We caught up with three liveaboard cruisers starting their families afloat to find out what happens when motherhood meets marine adventureDavid Espejo via Getty Images\u2018I\u2019m just baby wrangling,\u2019 Sara Kulins laughs over the phone as her daughter coos in the background. \u2018She\u2019s trying to chime in the conversation.\u2019
\nFor Kulins, the nursery isn\u2019t a painted room in a suburban cul-de-sac; it\u2019s the 40ft yacht where she and her partner have been simultaneously building a vessel and a family.
\nKulins is a vanguard of a new Starlink Generation.
\nWith the help of high-speed remote internet, the post-pandemic shift toward remote work, and a booming YouTube \u2018sailvlog\u2019 culture, this new wave of young families is ditching the mortgage for a life at sea.
\nThe SV Devos family have a popular YouTube channel where they share their liveaboard lifestyle. Photo: SV Devos
\nBut while the Instagram reels show golden hour sunsets, the reality of a positive pregnancy test in the middle of the ocean is far more complex.
\nWhat happens when morning sickness meets 10-foot swells? How do you navigate a high-risk third trimester when the nearest OBGYN is a three-day sail away?
\nWe spoke to the women living at the intersection of marine adventure and motherhood to find out what to expect when you\u2019re expecting at sea.
\nThe rise of the liveaboard
\nVivian Vuong and her partner Nathan onboard in 2021. Photo by Vivian Vuong
\nWhile younger liveaboards and families may not be an entirely new part of sailing life, they\u2019re newly widespread.
\n\u2018Since the pandemic and with YouTube, remote work, and Starlink available, we\u2019re seeing a lot more young people being part of the cruising communities,\u2019 reflects Vivian Vuong, who runs an offshore cruising sailing business with her husband of twelve years.
\nBefore purchasing their Compass 47 Ultima\u00a0they worked as delivery skippers, crewed on superyachts, and managed a sail charter company in the Caribbean.
\nBurk and her husband Brian. Credit: Kirsten Burk
\nLifelong sailor Kirsten Burk and her husband Brian were part of that pandemic liveaboard boom.
\n\u2018We sold everything \u2013 our condo, our car, a lot of our stuff \u2013 packed up the rest of it into storage, and took off,\u2019 says Kirsten, adding they had purchased their Morgan 382 off an older couple who had sailed with their children.
\n\u2018There were a lot of people buying boats then,\u2019 she recalls. \u2018There was definitely a shift. Sailing became cool again.\u2019
\nBurk\u2019s mother, who passed away in 2017, had dreamt of being a liveaboard herself.
\n\u2018She had her captain\u2019s license, and had worked on mega yachts and done the whole thing, but got cancer before she was able to buy her own boat. I thought this would be a great way to honour her.\u2019
\nChoosing life afloat
\nAnastasiia Krivenok via Getty Images
\nAfter trading \u2018suburbia\u2019 (Long Island, NY) for sea swells, Kulins and her husband lived onboard for two years before getting pregnant.
\n\u2018I love this lifestyle,\u2019 Kulins says. \u2018I was pretty invested in it from the start.\u2019
\nRaising a family at sea was always part of their plan. \u2018I knew it was going to be hard, but I was committed to giving it a good go.\u2019
\nAfter moving to New Zealand, Kulins, a marine scientist, realised she wanted her children to have a different upbringing than she\u2019d had.
\n\u2018I saw the way that kids were running around barefoot, on boats and by the water. I thought how cool would it be to raise little ocean lovers that are so connected to their environment.\u2019
\nPhoto: James Mitchell \/ World Cruising Club
\nVuong echoes, \u2018[Living aboard] is a good opportunity to see how you can live differently, with less work demand, without the grind and the business of living in a city and having to keep up with the Joneses.\u2019
\nShe appreciates, \u2018Just having that freedom, traveling and seeing people with less, seeing that there are different ways to live. If I can expose my kid to that, that\u2019d be really cool.\u2019
\n\u2018Although,\u2019 she admits, \u2018It can also be lonely.\u2019
\nSailing for a living
\nUnlike many cruising couples, for Vuong and her partner Ultima doubles as both a business and a mobile home.
\nThey have sailed her over 50,000 miles since they started running offshore training passages, including along the East Coast and back across the Atlantic.
\nWhen sailing is your livelihood, Vuong says, \u2018Being pregnant changes everything.\u2019
\nEven when she started to miscarry at around 12 weeks, \u2018We couldn\u2019t just cancel the trip. We had five people flying in that day.\u2019
\nPhoto by Vivian Vuong
\nWhile her husband sailed the incoming crew from the Marquesas to Tahiti, Vuong flew to Tahiti and had a natural miscarriage by herself.
