Howard and Julie Dove's Page

hey there, when the kids were small, we harnessed them on gave them a musli bar and drink and said lets go. we found that this was a great way for them to get their own sea legs, they had to hold on but we knew that they wouldn't get washed over. the harness gave them the feeling that they were in control. besides that, if i was holding them i couldn't take part in the physical sailing. did alot of scavanging on the beaches, cuttle fish, bottles, rope, and shells. usually had lots of craft materials for the boring times. paper and crayons were great, after a long day in the sun and wind, exploring and playing, this was enough to keep them occupied and creative at the same time. we would talk about our discoverys too. as they are teenagers now and haven't been on the boat for a few years the tone will be different i'm sure. we will have to get a good dingy and outboard as the boys are into wakeboarding and the freedom of going off for a cruise on their own. kite board will be a good one too, doesn't take up to much space. your daughter has a lot of sea miles ahead of her and loads of exploring to do anyways as i'm sure she isn't running around to much yet. we use to play hide and seek alot, amazing places you can hide on a 45 ft boat. dad had them stumped for an hour once, the kids thought he had jumped overboard. he was hidden in the folds of the sail in the lazy jacks reading his book-hilarious-well have fun with her, theres lots of kids out there !!