We don't do quite the same things as those who travel without children, and I don't see what we are depriving ourselves of. In any case, it opens other windows, which you wouldn't have seen if you didn't have children. And since you need to take care of him, you do things differently.
What is important when you are sailing with a child is to have the boat well prepared and to know how to sail together. In case of a problem, you must be able to fill both positions, know how to sail and know how to look after the children. It's important that the child feels safe, that they don't get stressed out.
Nael is completely used to it. For a while, we sailed in big squalls and wind and he didn't feel anything different. I grew up like that, too. My mother often tells me this story, when we were in the Needle Current, off South Africa, in the cape with 60-knot winds and I wanted to make pancakes.
I wouldn't have seen myself as anything other than a mom on a trip. I wouldn't have been able to fit in with the most common things: working, putting my child to school, only seeing him at night... I wouldn't have been fulfilled as an adult. I needed to continue to exercise my passions, to be outside, in contact with nature, to enjoy my baby. Just to be able to breastfeed her for so long. It's a strong bond, a ritual, he still needs to be breastfed, he's still a baby, while on the ground, the goal is to make them autonomous quickly.
That said, there are some difficult sides. Like never having Nael babysat. We'll have time to do that when we get to Tahiti. But until then, this life is 100% good enough for us. We were wondering if we're going to get in each other's hair, but we communicate a lot.
Sharing this adventure with 3 people is extraordinary. We're proud of ourselves when we've managed to navigate well, when we've been sick and we've still been able to sail. Life on a boat is always strong, there are rarely flat moments. Either it's a bit hard, you have to go out there and hold on, or it's great. And it's great to be able to see your little one evolve along the way. I don't know life any other way, it's already the life I lived with my family when I was little. I find it's very enriching for the children.
And when Nael's older, to socialize him?
On the social side, you meet a lot of people at stopovers, but you're not always in the same rhythm as the other sailors. They respect the timing or the hurricane seasons. We have the time. We had met the Tivanos - who also travel with their children - but we chose to go to Brazil.
On land, too, we have the opportunity to meet people. Thanks to our passion first of all (NRDL: board sports), but also the locals. My mother always told me that we should only stay among boaters and that's what we do.
