Iona’s – Gap Year Sailing Experience

After crossing the Atlantic, I think we were all sad about the idea of stepping off Escapado. For me the plan was to travel Central America. However when Germaine and Sophie mentioned St Vincent and the Grenadines it was a no brainer, especially after hearing the incredible stories from Sophie!

Personally, I definitely wasn’t ready to Stop sailing, leave the crew which I had bonded with so well or in-fact part with Escapado which had become my home and base over the past two and a bit months. It’s been particularly amazing to see how the boat has changed with the new crew, skippers and more importantly a completely different climate. Big thanks to Germaine, Jan, Ollie, Angela and Sophie who all skippered us at different parts of the trip!

Chris, Sophie’s partner joined us in St Lucia after traveling from Germany. Due to Covid restrictions, we said a quick goodbye to Kat a Jake and left the marina late evening. It was exciting to embark on yet another new adventure and leave the marina which we had spent so much time at. But we still had to clear out with the possibility of being declined entry so we remained on edge until we arrived and had confirmation that we could stay. We spent Christmas Day on the boat with a few luxury items for Christmas dinner including pineapple, chocolate fingers, pesto, and pancakes expertly made by Charlie.

While we all missed our families as we spent our first Christmas away from home, it was also nice to be detached from the chaos and western hype over the month of December. Our 5-day quarantine was nothing to complain about as we spent every day swimming, snorkeling, watching sunsets, playing poker with beer caps, and attending ‘happy hour’ with the other ARC boats. We’re all very grateful to be here and are so thankful for the support from Germaine, Sail Racing Acadamy, Sophie, Chris and all our families.