Want to find out more about living and sailing on a boat with children before you commit to a change of lifestyle or find some tips and tricks you could use yourself if you already live aboard? Read on to find out how Jill manages it!
Jill (53) & Neil (43) live aboard their 2003 Bavaria 49, ‘Alice May’, with their two girls, Martha (16) & Sadie (13). They began their journey in Poole, UK in Autumn this year and sailed non-stop from there to Portimao, Portugal, only stopping due to a major breakage onboard in bad weather. They are spending the winter aboard in Portimao, are busy making plans for next year and are also working hard on their YouTube Channel to share their adventure with others.
Tell us a bit about yourself...
What are your names, where is home and when did you leave etc?
My name is Jill and I live onboard ‘Alice May’, a 2003 Bavaria 49, with my partner Neil and our two daughters, Martha Alice and Sadie May. (You can see how we came up with the name of our boat!)
We are from Poole, Dorset on the South coast of the UK, although I am originally from Cumbria in the North West of England.
We are at the very beginning of our ‘journey’ as we purchased our yacht in June 2020, moved on board in July and sailed directly from the UK to Portugal in September. Quite a sharp learning curve for all of us!!
Why do you choose to live this lifestyle?
Neil and I met working at sea for P&O cruises on board MV Oriana in 1998. When we came to live on land, Neil’s dream was always to buy a boat and sail off into the wide blue yonder! I never thought his dream would ever be achievable – after all, people don’t actually live on sailing boats… do they?
Then, during one dull August afternoon in 2018 after years of watching sailing channels on Youtube, I said… “Lets do it!!”
I saw other people living their dream, so why couldn’t we? We had both become disillusioned with the daily 9-5, never having any money left after paying the bills and mortgage and having a feeling of “there must be more to life than this.”
At this point the girls were aged 13 and 10 and they were both happy about the prospect of selling our home and living on a boat, although I suspect neither of them actually appreciated the enormity of what we were about to embark on. The thought of being on a permanent school holiday was, however, appealing!!
What do your friends and family think about you living and travelling on a boat?
If I’m being honest, I don’t think our family or friends actually thought we would see our plans through!!
Most family and friends thought we were very ‘brave’ and would tell us they were jealous but were incredibly supportive of our dream.
Our parents, however, were not quite so enthusiastic about our plans. They had concerns about the girls’ education, the safety of sailing, selling our home in the UK and having nothing to return to and maybe just missing us.
I suppose it’s a parents’ job to worry about your children and as time has gone on, they have been more accepting of our new way of life. I think now, they can see how happy we are and are more comfortable with what we have done; they may even be a bit proud of our achievement! But I expect they will always worry – that’s what parents do!!
Did you spend any/much time aboard while you were pregnant?
No 
Although I was so lucky to have lovely trouble-free pregnancies on land 16 and 13 years ago (and two wonderful home water-births – but that’s another story!)
How old were your girls when they moved aboard?
Martha was 15 and Sadie was 12.
What modifications have you had to make to your boat to have your children onboard safely?
Nothing specifically for them as such. Obviously, we have made Alice May as safe as possible by carrying an EPIRB and Radar SART, updating the grab bags from coastal to ocean category, installing satellite communications. Neil also taught the girls how to make a Mayday call using the VHF.
What pieces of equipment do you have onboard for your children that you consider to be vital?
Mobile phones and laptops!!! They are able to have regular contact with their friends in the UK which is especially important to both of them so their phones are a must – they tell me!
Laptops are essential for doing schoolwork. As well as having a vast quantity of text and workbooks, the girls follow a curriculum online. We use a variety of free virtual platforms, including Edplace but predominately Seneca which is brilliant. I can set assignments to their level and keep track of what and how well they are doing.
Do you have any funny stories that involve your girls you'd like to share?
It’s a bit early but I suppose there will be many moments to share in the future.
How do you keep them occupied onboard?
Teenagers have a habit of being particularly good at keeping themselves occupied! Of course, they spend a lot of time doing schoolwork and I’d like to say the time they spend on TikTok, Snapchat, Netflix and Youtube is for educational purposes, but I’d be lying!
Martha enjoys baking and Sadie loves to cook. Martha is also an avid Greys Anatomy fan and Sadie can always be found doing a dance routine to TikTok. Martha has started to study for her Day Skipper qualification and Sadie loves to ‘experiment’ with make-up. We do have a guitar with us although we haven’t played it since we set sail. Both girls also enjoy art and craft activities.
We’re currently researching how to make beauty products (combining fun and education!) I have to thank Robyn (Sailing Mutiny) for that idea.
We are lucky enough to have two paddle boards on board, kindly gifted to us by Sandbanks Style in Poole, so the girls enjoy using these when they can.
What do you do with your children while you're on passage?
