[Mimsy]

Firstly, Charlotte of Rebel Heart is my friend so not only has the huge criticism thrown at them and all cruising families by the public riled me up as a sailing mom but it's hurt me right where it counts- in my heart.

In an attempt to show the masses that sailing with kids- even crossing oceans- is not something only ONE person has ever attempted I, with the aid and photos of a couple of hundred of sailing moms put together this video in support of Rebel Heart and to promote sailing with your kids in a positive way.

This is about showering some compassion and support on a family who has literally just gone through hell and faces a fairly painful bit of mobs with pitchforks when they dock. More importantly, we want to let the world know that we who choose to sail with children are not irresponsible gadabouts, we are loving families who want to share the beauty of the world with our kids.
Hope you like it. Feel free to share as you like- I and the contributors think the positive message needs to be louder than those from people who do not know what it is to love the sea.
Peace,

 

[christian.hess]

good for you!

I applaud this...too much negativity nowadays

 

[MikeOReilly]

Beautiful. Thank you Mimsy. I too have been saddened by the attacks levels at Eric and Charlotte. I never cease to be amazed at the arrogance and the "I know best" attitude of some people, although it is especially sad when it comes from fellow cruisers.

The crew of Rebel Heart has been through hell. They need support and understanding. They need time and space to recover. This is a great way of letting them know there is a community that cares.

 

[Minnewaska]

I wish them nothing but the best. I hope they get back out on the water, if they wish to.

edit: Love the vid!!

 

[bobgerman]

The general public might not understand why people choose that lifestyle, but I would think at least some of the folks here might.

 

[06HarleyUltra]

I can't imagine what their going through. I have nothing but respect for them. I'm glad their child is recovering, and wish them well in the future.

 

[Faster]

With no disrespect to what the family is going through now (and thankfully help arrived), that video put a huge smile on my face. Loved it!

 

[PaulinVictoria]

Lucky kids, cute vid

 

[chall03]

Absolutely fantastic.

 

[christian.hess]

damn that vid hits a spot..grew up on boats myself....in spain..from a mixed family....I just want to show my kid THIS world and not whats on cnn and crap

peace guys

 

[MarioG]

I hope everything works out for them.
Its a shame the media was clueless and didn't seem to care about getting ant of the facts straight.

 

[chall03]

When she finally stops crying, my wife will share this on our blog, facebooky twittering things etc.

 

[MarkofSeaLife]

I too have been saddened by the attacks levels at Eric and Charlotte. I never cease to be amazed at the arrogance and the "I know best" attitude of some people, although it is especially sad when it comes from fellow cruisers.

I'm not saddened at all.

Sure some of the blog comments are exceedingly low but its good we read them and learn what other people think.

To put our heads in the sand is just putting our heads....

Sometimes we cruisers do live in some vaccume where we we dismiss our families consternation with some brush off remark: Arrr, I have to be out there living the dream!

We can go out there and live the dream but being more cognisant of others feelings.

I don't have kids, never had them, don't even know what having a partner is (because they all escape), so I cant tell whats "right" or "wrong" bit I do know that when I am doing an appreciation, or a risk benifit analysis, that I can't do it properly if I only listen to one side of the opinions expressed.

If we are too gutless to listen to the adverse opinions how can we really have the courage in our own decisions?

Mark

 

[Mimsy]

I think there is a time and a place to discuss seamanship and what could have been done differently, and that is certainly helpful in learning. But its not right now and its certainly not helpful to scream at Charlotte on her blog that she is an unfit mother and that her children should be taken away. Its also not helpful to have every news article spewing venom and hatred from people who most likely could not tell you what a winch is and what its for.

 

[Ajax_MD]

The blogs gave me the facts in their own words, not the media.
Since I've got nothing good to say, I'll withhold any further comment.

 

[SVAuspicious]

Enjoyed the vid. I was anchored next to the couple at 2:05 for a while last summer. What a happy family.

 

[caberg]

If you publicize your family's entire life on the internet--complete with some very intimate details I might add--be prepared for the consequences. This story would have garnered far less interest had this family not had the blog and the following that they encouraged.

In the end, I am sure these folks will capitalize off this. They are writers and their family appears to be their subject, and the story just got a whole lot more interesting.

 

[mad_machine]

All the more reason to get "out there" and away from the people who have nothing else to do than complain and judge. I am fairly certain most of it stems from envy.. I am sure most of the mom's out there who levied the biggest scorn on them are the ones who gave up -all- their dreams to have kids

 

[TomMaine]

Great idea to put this together. It's a nice video of something that's been going on for a long, long time. Non-sailors don't know this experience exists. Learning a sailing life and taking your kids(babies) with you across bays or oceans is one of the best things you can do as parents. I know it was for us.

If you publicize your family's entire life on the internet--complete with some very intimate details I might add--be prepared for the consequences. This story would have garnered far less interest had this family not had the blog and the following that they encouraged.

I sure agree with that. What you write on social media can be as personal as you want. But if something happens and you're put into a media-focus, media may treat casual lines as states evidence.

Some media have taken a line or two of this mothers blog and used it as the lede in article on a sensational parenting article.

We all know as sailors, life on the water has high, highs, and low, lows. Everybody vents the extreme emotional side(some on the internet).

It's not fair for responsible media to take those personal snippets, and create an article around it. It's certainly not journalism.

 

[Minnewaska]

We've always had cultural norms that kept things secret, that were never really secrets. We must be clothed in public, but we all know what's under there. These family blogs are only revealing what has always taken place in nearly every family, from time to time. It's just hard to take it in context, because we used to only hear about it when it boiled over.

I do predict that the self-exploitation of facebook and personal blogs is going to eliminate the sense of privacy for future generations. May or may not be a bad thing.