Life Lessons From Our Children
As they journey through the stunning Exuma islands in the Bahamas, the Orton/Bagnall family shares a heartfelt glimpse into life at sea, highlighting the bonds forged, fears overcome, and lessons learned along the way.
Log 3 - Tony and Bea
We are currently sailing through the Bahamas, and in the last two weeks we have been cruising with two other vessels, all with families on board - a total of nine kids aged between 3 and 14 years.
The Exuma group of islands has been nothing short of spectacular, with crystal- clear water, white sand beaches, and short 1-2 hour sails between islands, making this an explorer’s paradise.
Before we left on this adventure, some conversations with loved ones and family centred on the social life and schooling for our children and the fear of them missing out socially. These were great conversations to have and also a reminder of the pros and cons of all our lives in general.
The last few weeks have been fascinating, watching a wide age group of children play together - it’s been like nothing we have ever witnessed before. Four different nationalities, three families, all with different religious beliefs, but all with a similar outlook on life.
In over two weeks, we have not seen one fight among the children, no small groups forming, and not one child left out. What we have seen is children helping each other, learning from each other, and giving each other confidence to grow and push themselves. Children talking about countries they have been to and where they are going, discovering new languages they want to learn, helping and teaching each other with no judgment and full of encouragement.
We have watched our 10-year-old son overcome his fear of heights by jumping through the roof of a cave into a crystal- clear pool 10 metres below him, and we’ve seen our youngest grow in confidence, swimming with turtles, rays, and sharks.
All these children know the hard work and struggles it took to reach this current point in life, whether it be riding out a storm, missing loved ones, or maintaining a living yacht to keep it functioning and safe. Tomorrow, these boats may all go different ways, but these nine children have shown us how to make the most of the day we have in front of us and to live in the moment.