SAILING kids - No phones? - Ep 57

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Sailing kids – No phones?
“PUT THE SCREENS DOWN!” is a common cry aboard our boat. We thought that going sailing would be a chance to reduce screen time, but unfortunately even here in the paradise of west Fiji, cellular wifi is very efficient, easily accessible and very reasonably priced. (It’s cheaper and better than NZ)
Part of the problem is that the boys want to keep in touch with their friends and catching up online is the 21st century way of sending a letter. Trying to keep the balance of catching up verses abuse of screen time with endless games of Fortnite is an ongoing problem.
However, once forced outside into the light of day the boys find their skin doesn’t turn red and blister, instead the creative juices start to flow and they come up with games to amuse, stimulate and challenge. It also allows them to take risks that will build confidence and instil resilience that will be essential for success and happiness later in life.
Music
Cricket Farm – Bending spoons
Summer Kennedy – Oh my my – musicbed.com
Light the heat – Rest of our lives – musicbed.com
Chptrs – Obvious – musicbed.com

Thank you to Hayley Robertson and Ben Sarten and for additional footage.
Who are we?
In 1997, after a disastrous Olympic rowing campaign, Rob decided to row a seven-metre plywood boat, 2500 miles from Tenerife in the Canary Islands to Barbados in the Caribbean. It took 6 weeks and he and his rowing partner, Phil Stubbs, won the inaugural Atlantic Rowing Race.

Skip forward to 2014, we invested in Javelot a 43 ft Fountaine Pajot catamaran. Armed only with Robert’s 3 years of racing P class yachts from the age of 11 to 13, and Rachel’s non existent sailing knowledge, we set off to learn the ropes of ocean sailing. We broke stuff, replaced stuff and got to know our boat before heading offshore with our three children, Finn 17, Declan 15 and Ivan 12, in tow.
Through trial and error, we have become confident wayfarers, kind of.
Our plan? To sail around the world, meet the locals and record our adventures. Part of the journey will be retracing Rob’s eldest brother Kerry’s travels at sea. Using Kerry’s original letters from the 1970’s we will re trace his movements from Australia through Indonesia and South East Asia to Cambodia where Kerry’s life was cut short after straying into Cambodian waters in 1978. Kerry and two friends were attacked by a Khmer Rouge gun boat, captured, tortured and executed.

*****
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Never stop wandering, never stop wondering.

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