Travel with Emily

The Caribbean attracts many people each year with the call of pristine beaches and paradise islands but few people ever get further than a few kilometres from shore and a few meters from people on crowded beaches!

My sailing adventure promised a totally different environment; wide open water, hands on sailing and the thrill of working with the natural elements. When I first came across tall ship sailing I was hooked. As I was planning my gap year, it was almost all that I talked about, how I was going to sail for two weeks from Saint Martin (an island I’d never even heard of) to the Bahamas!

I’d read the information booklet, watched the ship tour and googled the itinerary, and yet I was still jumping into the unknown. How many people would be on board? Who would they be? How much hands-on sailing would we actually be doing? These were the thoughts swirling through my head as I told everyone I’d be offline for 2 weeks and headed to the dock to meet the dinghy which would take me to the Oosterschelde, a Dutch tall ship and my home for the next two weeks. 

These unknown questions would actually turn out to be my favourite part of the trip. Each new person that I met onboard (there were 20 guests and 7 crew) was an entirely blank canvas of stories waiting to be heard. Many watches were spent chatting about other travel adventures, love of the sea or even what pasta shape we thought people would be! (That was a hit with the crew). Anything and everything to fill in the long stretches of sailing under the sun and stars.

There was a real sense of community on board too as you all chipped in to raise and wrangle sails and share watches and meals.   

This trip was my perfect holiday- endless horizon, sky-blue water, sailing activities on the ship to keep me busy and of course, plenty of time to read. The dingy onboard was commandeered as a reading nook when people were off watch. This was one of my favourite places in the ship as with a couple of beanbags inside I had the perfect place to read, chat and watch the sun sink down on the horizon. 

My other favourite spot on the ship was up in the rigging! Though my stomach did a few summersaults from the swaying of the ship and being so high in the air, the feeling of freedom up there was unmatched. 

The most exciting moment of this trip would have to be when Hans the elderly Dutch man shouted “dolfijnen!” From the starboard of the ship as dolphins began arching out of the water in synchronised groups. They swam and played in the wave of our bow as we cruised in to make anchor. 

Goodbyes were hard on this trip as I’d become so close to so many of these people; chatting over dinner each night, counting shooting starts on night watch together, reading in the dinghy and learning about each other in this little bubble that existed off grid. 

It was a sad farewell as we disembarked at Nassau in the Bahamas with lots of hugs and promises to meet up again when we’re in each other’s parts of the world. 

We were all incredibly different people yet drawn together by the promise of the Oosterschelde adventure. For some, it was an escape from the office to the wide open seas, for others a way to enjoy their time in retirement, or a post-school passion to see the world and even a spontaneous need to do something completely out of their comfort zone. 

I’m very glad that a chance encounter with Another World Adventures’s Instagram page led me on this Caribbean journey, I’ve been on a gap-year adventure for 4 months now and these two weeks on the Oosterschelde have been the most incredible.