Spark a passion for sailng and the outdoors in your child From the Moonbeam Children's Book Awards bronze medal winner! Ever since humankind began seafaring, boats and shoreline adventures have produced sturdy, independent, creative, self-reliant kids. From the author of the bestselling Complete Sailor and proud father of a boy mariner, here is the book for all parents who want to introduce their kids to the world of boats, boating, sailing, the shore, and the sea. It provides dozens of adventures and activities for kids, and a plethora of projects for you and your kids to do together. Topics range from how-to to fanciful, in random organization so that each excursion into the book turns up unrelated gems on facing pages. The Anti-Pirate Potato Cannon encourages your kid to get outdoors and on the water, to build things, to try things, to cultivate their curiosity, to learn self-reliance, and to get a giant dose of the magic of seaside adventure. Loaded with things for kids to do--build a rope ladder; build a Huck Finn raft from PVC pipe; catch and fillet a fish; go crabbing; skip a stone; body surf; waterski on bare feet; chart a cove; learn the great sea battles; build a sandcastle; navigate; win a sailboat race; paddle a sea kayak; and a whole lot more. Designed to cultivate a kid's curiosity about the natural world. Topics include:
Where's the wind coming from; How high is that wave; An anti-pirate potato cannon; Brew your own biofuel; Make a dugout canoe; Build a Huck Finn raft from PVC pipe; Skip a stone; Build a sandcastle; Carve a paddle; Row a boat Escape a rip current; Go kite sailing; Navigate by the stars; Carve a half-hull model; What's on the bottom; A journey to the abyss; Don't wrestle an alligator; A dinghy camper; How to dive with mask and snorkel; Build a motorboat from cardboard tubes; Body surf; Recognize ships; Discipline in the Age of Sail: cat-o-nine tails, hanging from the yardarms; Steer without a rudder; Chapter 25. Tie up to a dock; Reading a lines drawing; Whatever floats your boat; Play nautical capture the flag; Paddle a sea kayas; Build a rowboat; Signal across the water; Capture plankton in a net; Tie knots and splices; Make a rope ladder; Make a chart of your favorite cove; Throw your own beach clam bake; Make a catboat-race weather vane; Fight off a shark; Heave a monkey's fist; Ski on your own bare feet; Fillet a fish... and cook it on your engine; Your own ditty bag; A proper sailor's knife; How to stand up o