\n\u2018It was really, really lonely. I was grateful that my aunt and cousin ended up coming over to be around for the after care, but not having more family and friend support was really difficult.\u2019
\nShe discovered she was pregnant again at 13 weeks, not long after having sailed from Tonga to Fiji.
\n\u2018We\u2019ve put the boat first for the last six years, even putting ourselves and our relationship second.
\nShifting our priorities to us and the baby first has been a new challenge.\u2019
\nThe challenges of mobile motherhood<\/p>\n
Vuong\u2019s miscarriage left her with a heightened awareness of how isolating a nomadic liveaboard life can be, and apprehension for how this might shape her experience of motherhood.
\n\u2018What if I have postpartum depression after I give birth?\u2019 she wonders.
\n\u2018Am I going to be lonely? What do we do when Nathan is gone and I\u2019m in the country by myself if a medical emergency happens, or there\u2019s complications after the birth?\u2019
\nWhile having remote communication options like Starlink has facilitated communication with friends, family, and even clients,
\n\u2018It would be easier to have my group of friends or my close family around.
\nSailing around the world has put us in a place where we\u2019re not going to be around our people.\u2019
\nUltima\u2018s Skipper Nathan Zahrt trims the sails. Photo: Vivian Vuong
\nThe parents-to-be are considering various arrangements, including Vuong finding accommodation on land during offshore passages, and later taking the child along with clients with whom they already have a relationship.
\n\u2018My grandfather was a Merchant Marine, and he would be gone nine months out of the year. So when I look at it, two weeks every other month is nothing compared to what my grandparents did, and they had six kids.\u2019
\nStill, she says her husband worries about missing important milestones like the baby\u2019s first steps, and not being around to support his partner.
\nMother on a mooring
\nKulins has instead opted to live on a fixed mooring, where she can access mom coffee groups, consistent medical care, and refit supplies while she and her husband work on their boat.
\nShe finds that pregnancy onboard is \u2018not that different than expecting on land. The boat was my home before, and it\u2019s our home now.\u2019
\nHowever, \u2018If we end up just living on anchor and being really mobile, I would struggle with the lack of relationships.\u2019
\nSara with her daughter Madison. Credit: Sara Kulins
\nBurk, who moved onshore before going into labour, echoes, \u2018If I was to have a baby on a boat, I would have to do it in a marina, or at least within an established community where there were resources.
\nThere are so many different things to keep track of, it would be really difficult if you were sailing around and moving places all the time.
\nI know there are women out there who do it, and those women are superheroes. But I felt that I needed a hospital, and some land support. I needed a Target where I could go and buy diapers at 2am!\u2019
\nAccessing healthcare
\nCredit: Kirsten Burk
\n\u2018The transition back to land was generally stressful, but the biggest stressor of all was the pregnancy, and trying to find a doctor,\u2019 Burk says.
\n\u2018It was hard trying to establish care in these different places and reaching roadblock after roadblock. America\u2019s health insurance is ridiculous, and very difficult to navigate.\u2019
\nWhen they returned to the US to live near family, Burk and her husband had Medicaid as their only option.
\nThey struggled to find a medical practitioner who would take the insurance, or accept a patient in her third trimester.
\n\u2018They said it would be too much of a risk for the practice,\u2019 Burk explains. According to the American Medical Association, OBGYNs are among the most sued medical practitioners in the US.
\nIn the end, \u2018There was only one practice in the whole of Northern Virginia that would take us. Luckily she was fabulous, but it was disconcerting to just be told, this is your doctor. As a pregnant woman, you want to have options.\u2019
\nUltima getting a fresh rinse from a fast passing rainstorm. Photo by Vivian Vuong
\nVuong has also made healthcare access a priority in her geographic considerations.
\n\u2018In New Zealand, because they\u2019re in a social health care system, if you\u2019re a pregnant woman and you need care, you get care. No questions asked.\u2019
\nShe points out that the same cannot be said for the United States.
\nShe is considering giving birth in New Zealand, Canada, Australia, and the Philippines, where she has family, also weighing out birthright citizenship rules in each location.
\nPhysical challenges onboard
\nUltima under full sail between islands. Photo by Vivian Vuong
\nLiving onboard while pregnant brings unique physical challenges.
\nBurk remembers sucking on a grape Jolly Rancher and regularly being sick in a bucket while sailing into the Intracoastal Waterway at 14 weeks pregnant.
\n\u2018Morning sickness became seasickness, which I don\u2019t usually have. I was just laying in the galley, thinking, Please God, get me through this night,\u2019 she recalls.
