North Sea Sailing: Cruising Lessons Learned Sailing The North Sea With Kids

We’re in Norway! The sense of achievement, having crossed the North Sea as a family, was immense, writes Amy Kemp in her latest column

Our journey to Shetland provided great lessons that contributed to our successful crossing. We had two miserable legs – from Inverness to Wick and from Orkney to Fair Isle. Both times the problem wasn’t the wind or current weather – it was the sea state, recovering from weather that had since passed.

By the time we got to Fair Isle, I was seriously considering flying to Norway with our youngest. We decided to invest in the upgraded PredictWind – what a tool! (I assure you I have no relationship with them). Its departure planning function predicts how much the boat will roll side to side, how much it will move up and down and how much it will slam – and the likelihood of those factors causing seasickness or affecting our ability to move around the boat.

I then set a hard line: we wouldn’t leave Shetland unless we had a greater than 90% likelihood of zero seasickness and easy manoeuvrability. We also decided that we really needed an extra pair of adult hands, and so invited ‘Lovely Bert’ to cross the North Sea with us. This paid off. When we finally set sail – it was wonderful. We had calm seas the entire way to Ålesund, some glorious sailing and a happy crew.

There have been other lessons learned this month. Putting time as a family into routing software really makes all the difference. The boys have responsibilities each day: Barnaby plots the route to the next destination; Blaise works out the tides and departure times. This also means that while we’re travelling, they’re invested in exploring whether their plans have worked out for the best – or is there something they wish they had done differently?

We put a lot of thought into how to keep everyone warm and safe – which is enabling me to enjoy the adventure. Scotland was cold – Norway is even colder. We wouldn’t stand much chance if anyone fell in. We’ve got netting around the perimeter of the boat, just as we’ve had on our last two boats.

However, we also invested in some new canvas ahead of this big trip and not a day has gone by yet when I haven’t been absolutely delighted with our new setup. We worked with the team at Elite Yacht Covers (other suppliers are of course also available) to design what I can only describe as a cockpit conservatory.

I can entirely enclose the whole space and zip us all in safely. There have been several occasions so far when I’ve been alone with the children – because James has been busy doing something down below – but it’s been a very relaxed experience, knowing everyone is safe. We’ve also been warm and dry – with no foulies or even coats necessary – despite the weather outside at times being extremely wet and cold.

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North Sea Sailing – Magic Machine

We are very lucky to have some real creature comforts. I feel I ought to whisper this, as a little bit of me can’t shake the feeling that it’s cheating slightly – but we do have a little (25-year-old) washing machine. I expected to like it – but after two months, I might be ready to declare it is my favourite feature on board Zina. There have been nappy leaks, food spillages, over-zealous puddle splashing – and it all just goes in the washing machine.

We are outnumbered by children; it is a game changer. We’ve also all had to learn to be really adaptable. Every day presents an unexpected challenge. Sometimes it is weather related – it’s very changeable. We are constantly altering our clothes and plans to suit the heavens.

But also, there are daily boat-lessons – from the locks in the Caledonia Canal, to now realising that in every Norwegian harbour there’s a slightly different system for tying up. We need to have all eyes on high alert as we arrive to see how other people have tethered themselves to the land or dock, so that we can copy their techniques at speed. My hope is that all this will stand the children in good stead for a lifetime of having to adjust and adapt to whatever this crazy world throws at them.

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