Here's what we do
I sail with three kids and two dogs on our H380 and heres what works for us. 1st they have been sailing all their lives. 2nd they meet other kids while sailing and have a blast. 3rd bring brain teasers, uno, and cards games for nights and foul weather. Get him/her to get their license so they can legally drive the dinghy around. When in Nantucket go exploring on the dinghy, forget town there's 200 people in line for everything including ice cream, food, bathrooms. Allserve on Ch69 will bring you out anything you need (nothing in Nantucket is cheap though) water pizza papers, coffee etc...but bring most of what you need with you. Pumpouts are on Ch 69 also and provided by the harbormasters office. On July 4th they have a water festival in town and close off the street and the fire departments sprays everyone with fire hoses and buckets. It's great fun for kids. That night fireworks go off from a nearby beach which you watch from your own boat!!! I'll nenevr forget the years when we had neighborhing boaters over and the adults are drinking beer and wine in the cockpit and the kids are up on the bow and just starting spontaneously singing the national anthem or God Bless America with their new friends.Go exploring in the dinghy too! Motoring through the docks looking at yachts of the rich and famous and checking out the helicopters on decks, crews of 15 in matching uniforms etc.. is a daily afair. What a way to learn the diffenernce between a sllp, ketch, schooner, live-aborad cruiser, floating condos, race rockets, famous J Boats the list of what you'll see and learn about goes on and on.Swimming right off the mooring is great fun and kids will do cannonballs all day long, and the water quality is just fine.The outer beachs behind the mooring field are called 1st point, 2nd point, 3rd point etc... it's a 20 minute dinghy ride out there and well worth the trip. We go for the day (remember towns too crowded) and swim, snorkel, play football, catch, jog, sunbathe, and photograph rare birds, all with our two dogs I might add. It's a great day and you may see 10 people all day since the land bases tourists can't get there.All in all as you can tell from my post it's a magical place for kids.My kids all race at Chatham Yacht Club which is a fancy name, but just a sandy floored shack where they race without the usual yacht club stuffiness. Get you child involved in racing and his love of the water will be assured.Anyway enough rambling, we'll be in Nantucket from July 3 through July 8th on a mooring somewhere. We usually try to be in Rows L,M,N,O somewhere near the dinghy dock for showers and frequent trips to shore for the dogs. Though this year for the first time we've just been informed that they won't accept reservations for 7/3 and 7/4 first come first serve only, but they do allow rafting.Our boat is named Serenity it's a Hunter 380 with navy Blue dodger. We'll also be there with Allan and Jan Fish aboard KeKanaka a Beneteau 351 they be there from 6/28 till 7/6. Their son Greg is 12. Bob lassiter will be there in his Pearson 28 named WindSong along with his 13 year old son Andrew too!My kids are two boys 14, and 13 and a daughter whose 11 so instant friends will be made.Stop by anytime to say hi, and let the kids play, but 5PM with a good bottle or two of Cabernet will make us fast friends for life
))))))Our experiences have been so positive and sailing has been such an important and positive part of my children's lives (and our's too) that I always say," Sailing is ridiculously expensive, there's no way in the world to justify it, and it's worth every penny." Sounds much better than the happiest days of your boating life and the day you buy and the day you sell. That's a powerboaters mentality not a sailors!best of luck, but perisitence and contant boating will win them over, go always, go often and the joys you pass to your children will last a lifetime!Bob & Liz KnottHunter 380S/V SerenityJustin, bobby and Sarah too!oh and Rusty and Amber two great long haired Dachshund's that love boating