Bicho Papão - connecting as a family
https://www.instagram.com/the_sailing_mum/
Names and Ages of people on the boat : Mariana 44, Marcello 48, Josh 11, Moana 5 - Claro
Boat name/type: Bicho Papão – Lagoon 44
How long have you been living on a sailboat while travelling?
21 months as a family. We did live onboard as a couple before kids for 10 years on a 41 ft Monohull.
What were you doing before you moved aboard?
Living a normal land life working as an Architect and Marcello as a Project Manager on full time jobs in Australia for the last 12 years. However, we did have the cruising experience from back in 2000 when we left Brazil (where we are originally from) on a 41ft Monohull and sailed for 10 years spending most of the time in the Pacific. Our intentions were to go around the world but we stopped in Australia in 2010 and made it our home, moved to a house and had kids.
The plan was to leave when our son Josh was 5, but then life had other plans for us and we delayed the trip. We were ready by 2020 (when he was 8) when we bought our boat in New Zealand sight unseen due to us being in Australia and Covid Lockdown - hoping restrictions would be lifted soon. 2 years went past from the time we bought our boat until we could actually board it as restrictions took longer than expected to be lifted.
Motivation: What inspired you to embark on a sailing adventure?
Since we sailed from Brazil to Australia back in the 2000’s, we always had in mind to do the same with our family one day. We were inspired by the freedom of boat life that we knew compared to the crazy land life where we missed having time to connect as a family.
We also found inspiration everytime we met boat kids in our previous cruising experience and wanted to do the same with our kids.
Any unforgettable destinations / moments you have been to or experienced?
All of the destinations we have been were unique and unforgettable. Everywhere we went, I had the impression we were leaving too soon and would have loved to have stayed longer. I love to connect with the local people and their culture so much, these are the most precious experiences we live during this adventure in my opinion.
The most unforgettable cultural experience we had was to witness the land diving ceremony in Vanuatu where the locals of Pentecoste Island jump head first from a 30m high platform made out of sticks and vines with a vine attached to their feet (This is where the bungee jumping came from). This is a ritual for their passage into manhood and also for the harvesting of the yam. There were kids as young as my son doing this and the atmosphere was full of excitement with chanting and dancing in the background.
Is there a typical day for your family on a sailboat?
A typical day would be one that is Sunny. We do homeschooling in the morning and by 10:30 we are ready to explore. Then there is no typical day as so many options arise.. We could go walk through a village and be invited by locals to some event, we could go on a snorkelling expedition and stop at a beach for snacks and some play time, we could have some buddy boats nearby and organise something together like a game night or a fire by the beach...
How do you handle education and schooling?
We do homeschooling in the morning so we have the day free to explore without worrying about finishing school. Josh is very independent with his work. He does Maths and English and the rest he learns throughout the day with our daily experiences. He asked to learn chemistry so we are starting that. Moana is starting Kindergarten. We do Maths and English as well and follow a programme, we use The Good and the Beautiful for both kids. We have started to work remotely and are juggling the homeschooling, working and boat jobs at the moment, so each parent is responsible for one child's homeschooling and we try to do the majority of our own work before the kids wake up (so we wake up very early).
What were the biggest challenges you find about this lifestyle?
I find the biggest challenge of all is when we have a major problem with the boat and have to attend to it and also take care of the kids. You depend on your boat and your ability to solve problems without any help which demands full attention of both parents and juggling this with parenting kids and any adverse weather is very challenging.
Has this lifestyle helped you grow and learn?
Definitely. We did grow and learn as a family. The connection with each other and the willingness to work as a whole has changed a lot from when we were on full time jobs.
How do you connect with others while sailing?
Whenever we get to an anchorage and there are other boats, we go to them and introduce ourselves. We also use social media such as kids 4 sail and local cruising/sailing facebook pages relevant to where we are at the moment. Whatsapp groups are handy too
Do you have any memorable cultural experiences?
So many. Everywhere we went. The Sevusevu ceremony in Fiji, the Land Diving on Pentecoste Island in Vanuatu, having dinner with a family of hunters in New Caledonia, watching a traditional dance in Vanuatu overlooking the active volcano, watching the pipe band in the Solomons, connecting with the Bajau people in Indonesia, eating Indonesian food...
What items would you not go without ?
I would not go without a long sleeve good quality swimwear and my camera!
What Lies Ahead: Do you have future plans or new destinations in mind?
We plan to spend 2024 in Indonesia to focus on surfing that we didn’t get much for the last 5 months and we will sell the boat in Thailand at the end of the year to go back to land life.
Do you have a heartfelt message or piece of wisdom or advice for people looking to embark on similar adventures?
If there is something I would do different would be to get my kids involved in sailing early in life. When we moved to the boat it was a big transition for my 9 year old son. I think this would’ve helped him look more forward to the change.
