Toddler on board - Josefin Alvtegen

We sat down with our longtime friend Josefin, founder of swimwear brand Tumla and an adventurer at heart, to talk about how outdoor life evolves—and continues—when your family starts to grow.

Hi Josefin! We hope your incredible 4-month sailing adventure along the Swedish west coast has been everything you dreamed of — salty breezes, slow mornings on deck, and the magic of living on the water with your family: Alex and little Frans. What a special chapter to spend together as a family of three… soon four!

Josefin is wearing the Minna Minimalist Wool Fleece in Navy

We’d love to hear more about:

• Your best tips for traveling and adventuring with kids — what made life onboard with a 2-year-old joyful, manageable, or even surprisingly easy?

• How you got time to work while adventuring?
  
  

Traveling with a 2-year-old on a boat is a bit like living with a tiny pirate who runs on snacks and wonder — chaotic in theory, magical in practice.

Most days felt like a beautiful kind of madness: a little barefoot creature darting across the deck, pockets full of seashells, absolutely no sense of danger, and even less interest in sitting still. While we were scanning weather charts, sailing, or trying to dock in a gusty crosswind, he was busy narrating his own adventure — balancing on risky spots, tossing toys overboard just to watch them float, or coloring with crayons in places clearly not suitable for crayons.

And somehow, it worked. He adapted faster than we did, slipping into boat life like it had been designed just for him.

So there we were — juggling storms, tying fenders, making dinner that wouldn’t slide off the stove — all while a tiny pirate climbed through hatches and kept us busy 24/7. We were more tired than ever, but at the same time had so much more energy than normal. The chaos should’ve been overwhelming, but it turned into something unexpectedly joyful. In the middle of all that motion and unpredictability, we got so much time together — just the three (four…) of us.

He showed us that a boat, for all its moving parts and potential hazards, can also be the safest, happiest place in the world when you do it together as a family.

Some advice for other parents wanting to sail with toddlers:

• Just do it — it’s amazing.
  
  

• Have a large snack stash for docking or other scenarios where you need all hands free.
  
  

• Buy and attach a safety leash and always have your child attached to the boat.
  
  

• Listen to audiobooks (our son’s favorite was Pippi Longstocking).
  
  

• Lower expectations

Regarding the work situation, it was not as simple. With no routines or time, it was a bit of a puzzle to have time to work as usual. But on the other hand, that was kind of the idea of moving into a boat - have time to just focus on family and adventures, we needed a bit of a break. But we always got time to be creative with Tumla, and our swimwear fits perfect on a boat so that helped the working situation a lot. 

• How do you handle pregnancy on the boat — any tricks or routines that helped you feel better while living afloat?

Being pregnant on a boat was… an adventure from the chaos department. I was very, very nauseous—the kind of seasick where even the horizon looked like it was plotting against me. And if that wasn’t enough, I had a tiny pirate toddling around, full of energy, curiosity, and zero fear of water.

But I would have been just as nauseous anywhere, so why not on a boat with my family, making memories for life? As my belly grew bigger, it became harder to run after our little pirate, and docking in some places was more challenging. So once again, the solution to sailing while pregnant is simple: lower your expectations and enjoy the ride.

Josefin is wearing the Minna Minimalist Wool Fleece in Navy

Thank you, Josefin. Your story is such an inspiration for anyone dreaming of big adventures with small children. For more inspiration, check out our Wild Women Story library.