Tag Info

We took my youngest with us in a punt on the river Cam when she was ten days old. Slightly different age and size but as they are effectively immobile, they are actually easier than once they hit toddler age. Some things you do want to check: are you both very strong swimmers? If there is an issue, whoever is holding the baby needs to be able to keep ...

My mother suffers from every form of travel sickness, and the only solutions she has found that help to ameliorate the symptoms (if not actually remove them entirely) are: Drugs: specifically Stugeron Bracelets: I am a bit skeptical of these, as is Skeptics.SE, but they seem to work for her. Example here If I feel at all queasy in really heavy seas (ie ...

Dimenhydrinate (popularly known as Gravol in Canada and as Dramamine, Driminate, Gravamin, Vomex, and Vertirosan in the USA) is an over-the-counter drug used to prevent nausea and motion sickness that's considered highly effective. Anecdotally, I was constantly throwing up on boats in South East Asia until I started taking gravol.

Children are a relatively high risk on board a small boat. At 4 or 5 years old they don't know enough about safety, and by their teens they are either convinced that they are invincible, or terrified that they will drown, so at either end of that spectrum there are challenges. Ideally you want everyone on the boat to be a very strong swimmer. This ...

So, there are a number of challenges you face. Firstly, what is the reason for wanting a mizzen? It will change the sailing characteristics significantly, as well as require a lot of work. tl;dr - this is a fair old undertaking to do for no obvious reason. If you do decide to add one, you have 2 real options - a small, unstayed mizzen off the transom, or a ...

To actually load a person onto a boat, try a parbuckle. This may be a rope run from a forward cleat over the side of the boat into the water with the aft end secured and wrapped around a winch. The over board party may sit, stand or drape themselves over the rope which is then pulled taught by the winching in of the line over the side of the boat. When ...

What xpda writes about setting the anchor is right (although hopefully you know this if you are sailing your own boat). As well as what he says, make sure you have the right kind of anchor for the bed, and you have enough rode (rope or chain). For overnight it should be at least 7 times the water depth. The longer the better, within reason. Here are some ...

Variety and number of boats. Added price for fuel/weekends. Level of upkeep (how to check that?) Members to boats ratio, to know how easy it is to find an available boat. Special rules/limits (of people on the boats, maximum rentals per month, night rentals, etc...). Club activities. Membership cancellation/freeze policies.

While there are country specific regulations which may apply close to shore or on inland waterways, the international community agrees that the COLREGs form the basis for rules, so as long as you know them you will be at least on the right side of the law. The standard for lights is the same the world over and while you may have some specific rules when ...

I'm a seasoned traveler, former deckhand, and a budding reference librarian, all qualities that uniquely situate me to answer your question. When I was working as a deckhand in Alaska I battled seasickness everyday. I found these things helpful: sit or stand near the rear (stern) of the vessel sit near a source of fresh air face forward rest your head ...

I have friends with a sailboat who wanted to take their <1yr infant on their sailboat with them, and so consulted the (Canadian) coastguard about how best to protect her. The good news is that very young children (< 2 yrs, I think) don't count as passengers from a legal point of view; so there are no legal requirements to fulfil, just what you need to ...

I was lucky enough to take both dinghy sailing lessons and later cruiser sailing lessons. It's an approach I'd really recommend. Sailing a dinghy will teach you to watch the sails and the wind much more easily than in a cruiser. All the skills you learn in a dinghy will apply to a cruiser (except capsize drill, hopefully). They are also a lot of fun, and ...

From the sounds of it, to develop all the skills you are interested in, you are not going to learn them all with a single class. Additionally, it will likely take several years to hone your skills to a point that you can depend on them. For learning how to harness the wind, it is better to learn on a smaller boat. Something like a sunfish, laser, or a Hobie ...

If you have the option, small boats give you the best feel for how sails work and how changes in trim affect the boat and your course, so at least start on a small boat. Also, taking a few full days will help far more than a bunch of evenings. You develop a feel for sailing over time so for your initial training, intensive is a good thing. Growing up in ...

In addition to David's answer, I'd also include training courses membership in points racing league RYA accreditation, at least in the UK adult and child friendly/capable (is it targeted at children or adults or both) facilities, e.g. anti fouling, over winter storage, maintenance etc location - is it somewhere you want to sail from?