Congratulations on the little one!
Our daughter was born in July (in the UK) last year and arrived on the boat 2 months later (in Phuket).
We’ve been living full time and traveling coastal. We are about to do the Passage to the East Rally which heads down the Straight to Singapore and then over to Borneo.
As you can imagine my wife has had some concerns with an infant on a boat.
I’m sure you’ve thought of most of these items but here is a quick list that has affected us.
- It is pretty much child proof already (no low sockets, locking doors and cabinets, rounded edges etc.
- We are in a Santorin so the berthing might be different. Our aft cabin had a small cushioned section with a leeboard on the starboard side. I relocated it a foot more inboard and now my kid has her own bed in our cabin with all sides protecting her from rolling out - she’s now a week shy of 8 months and pulling herself over them so we are getting two Lee cloths sown up. One for her bed and the other for the bunk in the saloon. You might opt for the pilot bunk though.
- We bought a Salus Infant Vest for her once she was 6 months. She uses this to chill in the water with us. A great vest for kids as no matter how they enter the water they end up face up. I’ve tested it well and am positive it works.
- In the tender we strap her in a chest harness to one of us.. We are both competent swimmers and while she is attached our only role is to look after her. No other tender duties. Not that we couldn’t but even a simple task of tying up to the dock is not worth it. A slip of the foot in the wet dinghy, you’d fall forward and crush her. So we just play it safe and make sure there is always positive control.
- We don’t have as much space as an SM so we opted for a small umbrella type stroller. We would prefer something larger that would recline back so she could sleep / nap when we are off the boat.
- Welcome to single handling everything. That kid is a non stop attention taker. Not by choice, it’s just an infant that poops by itself. That’s the only thing it does on its own. Everything else is on us. So one of us is off boat duty and on kid duty. So night passages are almost a no go for us at the moment. As neither one of us gets an ‘off watch’ time to sleep ourselves. So we plan our passages accordingly.
- Car seat. We have a quality seat that gets strapped down in the saloon and she gets strapped in it should the weather get bad or I absolutely need a hand with something. We do not strap her to us and try to multi task the boat duties.
- A hammock in the shade of the cockpit for naps and such. So she isn’t always down below by herself.
- A small portable chair that sets on a seat. Like a high chair, minus the legs.
- Food and nappies. Plan well. We are in Southeast Asia and trying to find things my wife is happy with is time consuming and costly when we do find some imported items. I suppose this is dependent on your location though.
- Shots. If you’re electing to get shots for the kid plan out the locations. As the shots are given based on the age of the kid.
- Passport right away for foreign travel
- Ro Sham Bo sunglasses for infants (when she leaves them on).
- A large umbrella for tender travel.
Good morning Eric,
First of all congratulations for little Nolan coming this June !!!
I love the Bahamas.
Just like you I work so internet is important to me.
One of my favorite place is Port Lucaya in Grand Bahama because of the reasonable monthly marina rate, access to groceries and other infrastructure, etc.
In 2014 I spent 4 months in Port Lucaya Marina / Yacht Club and paid $600/month.
In 2015 I spent 3 months in Taino Beach (also in Port Lucaya) which became my favorite and paid $540/month.
Because of their huge pool with a some shallow area, I am certain you, Viki and especially little Nolan will love this place!
I can look for pictures to send you.
The beach 3 minutes walk away from the marina, they are places to walk, lay down, etc.
They also loan you towels for a $10 deposit and you can exchange them as often as you want, which you will realize is a considerable saving on laundry/generator time especially with the little one!..
I used my bicycle to go grocery shopping, but they have a bus going twice a week. In the super market you will find groceries as well as baby supplies.
I can not imagine a better place for you and your family.
Regarding the draft, you will have to wait almost “mid tide” to enter/leave the Bell Channel.
Port Lucaya is only 90 NM from Miami/Fort Lauderdale, so less than a day trip should you need to go. They i also an international airport.
Later in I also suggest you spend 1 months in Great Harbor Cay in the Berry Island. It is an overnight trip from Grand Bahama.
I was there in low season so the price was $540/month, the prices are higher now, but I think you can negotiate and you get a discount with Active Captain.
Surprisingly the internet was the best I have seen in the Bahamas.
There was no issue to enter the channel even at low tide.
The beach was 20 minutes walk from the marina. They loan you bicycle if you don’t have any, the water is clearest I have seen.
There was no real grocery store some come prepared, therefore the fishermen come back every afternoon with 250 to 250 lobsters and sell you “tail only” for $10/lbs. Sailing along the coast is excellent for fishing!
As Nolan grows up (but wait him to be tall enough for all the ride), then a stop in Atlantis is a must. Not sure who will like the place the most Nolan or dad! But it is quite expensive per day. Nassau is an overnight trip from the Berry Island.
There is no worry for the draft. Atlantis is also very protected from Hurricane.
Hope that helps, please feel free to contact me directly if you want pictures of the places.
Enjoy your trip!
Sincerely, Alexandre
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On Sun, 3/11/18, ericmeury@... [amelyachtowners] <amelyachtowners@...> wrote:
Subject: [Amel Yacht Owners] Baby on Board and where to go in the Bahamas -
To: amelyachtowners@...
Date: Sunday, March 11, 2018, 11:18 PM
Hello amel family.
Viki and I are expecting (this is
why the boat is on the hard right now) our first little crew
member
Nolan
(insert middle name) Meury will be arriving this
June.
Our plan is
to spend November and December around Stuart Florida as
Nolan will be signed up for infant water survival classes
there. Then we are thinking of heading the bahamas for a
month and then back to GA where we will keep the boat for
the next hurricane season..
I have two requirements for the
bahamas...
1. Some place that has access
to mobile internet or awesome wifi as i still have to work m
start up (www.pascalworkflow.com) and my tax
practice.
2. Some place that we don't
have to worry about draft (marsh harbor or Georgetown? -
other ideas)
Also would love some Amel specific
or non amel specific for those that have had their baby on
board.
Thanks
again
