My experience is limited to 34' daysailing -- nice pleasant days and nothing close to the sea state described in the article. For me (not necessarily for this family) I'd like a bigger boat; hull speed generally increases with waterline length and they are usually more comfortable (in general, many parameters go towards calculating "comfort"). That said, smaller boats are easier to sail so it's a trade-off. Many boats smaller than Rebel Heart have sailed in the shorthand Transpac races between the West Coast and Hawaii, so 34' is not too small to go off-shore, but not with me. In the 2008 Transpac a Cal 20 finished but an Open 60 won.

This year's racers include 11 boats 30' and less. But that to me would not be a pleasant sailing experience. I s'pose it goes back to a time when ships were wood and men were steel.

I won't speak re taking children sailing other than to say ... nothing really comes to mind. I wouldn't take kids, but I don't have kids so that's why I can say that.

One of these years I may start looking at boats seriously again and when I do it will be with shorthanded sailing in mind. Right now it's not on the horizon.