It’s hard to believe three months ago we were still in the boatyard. Since then, we’ve splashed. Moved out of our storage unit. Sailed to the Caribbean. And even had our first visitors aboard!

Our son, Julian, is 23, at college in Utah. Our second child, Bee, is 21, a senior at college in Vermont. They flew in on 2 successive days to St Thomas, and once Julian was on board we beelined it back to the BVI to spend the bulk of the time there.

I think the highlight was Little Harbour, Peter Island. Crystal clear water, lots of sea turtles, reasonable snorkeling, pretty flat water, good hiking with accessible ruins . . . No real beach (but so far that’s been our experience in the BVI as a whole.) We wound up here twice, once for Christmas and then again on the way back to St Thomas for Bee to fly out.

The kids aren’t guests, of course. But it has been a while since they were on board. We’d prepped them beforehand with essential reminders like “soft luggage only” and “don’t pack too much” and even “these packages are coming to you so you can bring them with you.” One big thing was telling them to wear shorts on the plane so they’d be ready to get in the dinghy from the beach where we’d pick them up - an important reminder when they’re coming from snow and freezing temps.

Even though they are experienced cruisers, there were a few things that took us all by surprise. Maybe some of that is to be expected - the last time they lived on the boat for longer than a weekend they were in their early teens.

We had a great time. Next time will be even better - because we learned this time around. Maybe these can help you.

• Sail a lot or stay put? Ask ahead of time what the preference is in terms of sailing/moving a lot or staying put. We’d planned to move every day, thinking that showing the kids all around the BVI would be fun. Plus, hello, a big part of the joy in this area is the sailing. We’d not taken into account how that might effect other kinds of fun, like hiking and snorkeling; we’d also forgotten how tight the cockpit is for 4 people when we’re underway. Other boats might not have the same space limitations. We’ve decided that next time, we’ll plan on at maximum 3 different islands so we can settle into a spot and really explore. Julian loves the sailing aspect more than Bee does, so we did a couple of longer sails once Bee went back home.

• Internet/work commitments. Julian talked to us a few different times about his work schedule, wanting to make sure his availability of online teaching didn’t interfere with our plans. We assured him it would be fine. What we didn’t realize was how much his need for decent internet connection as well as quiet would dictate things like anchorage choices and even the ability to move around with ease down below. It was hard for him to teach when we had the engine running too; though we sail most places, we did have a couple of times when we just plain had to motor to get where we were going. We’d also thought it would be better for him to have his calls in the afternoon, after we got into the new destination; I’m not sure what timing would honestly be better. Going forward, we’ll encourage vacation time to be just that - vacation time. Again, this might be a matter of having a small boat as a larger boat might have a separate cabin that could be closed off.

• Food. Oh goodness I’ve gotten very used to cooking for 2 people! 4 people, 2 of whom are young adults with teenager appetites, eat way more than twice as much as 2 people eat. Not only did I need to buy more food (expected) but I needed to make more. No longer did we have leftovers for lunch, so there was lunch cooking or at least prep required, but it took longer in the evening to prep additional vegetables and a good size appetizer platter was needed to stave off hunger pangs every night. Breakfast, which for me and Jeremy is often a light something mid-morning, needed to be something more substantial and earlier. Next time we have the kids aboard I’ll make sure to stock up on a few more easy snacks and even a couple more “cheater” meals so I get a break. They were great about doing the dishes which was helpful for sure!