\n\u2018To this day, I can\u2019t eat a grape Jolly Rancher.\u2019
\nFor Kulins, accessing and fitting into her berth became increasingly challenging, as did basic daily tasks like reaching into the chest fridge on their boat.
\n\u2018I couldn\u2019t reach all the way into the bottom. I needed a stepstool, and even then it was difficult.\u2019
\nThe unique spaces of onboard life have also had unexpected benefits.
\nKulins says her infant daughter, \u2018has been hitting movement milestones and climbing around much earlier than some babies.\u2019
\nNo regrets
\nCredit: Kirsten Burk
\nDespite the occasional discomfort, Burk maintains, \u2018The whole whole experience of being pregnant on a boat was exciting. It was stressful, but I wouldn\u2019t change it.\u2019
\nKulins says she wouldn\u2019t, either.
\n\u2018It\u2019s kind of special that as I was going through the pregnancy, we made progress on the boat while still taking it to beautiful places.
\nEvery milestone pregnancy moment is tied in with our boat. The weekend that I took a pregnancy test, we were out cruising. The day that I first felt a kick was the day that we put the rig on.\u2019
\nResources for onboard pregnancy
\nI was connected to all three women through a facebook group, Women Who Sail, which hosts several comment threads containing practical advice for new liveaboard mothers.
\nMany posts stress that materially, children need much less than advertising would lead us to believe: just warm blankets, diapers, a safe sleep spot, and milk cover the bases.
\nSome commenters offer space saving tips, like adopting multipurpose microfibre towels that can double as blankets, and recommend sling carriers as an indispensable item.
\nOthers offer advice for containment and safety through a range of options like bed attachments, porta-cots, dog nets or gates, bassinets, and even tents.
\nCredit: Kirsten Burk
\nStill, all three women interviewed felt that having access to more resources, community, and liveaboard-specific advice would\u2019ve improved their experience of pregnancy.
\n\u2018Having someone who understands the constants of boat life would\u2019ve helped,\u2019 Burk says.
\n\u2018Being a first time parent is so difficult. Having somebody within the maritime community or a compiled place where you can ask questions like how do I find diapers, or approach breastfeeding postpartum, would have been really nice.\u2019
\nShe now makes an effort to reach out to women in similar situations.
\nVuong and her husband have sailed over 50,000 miles on their sloop Ultima. Photo by Vivian Vuong
\nVuong points out that if information for expecting liveaboard mothers is scarce, there is even less for those dealing with miscarriage or complications.
\n\u2018I follow some people on social media that have had really positive experiences giving birth abroad and raising their baby on the boat, but you don\u2019t hear about loss, particularly in the maritime industry. That\u2019s why I wanted to share my story.
\nAfter my miscarriage, I learned that one in four pregnancies end in loss. But it\u2019s one of those things where it\u2019s not really talked about until it happens to you. The more we talk about our lives and our suffering, the more people are willing to open up about their own.\u2019
\nShe cites Tommy\u2019s and Rachel\u2019s Gift as resources, and cruising database No Foreign Land as a useful social tool for cruising families.
\nGoing with the flow
\nBurk and her partner Brian are now expecting their second child. While they have sold their boat, they plan to return to cruising when the children are older.
\n\u2018Parenthood and sailing are very similar,\u2019 she reflects.
\n\u2018Kids will blow up your plan no matter what, and sailing has taught us the same thing. The weather is going to do what it wants, the boat is going to do what it wants. Going with the flow and enjoying the ride is the only way to do it.\u2019
\nOff the coast of Maine, Vuong cleans a fresh batch of giant local crabs before steaming them for supper. Photo by Vivian Vuong
\nVuong, who is set to give birth early this summer, echoes the sentiment.
\n\u2018Having the miscarriage also taught me that you can only plan so much. We had derailed our whole business with the expectation that we\u2019re going to have a baby.
\nBut if sailing has taught me anything, it\u2019s that you just have to go with the flow.\u2019
\nShe and Nathan plan to continue their itinerant lifestyle, adapting their business to their baby\u2019s needs as they go along.
\n\u2018We have this whole big world to explore,\u2019 she says, eyes bright. \u2018I want to keep going.\u2019<\/p>\n
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The post What to expect when you\u2019re expecting at sea \u2013 three liveaboard mothers-to-be tell all appeared first on Yachting World.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We caught up with three liveaboard cruisers starting their families afloat to find out what happens when motherhood meets marine adventureDavid Espejo via Getty Images\u2018I\u2019m just baby wrangling,\u2019 Sara Kulins laughs over the phone as her daughter coos in the … <\/p>\n