sleeping in their own cozy berth aboard
the boat, that our “boat stories” started
to become real. Reading to the children at
bedtime is a pleasant end to the day. Even
better is when we turn out the lights and
tell stories about three little sailor girls,
Antigone, Emily, and Damaris, who live on
a small white boat named Ganymede. They
are on a world cruise and have all sorts of
wonderful adventures. And so our girls
began to anticipate seafaring with all of its
toils, fears, pleasures, and excitement. To
supplement my limited imagination was
a library of sailing books we’d sought out
and collected over the years.
From true tales of adventure such as
Kon Tiki and The Brendan Voyage, to science
fiction such as Twenty Thousand Leagues
Under the Sea, they keep us eager for the
watery places of the world, and supply
endless stimuli to the imaginations of the
kids. Arthur Ransome’s books are great
favorites with our girls. The children in
them, so seamanlike in so many ways, are
still believable as real boys and girls. So our
own daughters halfway knew many things
that could be expected of the sailing life,
and had good examples of seamanship and
responsibility held before them.
Like Arthur Ransome’s characters, we,
too, would keep in touch with loved ones
ashore. A chart from the post office showing the various acceptable dimensions of
envelopes would allow us to make our own
out of colorful maps and brochures from
places we’d visit. Smaller treasures such
as butterfly wings and ticket stubs could
be pasted into our journals alongside such
thoughts and reflections that aren’t for
sharing in letters home.
This was all in preparation for moving
aboard and cruising in Mexico with the
children, but I wondered in odd moments
what I would do when life didn’t measure
up to their expectations. It might have
been this thought that kept my cousin Liz
snug at home; but it was the very reason I
wanted to sail with children – to raise their
expectations not only about traveling by
boat and seeing new and interesting places,
but to put a reality under those expectations. I want them to know that it’s OK to
dream, and though things never play out
quite like our imaginations conceive, those
dreams that sent us out were not in vain;
without them we might never have dared
to go at all.
Antigone helps dad build a boat!
It was a surprise to me, who’d just as
soon be out of sight during the proceedings, how big an interest the girls take in
fishing. Ben let them each pick the prettiest lure, and put them on hand reels,
and it’s almost a contest to see whose lure
will catch the first fish. If one is caught,
Antigone, though too small to be allowed
a filet knife, helps Dad clean the fish,
solemnly taking the head and entrails to
the side in her little fish-cleaning gloves to
throw to the pelicans. Each filet must be
handed first to her for careful placement in
the tub, and she is the official foil-wrapper
of each piece before it goes on the grill.
And so we go, learning week by week
what we can and cannot do; what sorts
of things are too hard on the kids, and
what they will take with equanimity. It is
an all-consuming task trying to properly
care for the girls while cruising, with every
plan, every passage, every meal, even, with
their needs and well-being of primary consideration. But when I see them building
castles on the shore and learning to play in
the surf by the seaside, when I hear their
squeals of joy at a dolphin jumping in the
bow wave, or a whale spout in the distance,
I know that it’s all worthwhile.
No Idle Hands Aboard
We’ve been cruising for a few seasons
now and have discovered numerous activi-
ties to fritter away time both while under-
way and at anchor. It’s certainly easier at
anchor because those activities are often
found in play such as building sandcastles
and searching for shells, exploring in the
dinghy, and walking ashore. When we’re
really feeling up for a treat, we collect
driftwood for a bonfire and perhaps roast
marshmallows or potatoes or hot dogs. If
the night is cold or the day is rainy, hours
pass quickly searching through our reef-
creatures guide to learn the names of shells
found or fish sighted. When our brains are
full of funny-sounding names, we write
those letters home and fill our journals
with sketches. While none of us are artists,
it encourages the children to peek over at
mom’s awfully blobby attempt at drawing
frogs and flowers, and their efforts in hiero-
glyphics redouble.
Danielle Zartman and her husband Ben cruised
from Mexico down to the Western Caribbean,
then up to the American East Coast, where
they’ll live for awhile, and work to replenish the
cruising kitty.
