(text: Tomasz Jabłoński, Charter Navigator)

Over one and a half years ago, I described how to sail a barge with a small kid. Then we went together with five-year-old Kuba to Alsace, France (article on the expedition appeared in a Polish sailing magazine under the title « A five-year-old captain – a barge cruise from a child’s point of view »).  Now it’s time for the babies.

Itinerary

We start our adventure in Cracow. The aim was one of the Nicols’ bases in Wustrau, Germany. We chartered a Sedan 1010 barge with 3 cabins and two toilets. Unit can be steered from the inside, as well as from the deck. Water tank has capacity of 600 liters which is enough for 2 days of sailing. The crew consisted of two children (Julianna, 7 months, and Maja, 4 months old), 6-year-old Kuba and three adults (me, the author of the article, my wife and her sister).

The youngest crewmate: Julianna 7 months, Maja 4 months.

The group which might have problems with navigating a yacht, did pretty well on a barge. Let me remind you once again – I’m not saying that sailing a yacht is boring, or that the barge is always better. At some point in our lives it is a pretty nice way of spending free time, if someone likes vacation on the water. Sailing a barge is not difficult itself, and even if an embarrassing maneuver happened, there is no reason to panic – you will be fine. I witnessed five men in advanced age trying to moor the barge near the lock. None of them got annoyed, even though there were many attempts to moor.

Our barge – Sedan 1010

>> See the part 2/3