When we bought Gambit, the idea was initially to sail her locally and on coastal legs in order familiarize the family with sailing and life at sea, a stepping stone to a ‘real’ cruising boat.  And so it started out, but after a while we developed such a strong connection with her,  her dependable nature, her comfortable ‘beaminess’, her familiarity and cheeky gusto appealed to us and we decided that she was ‘the one’.

On looking back at preparations for setting off on Gambit, a vast amount of my time was invested in making her child friendly, safe, while Doug concentrated on boat readiness.  Gambit was a little boat in terms of average cruising vessels, and we had to fit a whole family, a whole life onto her (and leave room for beer too).  I spent copious amounts of time sourcing a variety of activities, games, both educational and just good ol’ fun ones too, construction toys, quiet toys, play dough recipes and cutters, all manner and type of crayon, paint, koki, washes etc, books and other reading matter, as well as a vast collection of childrens’ audio books including Beatrix Potter, Walt Disney, Winnie the Pooh, etc.  Also of course the Grade 1 syllabus for Dylan, who had just started at school at Selborne Primary in East London.  I must say, I think Gambit was one of the best stocked children’s boats ever to leave the shore, and guess what – the beer fitted in.

The configuration of Gambit’s sleeping arrangements was a triangular shaped ¾  bunk in the forepeak which proved too confined to share in the sweaty tropics so became my bedoir, and a single bunk tucked in behind the chart table which had a porthole into the cockpit.  This was Katie’s space as the horizontal postbox nature of the bunk meant that headroom for a 4 year old worked. The saloon table lowered to form a bunk which was the master of the ships’, and opposite was a settee with a lee cloth where Dylan slept.  Above Dylan’s settee were lattice door cupboards which Doug installed and where all the school and children stuff was kept, and opposite in the saloon were book shelves. The galley was a little nook just big enough to stand in with a little sink, gas stove and top loading fridge doubling as work surface.  Sandwiched between the saloon and the forepeak was the head. I made canvas bags for each bunk where we kept our clothes.

When I look back through the photos of life on Gambit, I am astounded by the simplicity of our set up, that the whole boat had to be transformed daily from a sailing vessel, to a school room, to a play ground, a bakery, a bathroom (baths happened in the galley sink when too much saltiness had soaked into our skins) and finally a dormitory.

Although one of our primary reasons to set off on an epic family adventure was to enjoy the privilege of being with our children 24/7, it’s only hindsight which provides the affirmation that it was a challenge worth pursuing; browsing through the photos refreshes the memories, heightens appreciation of undiluted quality of time spent together. More than that, our lives were enriched by others out there doing the same, boats with children, boats with surgeons, boats with fishermen, boats with bums, boats with amazing expertise in a myriad of fields, big yachts, small yachts, fancy yachts and revolting yachts, but all linked with a common goal. You can browse too, see if you can capture the mood and maybe be inspired to do the same.  For a personal perspective, maybe read through my letters to my family, or the childrens’ scrapbook entries may provide a simpler version!

-Val

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