Sep 2022: Morocco to Europe on Catamaran
We are considering inviting one, or possibly two, persons to join us in our nautical adventures aboard our 51 ft catamaran in Europe, sailing with us from Tangier, Morocco, mid Sept, for 2 to 3 weeks. If we are compatible, possible additional sailing adventures ahead.
Important: a good swimmer, not prone to seasickness, open to learn and explore. Only respond if you are a serious prospect. If this is not for you, share it with someone who may enjoy the opportunity.
We will be departing Tangier, Morocco, maybe sail the local coast first, then leave for SW Spain to Portugal. Our sailing plans are flexible based on who joins us, the level of experience, languages spoken and how long the crew will remain aboard, and what the seasonal conditions are for safety. We hope to mostly sailing or at anchor. Not a marina boat.
Mental toughness is a requirement when sailing and sharing life in a small space with others. We have one open cabin aboard. You have a cabin with its own head. We shower on the aft deck.
The person or couple must love adventure, flexiblity on times, locations and situations are critical, as with the sea, wind and boats, things can change quickly and we adapt accordingly. You must be able to take instructions, there is only one captain - me, and be happy to learn how we do things on this boat and our systems. You may have learned how to do things on other boats, but we are going to teach you how we do things done aboard our catamaran. Every boat is different, we have systems and methods that work, and have developed what works on THIS VESSEL. If you are not willing to learn our ways, then this will not be a fit.
To live on a boat requires a commitment to the boat and the team. This is not a charter or a vacation, but an exchange where hopefully you gain great experiences and build wonderful memories. Everyone contributes in various ways, no room here for people who are freeloaders or takers. Crew members will share in food costs onboard, pay for their own meals in restaurants ashore, and a fair portion of marina fees.
There are ongoing maintenance, repairs, cleaning - your own cabin, the decks, salon, galley and cockpit where we spend plenty of time. Be proactive in duties as we run a clean and tidy boat, it's our home. We eat well which means meals need to be prepared, some occasionally by you, dishes need washing, bed made each day, head clean, as guests onboard will use your head if necessary. Overall, help keep our home shipshape. We are not going to be someone's maid or servant. Period. We all work together.
A positive attitude, respect, good communications skills, are especially important when building onboard relationships. As well as troubleshooting whatever challenge arises, a sense of humor, a work ethic to always be willing to participate in whatever is going on aboard El Gecco, being non judgemental, open-minded and inclusive, are absolutely essential. We have ZERO tolerance for drama, moodiness or sour attitudes. If you are happy learning new things and teach what you are passionate about, but also comfortable with being alone and quiet, reading a book, we will get along just fine. Non-stop talkers can be exhausting. This can be a wonderful experience. We don't spend much time in marinas, preferring to be at anchor.
Much of our sailing will be short hops, no more than one or two nights at sea, unless we plan to do a longer passage with you remaining aboard after our initial agreement.
We are very social and meet many fellow sailors, travelers and local people. We invite people to come join us for meals or for sunset apertivo, depending on who we meet interesting. They are our guests. You are always welcome to participate in this fellowship. It is part of the experience of life aboard. Hence if guests are coming, there will be duties that come with having others visit. We are social drinkers, enjoying a glass of occasional wine. Hard alcohol, or heavy beer drinkers will not fit and at sea we run a dry boat.
As captain, I'm a very experienced sailor with more than 35 years of experience working as a commercial diver, a professional racing sailor,
before getting married and cruising the Caribbean. I built my own racing yacht, campaigned her in numerous solo transocean yacht races that include two participations in the BOC Challenge, a 27,000 mile solo race around the world.
My life story aired on PBS and I have published several books on my life at sea. In 2005 I won the National Outdoor Book Award for my autobiography, Journey of a Hope Merchant. Online is my Ted Talk and many other videos and articles focusing on my public life as a sailor and a keynote speaker.
Darlene is a former executive recruiting business owner before managing my speaking career. She has cruised extensively with me and her passion is food. Hence we have traveled globally exploring culture and cuisine. We built a solid marriage now in it's 22nd year built on communication, support and trust, while lifting each other up. We are together more than most couples as we work and play together.
Our lives have revolved around our careers, with a balance for adventure and exploration. We are very interested in current affairs, global politics, social justice, environmental issues all involving how we lift up people and support future generations. We are positive, optimistic people, but recognize the challenges our society faces and are very interested in how we solve issues. We have zero patience for drama, small mindedness or negative attitude.
We are second owners of El Gecco. We bought her a year after she was launched in 2004. We spent 18 years exploring the waters from South America as far north as Bermuda. We spent collective 4 to 5 months a year aboard as we have homes ashore as well.
El Gecco was designed by Geoff Schoining and is a semi custom catamaran. In 2017 she was damaged in hurricane Irma in the Caribbean, we did an extensive refit, and made her ready to cross to the Pacific Ocean. Unfortunately Covid ended that idea. This year we did further upgrades to El Gecco with two new rudders, lithium batteries, additional solar power, and much more as we decided to cross from the US to Europe.
Darlene and I have been aboard full-time since Nov 2021.We left Colombia and sailed to Panama, Honduras, the US East Coast, then with one crew member crossed to Bermuda, the Azores, Portugal. A crew member crossed the Atlantic then returned to work when we arrived in the Azores, where we were joined by another crewmember for the passage to Morocco. He spent 3 weeks with us and has returned to his family.
Now that you know much more about the person or persons to come enjoy this adventure with us, we would like to know:
What you will bring to this journey? Tell us about your experiences?
Why you feel you will be a fit aboard?
What your expectations are?
Please link us to your Facebook page and if you have a website, send that to us too. We want to know as much about you before we do a video call. Nobody has time to waste. Before you message me, search online my name and look at the details of who I am and what we have done, as this will give you a very good idea if we will be a fit or not. I run a tight ship and happy to lift someone up who is passionate and enthusiastic to join us on this adventure as a contributing participant. If you join us, you will need to get yourself to Morocco, and on to your next destination after you depart El Gecco. You will be crew on an adventure, not a paid servant or passenger. We only have one team of adventures here. Email me ALL we ask in this msg and we will take it from there. I don't do social media messages.
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