The whole thing in a sentence
As we leave the deep and well-sheltered estuary, the family gets a taste of the beauties but also of the challenges of the Atlantic Ocean whilst facing many other routine challenges that come hand in hand with family life – a wonderfully fulfilling and thrilling experience at the same time!
Amy’s adventure
“My middle-class neighborhood pack won’t believe what I’m about to pee on their fences* once I’m back home,” I hear her thinking as she slowly puts her front feet up. First, she carefully steps on Roberts inflatable side, then all the way up on Tailwind’s aft deck. And that’s where the teamwork comes in handy: the lazy hind legs need a little human assistance to get the whole dog on the boat again.
After just a few days a well-practiced maneuver. Three times a day. Dodging the “no-dogs-allowed zones” to support the international plastic-bag-business.
After another few days Amy realized that sea water doesn’t help when thirsty.
However, our greatest fear – walking the dog from our floating home regularly – proved to be an adventure for all participants, but a manageable challenge!
In fact, Amy, mum’s 12-years-old dog – officially a German short-haired hunting dog, but really more a sophisticated couch potato – got used to and comfy on the boat quite quickly. She would recognize Robert and jump onto him readily to come back aboard after the morning walk.
Even under sail and when faced with the Atlantic swell, her developed couch potato abilities proved as a valuable asset.
*I’ll never forget a little girl’s explanation of what she thinks dogs are doing when sniffing around and peeing on those street corners.
“They are writing letters. And when another dog reads it, it simply writes back.”
Olfactory canine grafity, so to speak.
Oh yeah, and that’s another Galician mystery solved.
“Good afternoon! May I ask you something? Why do people place full water bottles or canisters on both sides of their entrances here,” I spontaneously ask an elderly woman trying to prevent her young dog from jumping over the fence to chat with Amy.
She laughs. “It’s stupid, really. People do that because they hope cats and dogs won’t pee there. But they do. I see them all the time.”
A human attempt to sabotage the stinky four-legged gossip failed.
Dani’s adventure
With less than 6 months, Dani, my fresh nephew, is the youngest human to ever crew on Tailwind. And he did his part well. Very well!
Observing everything and everyone, with his hypnotizing blue eyes that look straight into your soul, he brought a whole lot of pure joy! Explosions of laughter and ear-tearing screams of pleasure decorated our days. And confused Kate and myself every now and then.
Because, as you already know, the auditive channel is of great importance when living on a boat. It’s a great source of information. And suddenly there was much more information transmitted this way than ever before! More than once I wondered about what part of the rigging or the engine suddenly squeaked out loud before I learned all of my nephew’s baby language vocab :)
Other than that, Dani eats, sleeps, lives in the present exploring the world around him, and repeats that sequence every few hours.
The sea, the waves, the salty water and the sand will probably be enough resources for many dreams when resting. And the diverse company too!
Parent’s adventure
That said, a baby on board (and three youngsters) means a lot of work, naturally. Even when the older kids potentially can (and do) help with certain things, it seems to be a very fine art of diplomacy to get them into your constructive team, and not let them join the seducing opposition.
The “let’s-prepare-dinner-together party” for instance competes naturally against the “we-are-hungry-and-impatient fraction”. The “too-young-to-do-this” attitude effectively sabotages the “I-want-to-learn” aspirations. The dualistic approach of dividing the crew into kids and grown-ups leads to a simplification that can make things difficult.
“You’ve said that kids can’t do that,” I imagine Ilja with his bright & quick mind arguing. “So, you are also not allowed to do that, Dad. Because you’re a child too. Isn’t Grandma your mum?”
The following discussion about age, responsibilities and so on leads to an irrational yet logical argument where no one will convince the other. A smart little mind that simply enjoys the opposition, the freedom of misunderstanding and the pleasure of skillful provocation. The artistic twists and turns in the arguments are enough to leave you half baffled, half in despair. The cognitive abilities are impressive!
“Better to have him in your team,” I say to my brother with a blinking eye.
”What if this energy and intellect would be gently channeled into something intriguing, like science projects, rather than cheeky excuses for not sharing the chocolate bar,” I ask myself with the romantic naivety of a childless uncle.
Next scene:
Ella is a bit younger and she noticed. “Spread a pancake with this, this and that for me, please,” she insists in a friendly manner at the breakfast table.
I encourage her to try herself.
In an emotional response, the little princess explains with ease why she can not do it herself. The essence is: she doesn’t know where the knife is, she repeats.
I kindly explain, that if I would think that a task is above her abilities or current physical capabilities, I wouldn’t hesitate a second to help her.
But in this case, my advice was: “Try to use your eyes in order to locate the knife you need.” And really, it showed there was a knife readily prepared right on her breakfast plate. How lucky!
The impossible turned easy. Pancakes were joyfully garnished, rolled and eaten!
Her brother Misa is an athlete, full of energy and a rather cooperative being. Except if its about his younger sister or dental hygiene before bedtime. The calm explanations of his dad help slowly. Very slowly. To overcome the sudden change from an energy-loaded bullet speeding roaringly through and around the boat to a very tired little child who perceives the pyjamas and the tooth brush as its worst enemy.
Meanwhile, mum/grandma Kata sits on the saloon floor, devoting her love and attention to the little Dani. She radiates a kind of contentedness that not even the seasickness caused by the Atlantic swell can compromise.
I feel thankful. So much to learn there for me. For us. And so much respect for the role as a parent! Seems like a family is a politics-experiment at its best.
We wish you that your kids become your best allies.
Special thanks to Kubi, Kata, Kacka, Vojta, Honza, Ilja, Misa, Ella & Dani.
what a challenge all the tribe on board!!!!