, you name it.
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And our learnings?
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- If your infant is not crawling yet, your main job is to make sure they don’t slip through your arms into the water. In fact, according to the US Coast Guard, your baby needs to wear a PFD (personal floatation device or a “life vest”) at all times, unless they are tethered to the boat. These things are fairly affordable and easy to get, e.g. here.
- To be totally honest, we didn’t quite love the life jacket concept. It’s very bulky and prevented Oliver from being in the bassinet, bouncer, etc. Next time we might experiment with tethering him to the boat directly using a combination of child safety harness and a safety tether.
- To keep your baby warm at all times, prepare for variable conditions. Layers are the right answer here, similarly to what you would want to do at the mountains. Check out this “don’t freeze the baby” post for more inspiration.
- Finally, we found great success in Oliver’s using the bassinet for naps and bouncer for hanging out at all other times. Generally speaking, floating around seemed to be soothing for the baby.
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Bottom line? Sailing with a newborn was not a huge adjustment compared to our regular sailing days. Just do it!
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Obviously, if your baby is crawling or walking already, you have a whole other set of considerations to keep in mind. We’re not quite there, but we’re toying around with the idea of an overnight sailing trip when Oliver turns one year old. When that happens, I’ll share tips!