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 Leah manages it!
Leah (39) & Ricardo (41) live aboard their 1973 Trintella IV with their son Rui (5). They began their journey in Lefkada, Greece where they bought ‘Whale Tale’, before sailing her back to Portugal. Leah, Ricardo and Rui are currently living aboard in Portimao, Algarve and plan to spend the next few summers exploring a little further afield.
Tell us a bit about yourself...
What are your names, where is home and when did you leave etc?
My name is Leah, my husband is Ricardo and our 5 year old son is Rui. I am from the United States and Ricardo is originally from Mozambique but grew up in Portugal. Rui was born at his grandparents’ home in Algarve, Portugal.
We have been living and traveling around Portugal, including Madeira Island, since we were pregnant with Rui in 2014. While Ricardo grew up sailing and designs boats for a living, this is a brand new adventure in life for me.
We were looking at properties on land to buy in 2018 when we realized that the money we would use for a downpayment could be much better spent on a sailboat that we could live and travel on. Rui wasn’t in school, I was full-time mom already and Ricardo could continue to work for his clients from anywhere ~ so really, nothing was tying us down! We thought, “We can always settle later but this lifestyle may not always suit us later, so if we are going to do it, the time is now!”
Ricardo searched online far and wide and we narrowed our first choice down to a 1973 Trintella IV which was located on Lefkada Island, Greece. We spent two months living on and enjoying Lefkada island while buying and getting the boat ready. We named her Whale Tale! We then took 3 months to sail from Greece, through the Med, to Portugal.
For now we are making the most of both land and sea. Rui has started at a bilingual kindergarten and we are currently wintering in Portimão Marina in Portugal.
Why do you choose to live this lifestyle?
We are loving this liveaboard lifestyle. Although we are relatively settled at the moment (living in a marina for 9 months of the year, Rui going to school, Ricardo working from his tiny home office and I am launching some of my personal work projects), it feels like we are cruising when we come home to our boat everyday.
We value the international friendships we are making and the more adventurous spirit and outdoor life living on a boat brings. Our son went from being obsessed with watching cartoons to not even asking to watch them. He is much more engaged and creative now that we live this simple yet rich and alternative life.
What do your friends and family think about you living and travelling on a boat?
We have been fortunate and have only had enthusiastic support from friends and family. We’ve received questions of curiosity but only because it is such a foreign and radical lifestyle to so many.
How old was your son when he moved aboard?
Rui was 4 when we moved onboard.
What modifications have you had to make to your boat to have your son onboard safely?
We haven’t made any modifications but we bought this boat because of some of the features, which made it feel good bringing a child onboard. For example, a deep central cockpit and only a few, non-steep steps between the cockpit and saloon and cockpit to back cabin.
What pieces of equipment do you have onboard for your son that you consider to be vital?
Besides, of course, life vests and harnesses, little zipper pouches, boxes with lids (of various sizes – from tiny to quite large) and small backpacks that Rui can keep all of his various toys, puzzles, games, treasures and materials organized.
Do you have any funny stories that involve your son you'd like to share?
On more than one long passage I have overheard Rui singing to himself something along the lines of, “I love our boat.. I love living on our boat.. I love Whale Tale, she is the best boat in the world….” 🙂
How do you keep him occupied onboard?
Deck time, cockpit time, saloon time, kitchen time, bedroom time, etc!
Imaginative play, arts & craft projects, card games and board games, legos and magnatiles, science experiments, helping in the kitchen, hammock, activity books, story books, spontaneous made up stories, audio books, sharing memories, swimming off the back, kayak and dinghy rides, playdates, and lots of free, unstructured time for him to come up with whatever comes up!
What does your son do while you're on passage?
On long passages Rui joins us at the helm, watches for buoys, dolphins, birds, other wildlife, floating garbage, other boats, etc. He ties knots in spare thin lines as challenges for us to untangle and vice versa. He takes unusually long naps, which don’t happen these days otherwise! He lays on the saloon couch and occupies himself with chatter, singing, little toy cars, etc. We eat lots of snacks and cuddle. He tends to the fishing line off the back with Ricardo. We tell stories and talk about family memories. We make little home videos and take lots of pictures!
How does he cope when it gets rough?
Very well. Sometimes he wears his sea-bands, especially if he sees me wearing mine!
What are you doing to make sure your son is able to socialise with others?
Even before Rui started at Kindergarten he was getting quite consistent social interaction with kids of various ages and adults of various nationalities. I took advantage of a few family sailing, traveling and homeschooling Facebook groups as a successful way to connect and meet up with families. We also met lots of nice families at beaches, parks, restaurants, anchorages, etc. so there were always ways to connect with other people. I value Rui’s ability to socialize with adults too, so even if there weren’t children around for a little while, he still received social stimulation from the many lovely adults we met along the way.
What's the best thing about living onboard with your son?
I just love how he was able to naturally let go of screen time to engage with and enjoy the real world he is living in.
I appreciate how creative he has become and how we can enjoy simple pleasures together on a daily basis.
I also love how environmentally conscious he has become – water conservation, animal conservation, pollution, weather systems, moon cycles, and more.
Rui enjoys helping with all kinds of boat jobs where I see him learning valuable life skills and knowledge.
I asked Rui what were the best things about living on Whale Tale. His answers:
“Definitely sailing! Seeing dolphins! Night sailing and staying up late to see the stars! Bioluminescent plankton in the sea and in the toilet at night!”
What's the worst thing about living onboard with your son?
Sometimes it is exhausting but I think it would be the same on land. Isn’t parenting exhausting, at least some of the time, everywhere?!
I asked Rui what was the worst thing about living on Whale Tale. His answer:
“I can’t say it outloud… okay, (quietly), if we were to sink…. But at least here in the marina we could jump off onto the dock..”
What does the future hold for you?
We plan to winter in Algarve and cruise in the summers, at least for the next year or two, to give Rui some stability with school. We would like to sail to Madeira and Morocco during the next two summers, respectively. In a couple of years we are thinking of sailing to the Azores Islands to spend at least one year there. However, we have learned quickly, especially in pandemic times, that we do not know what the future holds! We are just happy to be here now.
What advice would you share with a sailing Mumma-to-be?
Embrace your wilder side and your child will see the best in you.
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 Leah and follow her on her journey, you can send her a friend request on Facebook.