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 Melanie manages it!
Melanie (33) & Martin (34) live aboard their 2005 Lagoon 380 S2 with their son Jonathan (nearly 2). They were bitten by the sailing bug during their honeymoon three years ago and decided to turn their new found love into new a way of life in Mallorca. Melanie explains how they manage to juggle living aboard with their son while also running a sailing charter business.
Tell us a bit about yourself...
What are your names, where is home and when did you leave etc?
We are not the “usual” sailing family! We live on our boat for about 8 months of the year, but we stay on anchorage in one place during that time to offer sailing tours out of Santa Ponsa, Mallorca. Our almost 2-year old son Jonathan goes to nursery, while we, Martin and Melanie, sail out for our day tours.
Martin was born in a small town in North Germany and is a true all-rounder. He has worked in banking, was an officer in the German army, worked in the event industry and then for a longer time in several companies and agencies in the field of employer branding.
I, Melanie, was born in Zittau, a small East German city. I studied business at top universities in Germany, spent several years living in China and France, and worked as a management consultant at the Boston Consulting Group.
We met when Martin worked as a barista at Starbucks. Melanie was a regular there, writing her master thesis, and Martin always spilled coffee when Melanie walked in. After 4 months, Martin’s colleague had enough of this, so he wrote Martin’s number on a Starbucks cup and placed it in front of her. A year later we were engaged, then married, then had a baby. And then we bought a boat, a Lagoon 380 S2.
Why do you choose to live this lifestyle?
Exactly three years ago, we went to Mallorca for the first time on our honeymoon. There we had a similar catamaran tour as we are offering now in Santa Ponsa. We loved it so much that we looked at each other and said, “this is the life”.
Once back home, we thought that idea would vanish like other big dreams, but it stayed with us and we slowly but steadily did everything to make the dream come true. Martin learned how to sail, did a lot of nautical miles and several trainings, became a lifeguard, we researched legal and tax implications, started to learn Spanish, wrote an entire business plan and then went to seven banks before one said yes to our loan. And then we bought the boat.
What do your friends and family think about you living and travelling on a boat?
We chartered a boat last year with Melanie and Martin’s parents and the baby. We sailed for one week around Mallorca, testing if we liked being on a boat for a longer period of time, with a child, if we’d get seasick and so on. Our parents didn’t yet know about our plan to open a charter business.
After that week, we were sure we wanted to do it and asked the charter company if we could buy that exact boat. We got a pretty good deal and the “Aisha” became the “Jona”.
We told our parents about our plans after that vacation and boy, they weren’t happy! 
But since then, they’ve gotten used to it. It definitely helped that we spent this winter in Germany.
Did you spend any/much time aboard while you were pregnant?
No 
How old was your son when he moved aboard?
We moved onto the boat when Jonathan was 14 months old. We spent a couple of weeks on the boat before, to test the waters, so to say.
What modifications have you had to make to your boat to have your son onboard safely?
We installed safety netting all around the boat a couple of months in. This was a complete gamechanger and I would recommend it to everyone! Especially when you have a VERY active toddler. We also installed baby gates (netting) in Jona‘s sleeping and play cabin and on both companionways.
What pieces of equipment do you have onboard for your son that you consider to be vital?
His lifejackets of course. When he was younger and we didn’t have netting, we also had a little leash for him (also handy to run around the docks in the marina.)
How do you keep him occupied onboard?
That’s very tough! As we are staying in one place to offer sailing tours for our guests, Jonathan actually goes to nursery every day! I can really recommend enrolling your children in some sort of school of you’re planning to stay somewhere a bit longer. This is a lifesaver. Other than that we read a lot of books, do puzzles, jump on the trampoline, go stand-up-paddling, build sandcastles at the beach…
What does your son do while you're on passage?
That’s so tricky! Our longest passage was about 30 hours. We didn’t like it (“we” as in mummy and toddler). He is just so active and wants to run all the time (something you can’t do when you’re 1.5 years old and on a moving boat). This is why we don’t do long passages anymore and are waiting until he’s a bit older.
How does he cope when it gets rough?
Pretty well! Funnily enough he usually doesn’t sleep well at all, but give him a rocky boat, even with two loud engines running and he’ll sleep through!
What are you doing to make sure your son is able to socialise with others?
Nursery! We love it, he loves it!
Have you had any surprises along the way?
We had a pretty bad storm and dragged our anchor. We were soooo close hitting the shore and another boat. It was a very frightening experience but funnily (and thankfully) enough, Jonathan slept through the entire ordeal!
What's the best thing about living onboard with your son?
We are close to nature, don’t have too much stuff, can go for a swim every day.
What's the worst thing about living onboard with your son?
The reduced space. He’s a runner and climber, which both is tough on a boat!
What tips and tricks have you picked up along the way to make your life easier?
Safety netting was a game changer for us!
What does the future hold for you?
We will return to our boat in spring next year and hope that the pandemic will be resolved/better. Last year was horrible for starting something new in tourism, so we need a strong comeback next year to be able to keep the boat.
What advice would you share with a sailing Mumma-to-be?
Don’t fret too much. Kids are unbelievably adaptable. Trust your gut and everything will be ok!
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 Melanie and follow her on her journey, you can visit her website here and follow her on social media.
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