CRUISER KIDS — D
CEILYDH
o you worry that your kids' obsessions with video games, social media and digital gadgetry might be stifling their imaginations and hampering their ability to communicate spontaneously, face to face? If so, perhaps it's time to get them up off the BarcaLounger, unplug the entire family from the mainstream,
While circumnavigating with her parents, Maia Selkirk made a variety of new friends, including this curious lemur in Madagascar.
and take an extended 'time out' to go cruising. We meet a lot of cruising families every year, and we're happy to report that many of their kids are impressive. Having been actively exposed to different cultures, fascinating marine ecosystems and the challenges of becoming self-reliant out on the water, many of the 'boat kids' we've met seem to have a wide-eyed curiosity about the world. They're often remarkably conversant on a variety of subjects, and most appear to be more physically fit than their couch-potato counterparts back home. But, of course, we're admittedly biased. So for some firsthand insights about the effects of cruising on kids —
BANYAN
While hiking in the Marquesas, Adelaide and Isa Vawter of Napa, came across this jovial character — a relic from ancient times.
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and their parents — we reached out to several dozen families who had set sail during the past decade. Some of them, we discovered, are still out there. "Since our seven-year cruise has just ended — in Australia — it's an interesting time to reflect on it all," says Windy Robertson of the Washington, DC-based Fuji 40 Del Viento. She and her husband Mike cruised from 2011 until last month with daughters Eleanor and Frances. The girls were only 7 and 5 when the cruise began, sailing the West Coast north to Alaska. They're now 15 and 12. "I've given a lot of thought to the perception that cruising kids are somehow different due to their experiences. They've spent a lot of time with adults who treat them more as peers than tends to happen in more traditional settings. They've had more opportunities and perhaps greater expectations to contribute: in sailing, driving the dinghy, boat maintenance and household chores. And they have had quantities of down time that are rare these days. Time to pursue their interests. Time to be bored and find ways to relieve their boredom. Time away from electronic screens." Norwegians Gunnar and Vibeke Horn cruised for nearly two years aboard the Beneteau 52 Camelot. Daughter Julia was 15 and son Oscar was 11 when they started out. "Our circumnavigation ended in May 2013. Although that was more than five years ago, we all think of the journey daily with longing. The 21 months that we were on our way have given us a very special unity and made our little family strong." Swede Petter Bille and his British wife Rosanna cruised for nearly six years aboard the Jeanneau 42 Lolo with son Teddy, now 11, and daughter Poppy, now 7. "We currently live ashore in Bali," says Rosanna, "just a few steps up from the beach. We still homeschool, and our lifestyle still resembles boat life. "Living and sailing around the world with our two children was the most incredible thing we have ever done for our family. It has shaped the children forever and despite the storms, drama and challenges we faced while sailing, it was a blessing and privileged in every way." Young Teddy, by the way, is now an aspir-
ing pro surfer. Brits Tamlin and Adam Elgar initiated their kids into the cruising life when son Jack was 2 and daughter Katinka was only three months old. That was a relatively short southern Caribbean cruise. But in 2013, they set sail aboard their Gallant 53 Galivanter from the US Virgin Islands to Tonga. Jack was then 10, and Katinka was 8. "The time you get to spend together will have a lasting impact on your relationships with your children. Both Katinka and Jack are teenagers now, and I feel we have an openness and ability to talk to each other that is missing for some of my friends with children of the same age. "That said, becoming a perpetual cruiser can limit your children's ability to make friends their own age, as they more regularly find themselves in adult company. So fix a time limit for a family cruise and enjoy it up to the very last." When the Wells family headed south from Seattle in 2010 aboard their Jeanneau 57 Perfect Wave, daughter Whitney was 11 and her brother Tommy was 8. Now a college sophomore, Whitney recalls, "Our favorite moments were never constrained to one part of sailing. Arriving every day or every week to a new location to explore would always catch us
