RECREATION / BOATING : Sailors Ask Best Age for Children to Get Feet Wet

As a husband-and-wife sailing team, Gretchen and Richard Loufek of Costa Mesa have won six national titles during their 12-year marriage. They’ve also had two children. So it was only natural that one day the Loufek youngsters would join mom and dad on the water.

But as the Loufeks discovered, boating with children is as challenging as the toughest-fought regatta. Especially when a stubborn 4-year-old is screaming, “No, mommy, I won’t go!”

That’s what happened when the Loufeks tried to take Killarney, 4, out for her first spin on Newport Bay. “She screamed for the first 25 of the 30 minutes we were sailing,” Gretchen Loufek says. “I had visions of how lovely sailing would be with the family.”

On the other hand, 5-year-old Whitney Loufek took to the water like a fish. She couldn’t wait to go sailing every weekend on the family’s 14-foot bay boat.

Eventually, even Killarney “became sold” on the sport, according to her mom. “We finally resorted to bribery,” Gretchen Loufek says, “and told her we’d stop on Balboa Island for a treat.” On a recent sail, the 4-year-old sang happily, unperturbed even when a brisk breeze caused the boat to heel at a sharp angle. “I think she likes it,” Loufek says.

Like a lot of boating parents, the Loufeks thought long and hard about how old their children should be before they became involved in the sport. And they thought hard about how to get the youngsters safely on the water--and keep them safe once there.

“We probably could have started them (in boating) a year younger than we did,” Gretchen Loufek says. “It really depends on the child. I think what is important is that they are not afraid of the water.”

Joe and Carol Hoffman, another husband-and-wife sailing team from Fullerton, like to point out that they started their children sailing before the kids were born. “Carol was pregnant and two weeks overdue when she was out racing in a 40-knot breeze,” says Joe Hoffman, a physician who races large yachts worldwide. “So, our kids have been involved in boating since before birth,” he jokes. “Actually, I think Chelsea was 2 weeks old when we first took her sailing.”

Since then, Chelsea, 13, and her sister Jennifer, 15, have participated in cruises with their parents that have taken them as far as Manzanillo, Mexico, and back. The family currently owns a 57-foot boat that is kept in Puerto Vallarta.

Although some experienced boaters, like the Hoffmans, do take their newborns with them when they go sailing, not everyone agrees that it is a good idea. Patricia Earl, a spokeswoman for the Coast Guard Auxiliary, says: “Unless the children are able to swim, I don’t think they should go. We prefer not to take small children. It is too distracting to the skipper. But we have towed in boats with babies on them just months old. And the parents haven’t thought twice about taking the baby out.

“What I would advise parents,” says Earl, “is that the parents should get a boating safety course in the first place.”

Lou Loth, commander of the Balboa Power Squadron, a boating educational and safety organization based in Newport Beach, agrees that it’s important for the parents to know what they are doing before venturing out with the children. “I recommend a boating class for the parents,” he says.

Although experts don’t agree on how old children should be before they are taken to sea, all agree on one thing: Make sure the child is wearing a personal flotation device. The Coast Guard-approved devices are now even available in infant sizes.

“I am a nut on safety,” says Joe Hoffman. “We always have plenty of life jackets and life rafts and plenty of food. There is too much underemphasis when it comes to safety,” he says. “It is usually the last class a sailor takes--and it should be the first.”

Both Whitney and Killarney Loufek got to pick out their own brightly colored life jackets, which they always wear when sailing and even when playing near the water. “Life jackets and sun block are a must,” Gretchen Loufek says.

Equally important, according to Loufek, is the type of boat. The Loufeks are both multi-hull sailors, but they felt the high-speed boats were too dangerous for children. “They are too fast and it’s too easy for children to roll off,” she says. Instead the Loufeks chose a 14-foot monohull boat that has room for the children to sit safely inside where it is less likely they might fall overboard.

“We felt choosing the right boat was important,” Gretchen Loufek says. “We asked people with families what boats they would recommend and we chose one that was stable, not easy to capsize and had no sharp objects where the children might get hurt.”

Also important, experts agree, is teaching the child how to swim. Both Killarney and Whitney are enrolled in swim classes. Most children’s boating classes in Orange County require that children prove they know how to swim before the child is allowed to take a boating class.

“I believe it is really important to get the kid involved in a training program,” says Mickey Hunter, director of the Orange County Sea Scout Base in Newport Beach. Every year about 1500 children go through the boating programs offered at the Sea Scout Base. “To me it is like driving a car: You are better off letting someone else teach them, someone who is experienced at teaching.”

Hunter believes you can start a child boating at “nearly any age” but points out that children must be at least 11 to take part in the Sea Scout boating program, and at least 9 to participate in the aquatics program. Most boating classes in Orange County require that a child be at least 7; some classes, including the Girl Scout classes in Dana Point, require that students be 10 or older.

“To me the fun of boating is in the doing,” Hunter says. “I see small children get very bored and I don’t feel it works well with small children. But people do go boating with small kids, some even go round the world with small kids. I wouldn’t do it but that is absolutely a personal opinion.”

Parents, professional boating instructors and safety officials offer this advice on boating with youngsters:

* Always make sure your child is wearing a Coast Guard approved personal flotation device.

* Teach your child how to swim.

* Protect your child from the sun by using sunscreen, hats or protective clothing.

* Make sure you have plenty of food and water on board.

* Always take a change of clothes in case the child gets wet.

* Don’t scare your child; let him proceed at his own pace.

* You should be an expert boater yourself before venturing out with your child.

* You should make sure that the boat is safe and seaworthy; if necessary take the boat out first yourself on a trial run before putting the children on board.

* Expect the unexpected and be prepared.

For information on boating with children, a pamphlet entitled “Safe Boating: A Parent’s Guide” is available by writing to the American Red Cross, 17th and D Streets N.W., Washington, D.C. 20006.

“If you’re going to get you child involved in boating, the important thing is to stick with it,” Mickey Hunter says. “Get them out there and sail, sail sail.”

Since the Loufeks introduced Killarney and Whitney to sailing last May, the family has gone out nearly every weekend. “I think boating is really a good experience for children,” says Gretchen Loufek. “It broadens their experience and as they grow older, they interact with all different age groups. And I think the out-of-doors is extremely good for children--whether it’s camping, hiking or boating.”