We just returned yesterday from a trip with our three kids. 11yo boy, 9 & 5yo girls. We had a blast.
Definitely checked a few bags this time around (4 - 90 liter HH duffels). We brought our own life jackets and snorkel gear (full face) for the kids so we knew it would comfortably fit (This was 2 duffels alone). The kids wore them anytime we left the anchorage or got in the dingy. We clipped them to the handles on the dingy to keep them out of the well water while ashore. Rash guards were important to keep them comfortable when wet.
Here is the planning spreadsheet I used:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1u9bVF4CV5LTkSyGMpMDQT1wCiCA087qzst09YzyK2Dc/edit?usp=sharing A few things we found helpful.
1. Slow down. We did a lot less sailing this time. Our itinerary was as follows: Trellis (NYE), Scrub (Pool), BEYC/SABA, Leverick (Pool, Beans & Taxi to Baths), Jost for 2 days and Cooper Island. The kids made friends just about every day with other cruising kids.
2. Food provisioning - We did our usual 2-3 day initial provision with plans to supplement along the way. We ate WAY more snacks than we expected. We involved the kids in the food plan and prep. Bought a kids cookbook months in advance to let them look for recipes, etc.... Our 9yo daughter loved being a part of this.
3. Pool - Made a point to hit some pools in the beginning, once the kids got comfortable we diddnt really need to seek them out anymore. Everyone loved Scrub, but their fav by far was White Bay. In fact we decided to spend a second day there because the kids loved it so much. I identified ALL the pools in the BVI in my spreadsheet. One thing I would do differently is try to use a charter company in Nanny Cay where they have a pool for your kids to use for sleep aboard, during provisioning, boat briefings, etc....
4. Avoid tight connections and ferry problems. We spent the night at the Emerald Beach In St Thomas on both ends to reduce the insanity.
5. You need a bag to carry [censored] in. We used a Yeti Camino Carry (50), a cooler backpack and a water proof backpack (Overboard 30) almost every day.
6. Brought camping towels for beach and swimming use as they dry so much faster.
7. We brought a few small toys for the 5yo, books for the 9 & 11yo, and a dinner kit (crayons, markers, notebooks, molding clay, etc...) as the dinners can get long.
8. We rented a kayak (used twice), noodles (never used), and a dingy ladder (never used). Id probably scrap it all next time in favor of one lilly pad.
If you ask the kids what their faves were. Baths, White Bay and Scrub are the top hits across all three. But they also say that the whole experience was incredible.
Feel free to email me anytime with questions. vytisracing at gmail dot com.
Keith