Wet cockpit

Q: Where do you put a baby to play outside when the cockpit is wet?

A: In the baby bath tub of course.

Just out for a sail with a baby

Ari and I took a quick sail on the Tuna with the baby after work. It
was a wonderful sunny day, and isn't that why we (he) bought it after
all. But right now, sailing with the baby means that one of us is
watching her and one of us is single handing the boat.


We hope to make a way to put her car seat in so we can strap her down
when needed, and perhaps I will figure out some other method of
containing her safely. But for now, when the winds get light and Ari
wants to hoist the geniker, and then the winds get lighter and he rows
a little with the geniker still up, this is what you end up with.  Notice the line in his mouth!

It was a really great family sail.  Yemaya loved every minute of it.  I'm not sure she knew what was going on, but she loved cuddling with mom and dad, rolling over onto the sail bags, and flashlights and shadow puppets after sunset.  Hopefully, with the winter rains coming to an end soon, and longer days, there will be many more sails on the Tuna at sunset before returning home to Macha to tuck the little one in for the night.

Boat Projects with Babies

Today I tried to finish a project while alone with the baby.  The project is a baby gate of sorts to keep her confined into a safe space on the boat.  It is only a rectangular piece of fabric with six snaps on it, but it has taken me many days.  First I cut and sewed a piece that turned out to be one inch too small because I forgot to add one inch when I was cutting for the seams.  Then I remeasured and cut another piece of fabric.  That fabric has now been sitting around for a few days waiting for the right moment.  Which occurred at nap time today!

I quickly sewed some seams and then "whahhhhhh".  My darling baby slept for exactly 30 minutes today!  But, it is not all bad, because I broke out the bouncy swing.  That gave me at least 10 more minutes of banging and drilling to put a few snaps in place.  Of course she poops while in there and needs a total outfit change and is not really interested in going back in to the chair.  I tried putting her in the safe bed to play, but that just made her mad.  I tried playing with her and she cried, I tried ignoring her and she cried.  I finally fed her some rice cereal, and gave her a few new toys.  5 more minutes, one more snap.  More crying, more breast feeding.  More toys and crying, and at last four hours, and three days of work, after I began my one hour project it is done!  She now will be safe and confined for at least a few months until she becomes smart enough to escape from this as well.

Sailing Macha

As promised here are some photos from our sail a few weeks back.

 

 Sails hoisted (with an accidental, but amazing shot of a bird).

 

Yemaya down below "napping."

 

Craig on the helm.

 

Ari and the Estuary sunset.

We are in trouble now

She no longer stays put. Her latest skill, climbing out of the cockpit.

Yemaya plays drums

Life on Land

So, we are spending five weeks in an apartment to have a little break from the boat and figure things out.  The place we are subletting has all the luxuries, showers, washer dryer, cable TV, two bed rooms, and a hot tub.  Yemaya has been enjoying the floor space, Ari and I have been enjoying a TV in the living room and bedroom. 
I'll admit that living on the boat isn't the easiest thing all the time, but I also love it.  There have been a bunch of sea lions spending their time in our marina, and I spend more time walking and getting exercise when we are there.  So far with such a little baby there has been only a little sailing, so that makes it a little less fun. 
But last weekend we took Macha out (pics to follow once the camera and computer are reunited) for a quick sail.  Thanks to Craig for the encouragement and sailing so I could take care of Yemaya and sail a bit.  Yemaya sat in her little bed and played and cried a bit.  We put up the main and pushed off the dock.  Head sails followed for a few tacks up the estuary and then with the wind and current helping a gentle sail back to the dock.  It was only an hour or so, but it was nice to get Macha off the dock after nine months.  Ari and Craig had earlier take the Tuna out for a spin before dropping the mast as part of Ari's ongoing project to get her ready to race.  Hopefully we can get the boat(s) out more and start to make our life on the boat feel a little less like sacrifice and a little more like fun.