practicalboatownervideo
We crossed the Atlantic with a baby and a 2-year-old!
7 December 2023 · 2 min · 318 views · Grenada
What this video covers
A family of four — including Jesse, age two-and-a-half, and eight-month-old Ru — crossed the Atlantic aboard Pinnacle, a catamaran crewed from Jersey.0:08 Parents Steph and Rich (skipper) brought Steph's father and Rich's brother Johncy as additional crew to handle night watches, deck work, provisioning, and childcare. The crossing ran in two legs: the first to Mandello was rough enough that Ru spent most of it strapped in a carrier while Jesse stayed on a padded area; the second leg was calmer at the start, slow, then picked up toward the end. Neither child suffered seasickness. The family sailed as part of an organised rally — referred to as "the ark" — which Steph credits with providing safety checklists and a community of other families with young children.0:18 The catamaran's stability made the passage more manageable than a monohull would have been. The crew arrived in Grenada. The practical lesson: two extra adults dedicated to childcare and boat jobs made an Atlantic crossing with an infant and a toddler feasible, but the passage was still exhausting.
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