Do you ever have those moments when you look back and you think that something was such a long time ago, but it felt as if only a moment had passed by? It was 2012 that I was sitting in a wood hut in Afghanistan, during a 6 month deployment, thinking about sailing away. Seven years ago, I made up my mind that my future would include sailing and travel. I have a saying that I truly believe in, “it only takes doing for an adventure to start.” So many of us keep dreaming, keep thinking about someday and sometime and next year. I’m still dreaming, but this year is my someday, sometime, this year! It’s official…I’m giving up the traffic and office way of life in Washington DC; this former Marine Corps Captain is heading off to South Africa to become a Sailboat Captain.
A little back story may be in order. About 13 years ago, I stepped foot on a sailboat for the first time. I was in San Carlos, Mexico with Jessica, my best friend and the woman I would later marry. She introduced me to something she loved, and I immediately fell in love with it as well. Fast forward to 2012, sitting in that wood hut in Afghanistan, while surfing the internet, I found the amazing logs of a boat called Ithaka on the Boat US website and got lost in the stories of a couple who sailed the Caribbean for about 6 years. After reading all the boatlogs and corresponding with the woman who wrote them, and who happened to be working for Boat US, I ended up writing an article for the magazine. I was so excited to write about something I enjoyed so much. I was also very scared that putting those words out there would somehow hold me accountable for starting my adventure and that I’d just be another dreamer if I didn’t follow through with what I wrote. For the record, I am just another dreamer, and dreamers are an important part of our world. Dreamers who can put those dreams into action, create change and change is good.
Over the years, I’ve owned a boat, took some basic courses in sailing, done some day and weekend trips, and have gone on some amazing charter vacations to locations that I hope to one day see again. No where on earth do I feel more relaxed, more at peace, and more in tune with who I am than when I am on a sailboat. It just feels right.
So, after years of dreaming, continuing to work, and coming to the realization that plans don’t always work out the way you…well…planned, I’m in the position to actualize my saying and start my adventure by dropping everything and doing.
When I first started thinking about how I could make full-time sailing a reality, I came up with several different possibilities. 1) Use my 401k and military retirement to buy a boat and finance my adventure, 2) Find a position as a Charter Captain, 3) Win the lottery, 4) Sail while finding odd jobs here and there (maybe writing?) 5) Join a crew. As the planning started, I flushed out which options I could actually do. As stated before, things don’t always work out the way you think they will. Along the way, Jessica and I were blessed with the adoption of a wonderful young man (Michael) who has and will, for the better, continue to change our lives forever. As I write this, he is 17 and a few months away from turning 18. He is an amazing person and is working hard to find his way in life. On the flip side, Jessica and I also split up last year. It was amicable and we continue to be the best of friends. Though, now I can’t get her to go sailing with me. With the financial responsibilities of those events, the first option of buying a boat and running off isn’t feasible. Option 3, winning the lottery, well…I’ll keep wishing on that one. For stability sake, that really only leaves the options of finding a position as a skipper or joining a crew. Either way, a bit more formal education is in order.
Throughout the past six years, I have researched various schools and what the different certifications entail, which is more accepted throughout the industry, and what the difficulty in obtaining those certifications buys you. My understanding is,that the Royal Yachting Association (RYA), Yacht Master Certification is more accepted worldwide for sailing than going through the individual courses of American Sailing Association(ASA) and then getting signed off by the US Coast Guard. One individual made it very clear in my mind when he pointed out that the US Coat Guard Captain’s license is for a boat. A person could have a Captain’s license and never have sailed a day in his/her life. With that in mind, I looked at RYA Yacht Master Fast Track schools and primarily focused on three locations: Spain, South Africa, and St Maarten. There are plenty more locations out there, I was just drawn to these three over others in places like Australia, Britain, Amsterdam, etc.
Though it would be cool to spend 3-4 months in the Caribbean and get to sail around St Maarten again, this is where the difficulty of the course comes into play. The tidal range in the Caribbean is basically zero. That means that the requirement of mileage building in tidal waters that RYA requires would be rather difficult to meet. The hard choice came down to Spain and South Africa. There were a lot of contributing factors(reputation, length, language, cool accents, etc), and both seem to have amazing all-inclusive schools. The major difference is the exchange rate between the American Dollar (USD), Euro (EUR), and South African Rand (ZAR). USD to ZAR is currently at .072, which saves a few thousand dollars and is hard to overlook when a Fast Track course is going to set a person back $8k – $12k USD. And hey, if you can sail Cape Agulhas, you can sail anywhere…right?
With my choice made and decision set, I have signed up with Sail Due South out of Langebaan South Africa. Not only do they have the all-inclusive education along with room and board, they also came highly recommended by an excellent captain I had come to know and sail with. I will be heading down to Langebaan in September to start my adventure and I don’t think I could be more excited. Until then, I need to finish working on my travel visa, find and buy some solid wet weather gear, figure out where I am going to live when my lease is up in June, and o’yeah…go on a sailing vacation with Jessica to Antigua.
It Only Takes Doing For An Adventure To Start 