While there’s no scientific proof, it stands to reason that the earlier kids are exposed to sailing, the better sailors they become.

Welcome to boating with kids. Just wait until your child invites all the kids on the block to go sailing on their sailboat, it’s all very cute...until all 14 of them show up ready to go that weekend. We currently sail with both our two-and-a-half year old and our 10-month old, who were both on the boat as soon as mom could be, or at five weeks old. Mom was a bit hesitant at first, but having a plan for safety issues allowed her to relax and enjoy. The kids took to the boat instantly. They loved the boat and don't mind the small space, in part because it probably looks big to them. Morale is not an issue, as long as mom and dad are calm and relaxed they don't get upset when the weather gets a bit rough. The biggest predicament we have had so far is when the wind started howling through the rigging, which scared the crew. So I showed them how to make a piece of sail telltale tape buzz when you blow on it and now they just pretend to be the wind and blow us along. The first couple of times out with the new crew, be sure to have baby or sailing help onboard and maybe thereafter depending on the boat and your single handling skills. There are times when baby needs lots of attention, which may also coincide when you need to tack, jibe, or maneuver for docking.

There were some things that we did to accommodate them that were a bit different, based on what we saw with other kids onboard around us. Naturally, we were most worried about safety for our children and worked out how to get the little ones on and off the boat safely and prepared for worst-case scenarios, such as the boat sinking. While I don't want to seem morbid, we couldn't relax until we felt safe. For toddlers, a good harness life vest with a crotch strap and tether attachment point is a good place to start--inflatable PFD’s are best left to adults. Develop sound rules onboard and stick to them so they become good habits early. For us, the big rule is that the kids can’t be on deck unless we are at dock. At the dock, our kids love to explore the deck and feel very comfortable with the boat. The other rule is that they are always tethered and with a parent if outside the cabin.

At its most basic level sailing with infants comes down to flotation that works. Finding flotation for an infant is very difficult because it’s very hard to get them to float upright. It is also just as important to protect infants from impact. Keeping the baby strapped in the car seat when sailing is also a good way to keep the baby from slipping or getting knocked into the water, especially since we couldn't get them to float upright. The car seat provides an excellent and secure means to carry the baby. It turned out that the car seat was more likely to float upright after hitting the water hard, and far better than baby alone while also protecting the baby from any sort of impact.

Small boats look big to babies. Infants bring a number of unique conditions when it comes to taking them sailing and strapping them in a car seat while underway is a good way to keep them where you left them.

Getting the car seat to float right took some testing. After I got everything in place, I tested throwing the car seat in the water inverted with a simulated baby weight/balance.

When I felt comfortable with the results, I put the baby in and tried it in the pool from a two foot drop...but right side up this time, of course. We wanted it to be able to impact upside down, rollover and float while completely saturated, and to be at the baby's chest level minimum without any of the flotation being ripped away from impact. The end result was effective but not pretty, and takes a bit of time to setup, but the peace of mind is worth it. The nautical version of our car seat uses an orange adult Type II PFD, a child’s life vest and two pieces of foam pool toy tubes. The orange Type II PFD vest is placed around and just under the upper lip of the car seat. The open end of the ‘U’ is positioned at the feet and secured using the vest's straps so that it will not pull up or down. This keeps the transport handle in the up-transport position, helps hold it in place, and also gives more of the seat to tie to. The result is a flotation ring (except for a few inches gap at the feet) at the top edge of the seat, an arrangement that floats the seat when wet at neck height, which floats upright and will not roll over upright from upside down. The child’s vest is wrapped around the transport handle and secured, providing the righting moment if it lands inverted upside down. We used the smaller child’s vest to keep it from rolling the seat over when the vest was wet and heavier. Lastly, two six-inch long and three-inch diameter foam toy pieces are tied into creases in the seat bottom to provide just the right floating attitude and a bit more height so that the baby now has breathing room in small waves but won't rollover.

It takes about four to five minutes to set this up. When traversing the dock we also attach a 15-foot tether to the handle from our waist to retrieve baby if we get separated. While this is a bit of work, it helps mom and dad relax on dock and underway. If we had a spare seat we could do a better, more permanent job and no lost time. If this sounds like is too much effort, an adult vest strapped to the car seat handle with a tether would be better that no flotation at all.

When on the boat we leave the baby in the car seat whenever out of the cabin or when we are sleeping underway. When we bring the baby out to sail, we limit the exposure time to the best of conditions and always attach a very short tether. The baby is never in arms on deck or cockpit...period. When in the cabin the car seat is well latched down in a spot that has no items that could fall, slide or fling into baby while heeled greater than 30 degrees, but the car seat can be removed very quickly (about five seconds with practice). Baby also really loves to swing in the hammock below but we always closely supervise when underway or on hook due to excessive swinging in a seaway.

Preparing for the worst case scenario before you leave the dock settles that nagging voice in the back of your head, and allows you to enjoy that sail rather than worry about what can go wrong.

Lastly, our solution to the worst case scenario--sinking--was dictated by the fact that we do long cruises with as much as two or three days at a time spent at sea out of sight of land in cold water. A life raft was the only good choice. In shore, it may sound like overkill, but it’s important to remember to plan for some way to maintain body temperature for the baby. Anytime a baby is near water, they should be ready for a dip.

A quick example of how fast things can go wrong came during a busy day at the dock last year while on our way to the boat. We didn't see a couple of boys who were riding their bikes toward us on the dock (against the rules...but there they were). As they got closer to us the people in front of us suddenly scattered backwards and knocked into us very hard. I kept a tight grip on the car seat and struggled to stay on the dock (and I was in the middle of the dock too). I was very, very close to going swimming with the baby. Mom, however, was so comfortable that baby was ready to swim that she yelled and chased the boys halfway down the dock before returning to check on us. We were fine. We returned from that cruise 16 days later and as we walked down the dock clutching baby in the seat we saw two ladies walking the dock with their infants in arms and no flotation, it gave me a chill after our last episode. I know that no one drops the baby but things are different when rolling, pitching and wet. One last comment, I try not to put the baby seat into the dock cart or stroller when on the dock, I know it is tempting and sometimes you are overloaded, but I have seen many carts driven right off the dock due to driver error, equipment failure or an obstacle and a stroller is no better, especially as you get closer to the boat and the dock narrows. Overall, it was much easier to get our infant and toddler out then we imagined, and exposing them to sailing at an early age instills the joy we go sailing for in the first place.