During our 8 day passage down to Portugal we had no internet connection, so it was nice to have a digital detox. Both girls got stuck into good books although we should have brought more with us. Catching up on sleep was also quite a popular pastime.
How do your girls cope when it gets rough?
Other than a day sail from Southampton to Poole in lovely calm waters, our only other sail was from Poole to the Algarve; quite some passage to start with!
The thought of crossing the Bay of Biscay was the part of the passage that perhaps worried us all the most, however, this section was literally plain sailing and we had to motor some of the way. What was worse, was the first 24 hours, just out of Poole Harbour and crossing the English Channel. I don’t think any of us anticipated quite how rough this would be, especially after leaving Poole in such favourable, calm conditions. This was the girls’ first experience of ‘rough’ waters and they both coped admirably. Martha was a very caring big sister to Sadie when things got rough.
However, that was nothing compared to the conditions we were yet to face off the western coast of Portugal.
We had been sailing for 24 hours in 6-8 metre waves which was relentless and very uncomfortable. The girls were, once more, amazing and took it all in their stride.
At about midnight that night, the steering chains snapped, causing us to lose steering completely and our Radar was ripped off the mast in the uncontrolled gybe. Literally, ‘all hell broke loose’ as Neil, Simon (our skipper) and friend Mike struggled to regain control of the boat. It was pitch black, and the boat was heeling and pitching so much it felt like we were in a washing machine. To add to the situation the ‘boys’ had to take the steering wheels off the boat to enable them to steer using the emergency tiller.
It was very scary, and I got the girls out of bed and asked them to put their wet-weather gear and life jackets on. The three of us sat in the saloon whilst the boys dealt with our predicament. I was so proud of how the girls coped with what must have been a terrifying situation for them. They remained calm and comforted each other until it was safe for them to go back to bed. We were all so relieved to see the Portuguese coastline as dawn broke and the waters calmed down!
What are you doing to make sure your children are able to socialise with others?
At present it is difficult for the girls to have any contact with children their age.
Our plan was to winter in Almerimar in southern Spain, however due to the damage to Alice May, we came to Portimao, initially for repairs, but we liked it so much we decided to stay here for winter. I believe there are more liveaboard families in Almerimar, however, the girls are enjoying spending time with adults in this very friendly sailing community. There are some families here with young children and they both (particularly Martha) love spending time with baby Erin on Sailing Mutiny!
Once we set sail for the Med in the Spring, I’m hoping we will meet other families with teenage children.
Have you had any surprises along the way?
Just how well they have both adapted to their new lifestyle. We are really proud of how they have adapted to living on a boat and having their lives turned upside down!
How Martha was able to use her ‘Food Tech’ experience and together with Mike, she was able to gut and fillet a tuna that Neil caught crossing Biscay!
How Sadie has great design ideas for her cabin which she implements to make such a small space look fantastic!
What's the best thing about living onboard with kids?
We get to spend lots of time together!!
A big reason for our decision to buy a yacht and sail away was to give the girls an adventure and to spend quality time together as a family. We love living in Portimao and we’re looking forward to having lots of adventures and experiences as we sail on.
What's the worst thing about living onboard with kids?
We have to spend lots of time together!!
So for me this isn’t a negative and I have to say it’s quite difficult for me as a mum to accept that the girls need time on their own. I have never been a ‘me-time’ mum and I often want to do lots of ‘family things’ but sometimes I’m met with distinct apathy! My idea of fun and theirs aren’t always on the same page nowadays. But, I suppose that’s just having teenagers – wherever you live!
Oh and having two redheads with long hair… their hair gets EVERYWHERE!!
What tips and tricks have you picked up along the way to make your life easier?
Good Wi-Fi is a must. Having a ‘rota’ for jobs like washing up and boat jobs is a good idea. Ikea is a good place for storage solutions. We have a lot to learn and look forward to receiving tips and tricks as we go on!
What does the future hold for you?
Our plan is to sail into the Mediterranean in the Spring and spend next winter in Greece. A lot depends on Brexit as to where we can spend time. Eventually we would like to cross the Atlantic to the Caribbean and beyond.
Martha thinks she will spend the next couple of years sailing with us and then she would like to embark on a career at sea. Sadie will stay a bit longer, but she has no idea what she would like to do in the future.
Neil and I cannot see ourselves settling back in the UK, so ‘home’ will be wherever we drop our anchor or wherever we decide to settle.
What advice would you share with a sailing Mumma-to-be?
I suppose whatever the age of your child/children, if you want to live this kind of life, just do it!! There will always be advantages and disadvantages at any age, so whatever stage in life you are at, there is no time like the present.
Two things come to mind; ‘Life’s too short’ and ‘You regret the things in life you didn’t do, not those that you did!’
Find out more...
I hope you enjoyed reading this interview and finding out more about living on a boat with children.
If you’d like to find out more about Jill and follow her on her journey, you can visit her website here and follow her on social media.
