We have sailed twice with a little one. Both times were with Maytrix, once when his son was less than 1 year old and not yet walking, and once when he was just under 2 years old and walking.

I won't lie, my first thoughts were leaning towards all the "what if's" and possible negatives. I'm glad we went both times and here's a list of why they were both very successful and pleasant trips.

- Conner had a great disposition, yes, he had his rare "baby moments", but honestly he was a great kid to be around. Our experience would have been much different if he was a cranky kid, which he really never was, or if he was a fidgety kid, which he wasn't, even when tethered to things all over the boat. The pfd didn't appear to bothered him either.

- Matt and his wife were very organized and prepared/outfitted nicely for having a baby on board included having a lightweight portable play crib, they had some type of secure set up in the cabin for sleeping. They had an appropriate fitting pfd with harness and tether etc. Clothing, hats, sunglasses, the best waterproof sunscreen etc. They had SO MUCH gear to assure that they were covered for all scenarios on the boats or on land.

- The parents! Sorry Matt I have to expose something personal about you guys....they were never visibly overwhelmed or anxious about anything, each shared in the daily routines giving each other breaks. They were so prepared, especially with the ton of gear they brought. Great parents!

- Medical emergency concerns...heck Matt's sister was with us and she's a nurse! I'm a rusty former EMT and was happy to have her on board for the "what if's"

- A/C...We had a large cat with genset a/c on the first trip....A/C is very important in my opinion. However when we sailed Matt's mono from St Lucia to the BVI's we only had dock side a/c and spent a few steamy nights without a/c, I think the adults were more uncomfortable than Conner.

- Mosquitos..I don't remember a problem. Matt can chime in on how they dealt with that, but he was always dressed appropriately when hiking where skeeters would have been at their worst.

- Dinghy concerns...the pfd they used had a nice hand strap and Matt would easily transfer the priceless cargo from the scoop to someone in the dinghy. On at least one stop, White Bay I think, I took a practice run to the beach to see if it would be too challenging to take him in. We were fortunate that the conditions were great during our trip, having to hand him back and forth at the scoop in unsettled conditions could be stressful.

- Disruptions to the crews good times? nah! there were times when Matt or his wife chose to stay on the cat while others hiked etc. It does take a little longer to prepare to go ashore with a baby, have to make sure you have everything they'll need. On our trip from St Lucia I discovered our cabin air vents were a microphone for Conner...I wake up early so no biggie, but O-dark early each day I'd hear his tiny voice saying...momma, momma, momma, momma. Oh, and dirty diaper issues...they must have zip locked them because we never noticed a thing!!

A trip like this is not for everyone, but I was happy to photograph Conner's feet touching the BVI sand for the first time ever on Cooper! Hope this sheds some light, good luck with your decision making, cheers!