So back to topic, after we spent a nice holiday on Geronimo and did some small stays during the weekends, I finally find some time to post again. As said busy.
Chris loves new cabin. It gives all of us a little bit more freedom, when he sleeps. We now can use the main cabin also at the evening and I also sleep back in the main cabin. In addition with the cockpit coach roof it works out really fine. So nearly everything back to normal.
The sailing routine has changed a lot. A fact that I have to cope with.
You know as Chris was born, a sailing friend of mine said to me " You know Dom, every year of the life of a small child gives you one additional hour in sailing." I have to admit, he is right.
So no more sailing from dusk till dawn.
But finding a routine is from my point of view in the moment the most important thing, for your child and for you as a parent.
Finding our routine was little bit of luck. But it worked out perfect for the ongoing season.
After breakfast, we spent the time till lunch with Chris on the harbour playground, at the beach and going with him on a walk. Normally I return a little bit earlier in order to get Geronimo ready. Then we have our lunch. After that we put Chris in the aft cabin where he can have his afternoon sleep. As soon as I start the engine he quites down and normally sleeps when we turn out of the harbour. He normally do not notice when I pull up the sails.
We normally sail then in one direction, till he wakes up, normally after 1 to 1,5 hrs. Then we start with our journey back to the harbor.
He loves to be out at the sea, he looks at the waves, is fascinated by the sails, runs from one side to the other, especially during tacking. And laughs when he smashs with his body at one side of the boat. Seriously it gave us a heart attack, but he figured out, how to use his life jacket as an air bag. And due the fact that he doesn´t do it when he do not wear his life jacket, we get a little bit non nervous at that action. Meaning no more heart attacks, but still ready to jump between to catch him, before he hurts himself. So more or less a red aleart modus.
Anyway, he also loves to pull at ropes, especially when a winch is involved. We are still try to teach him, that during tacking his small hands should be out of the action. It put him all the time a little bit angry, but Dad pulls ropes with him in the harbor the whole evening. I hope that make it up for him. It seems so.
We recognize that after one and a half hour, (he is 1,5 years old) he is running low on battery and he wants to have a little bit of rest and peace. Sometimes it seems that he is overloaded with the impressions after 1,5 hour. He then just want to cuddle up with Mom or spent some time in peace for himself. And then he is back to normal.
We once tried to sail further, but that did not work out. He started crying and was looking for a place where he could have his peace to work out the impressions of the sailing.
We try to be in the harbor within the 1,5hrs he is awake. That gave all of us the best of it. And the rest of the day we spent a nice afternoon / evening in the harbor.
So the it seems that "every year of the life of a small child gives you one additional hour in sailing", fits here.
In sum it gave us more or less 2-3 hours of sailing per day this season.
