USVI-On-Line

Hey all....we were considering a morning/afternoon with Capt Phil but wanted to get others opinion on whether it is appropriate.

We will be 4 adults (my wife and me and another couple) and we will have our son who will be 23 months at the time. Has anyone taken their child(ren) on a day sail when they were this age? In general our son LOVES the water but to date, that has mostly been in swimming pools. I'm pretty sure that he would love going in the ocean but I don't know if a boat is ok for a child of that age. In general, he is a well demeanored and adaptable lad.

Thanks in advance for any advice on this and any other kid-related topic. I've been through a number of threads relating to kids in STJ and there is a ton of info - any additional stuff thrown this way would be appreciated immensely.

you know your kid best, however, if i were to think about doing this when my kids (who were very busy) were that age it would have been crazeeeeeeee

remember you are pretty much confined to the cockpit and there isn't a lot of room to wander and the snorkeling can be rough dependingon the weather conditions.
if you have to do it , i would do either a half day or a sunset sail and see how he copes with the confinement (like i said, some kids will go bonkers and some will do great--and just fall asleep)

I say go for it! I always tend to err on the side of more involvement for the kids...Can't wrap 'em in bubble wrap!

We fall into the Soxfan school of thought.

We took our non-mobile infant along with Capt Phil and it was great, he is definately into kids and encouraged us to bring him back at 2.5-3 years old for his first snorkel.

That being said - the cockpit is tiny and Capt Phil is pretty strict (and vocal) about what goes on in his boat and that could be a problem if you need to crawl/chase after a toddler.

Our son did fine on boats at that age as he was really into taking the world in while lap-sitting, especially in strange situations such as being on a boat. The rocking and buckling delighted him. We also always had other adults along so he could lap-hop when he got antsy.

I would have done a half-day with Capt Phil at that age but what works for my family doesn't work for another. We do plenty of things most of my parent-friends would never consider.

What time of year are you going? The water has been rough on all our winter day trips, so much so that I would not have been comfortable taking my son into the open water.

I think capt phil's boat would be really tight with a kid that little (esp if he books it full - he takes 6 out typically unless you buy out the boat only for the 4 of your + the kid).

Another option (I am not sure they are sailing) is Bread on the Water. We went out with them last November and the boat is way more comfortable. I would have felt totally comfy on their with a toddler and Capt Gary is laid back and relaxed but super vigilant about his passengers.

soxfan22 wrote:I say go for it! I always tend to err on the side of more involvement for the kids...Can't wrap 'em in bubble wrap!

well you could, but then that would present it's own unique problems! however bouyancey probably would not be one of them (though child welfare authorities might be one )

i had both my kids on boats when they were very young-- and did a bareboat cruise with an my oldest when she was 18 months old--while not an insane thing, it was not a truly relaxing trip chasing a toddler around a boat) --just saying that as a first experience sailing it might not be best to go all day-- and doing a sailing trip with my youngest at 23 months would have proved VERY challenging (and not very relaxing)--at that age he was an insistent mover and not a good lap sitter for long periods of time. The OP knows his/her child the best though-

flip-flop wrote:I think capt phil's boat would be really tight with a kid that little (esp if he books it full - he takes 6 out typically unless you buy out the boat only for the 4 of your + the kid).

Another option (I am not sure they are sailing) is Bread on the Water. We went out with them last November and the boat is way more comfortable. I would have felt totally comfy on their with a toddler and Capt Gary is laid back and relaxed but super vigilant about his passengers.

Good thought....the size of the cockpit could make a big difference when our little monkey wants to move around. I checked out Bread on the Water as per your post and we may go that route.

Thanks for the suggestions, all.

Breath is a lot bigger boat and can provide more room on deck to move around if you needed it and is great for kids. You can also go down below if you needed a nap or to change daipers etc. They have a website www.sailbreath.com