Through the Eyes of Children

We enjoyed our cruise to Maine, but there is nothing as special as grandchildren. I missed them. I always do. Now that they are getting older we can share our love of the water and boats with them.

Caleb, 7 years old, and sister Cecily, 4¾ years old, met the new Kindred Spirit last summer. This time, they were visiting us without parents and we decided a day on the water would be fun. These two treat the boat like a giant playscape, dashing here and there, checking every corner and space out. I don’t quite understand why, but they love the engine room (just like Papa does!) It is the first thing they do when they step aboard. 

The spiral staircase down to the cabin concerned me. I worried that I would fall down it last summer, so little ones dashing up and down were a concern for me. LOL, why????? 

The dinghy holds a special fascination for little people. Instead of taking Kindred Spirit out for the day, we decided to dinghy over to Pine Island’s little “beach” (that’s a generous use of the word) to play. It was one of those brutally hot and humid days, even on the shoreline. 

Spending the afternoon there was perfect. Brother and sister entertained themselves and us non-stop.

We didn’t imagine Caleb and Ceci would then combine forces to move the dinghy around. Caleb pulled up the anchor and they dragged the boat to the beach. Then they both pushed it back out again. And repeat. And again.

Papa gave Caleb his first dinghy driving lesson when we returned to the dock. This was one serious 7-year old as he listened to his grandfather’s instructions.

One day after that visit, Caleb and Ceci’s cousin, Addison, with her parents, my son Adam and his wife Steph, joined us for a day on the water. This was their first visit to the new Kindred Spirit. The weather forecast was changing by the minute but never improving. It was an overcast day with sprinkles a few times. But that didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits.

We collectively decided to take the short ride over to West Harbor on Fishers Island. The weather wasn’t good enough to hang around on the dock, and it wasn’t bad enough not to go out.

We anchored in West Harbor and enjoyed lunch onboard. You can guess what was next – dinghy ride!

And then it was FAST dinghy ride time! Adam was not about to miss this, but Steph and I decided to stay on Kindred Spirit. Truthfully, this little dinghy would never plane off with all of us in it.

I can’t describe how much we enjoyed both visits. I wish it could happen more often. The only way to end this blog post is to share a drawing that Caleb made of Kindred Spirit. He worked at the salon table and stepped outside to check on different features, including the number of portholes in the cabin, the round porthole, and the blue kayak on the flybridge. This is going to be framed.