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Saskia | Nautical Travel

@wewentsailing

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🍃 Sailing the world - join our journey ✨
📸 Photography : Nature : Travel
⛳️ Now in: South Carolina
🗽 Next up: NYC
🖇️ Sailed: 34K NM

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SAILING SETBACK || Well this was unexpected… so after nearly 5 years we finally sailed all around the world… only for us to reach the USA and for me to slip down some stairs in a museum 🤦‍♀️

Turns out it was a pretty serious injury; I broke my ankle in 3 places and dislocated it. I spent 3 days in hospital and have had 2 surgeries. 6 weeks of bed rest with no weight baring allowed… and many months of physical therapy ahead before I am back to normal.

The pain initially was horrific. The first surgery was done incorrectly so I basically spent 2 weeks sobbing into a pillow before I went in again. It’s been a rough ride. My horizons, once so large, are now limited to the couch. My daily highlights are mainly focused on coffee (although, tbh, that’s always been the case).

We had planned to spend the summer sailing the east coast. Now that’s been delayed to next year. We had to get a delivery captain to take our boat up the coast and into a yard. It’s weird to think I will not see her again for a long time.

Overall though, I am feeling very very grateful. Grateful this happened at home (our insurance started the day this happened - isn’t that wild?!). Grateful to have built so many beautiful memories over the past few years. Grateful to have the time now to heal. Grateful to have Ross caring for me.

You never know what life is going to throw at you. Seizing the moment never seemed more pertinent than it does today. So go out there and live your life; embrace your blessings and seize your dreams. Don’t wait. Because nothing in the future is guaranteed 🤍

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#carpediem #travelgirldiary #brokenankle #sailorlife #sailorsofinstagram taken in New York by @wewentsailing

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3 months ago

HIDDEN SPACES || The Bahamas is a tourist hotspot, especially for Americans. But if you know where to look it is easy to (purposefully) get lost.

There are over 700 islands in the Bahamas and only about 30 of these are inhabited. These islands are spread over 5K square miles and so some of these spots are very hard to reach. We were lucky enough to bounce up the raggeds, a remote chain of islands to the south that are rarely visited by anyone but the more intrepid cruisers. We knew these spaces would be isolated, but we’ve managed to find the odd secluded spot further north as well. It’s easy to find yourself alone in the Bahamas if you know where to look.

At times this isolation grated on us a bit. We longed for company. We missed supermarkets. We itched for things to do in bad weather. But, mostly, the delicious thrill of waking up to a private wonderland of clear water and open skies kept us counting our lucky stars (and real stars - the skies were perfect at night). We spent our days diving blue holes, walking small coastal paths and swimming off the back of the boat. We slowed down to watch the sunset and listen to the calls of birds. They swarm in delighted multitudes when people are scarce. We yelled in excitement when sharks swam lazily past our stern and counted more turtles than we have ever seen before. These “empty” spaces were full. Teeming with life.

Cruising is a privilege only a few can enjoy. Days like those described above are hard won and rare, even for us. I hold each one down now in my memory like a precious jewel, glowing with Bahama colours; cyan, yellow and blue.

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#offthebeatentrack #islandlifestyle #explorebahamas #sailorgirl #liveaboards taken in Bahamas by @wewentsailing

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5 months ago

EXUMAS || The Exumas have to be one of our favourite sailing grounds of all time. Perfect clear water, vibrant animal life, unique island communities… what’s not to love?!

Here are a few of my favourite moments from our days in this iconic island chain. It ended too soon, of course, which I guess just means we will have to go back 🤷‍♀️

Ps. What do you think of the nurse sharks?! This made me squeal with joy but I was surprised by how many ooooh no messages I got when I shared this on stories.

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#sailbahamas #exumasbahamas #dingy #islandhopper #explorebahamas taken in Exumas Bahamas by @wewentsailing

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5 months ago

COMING FULL CIRCLE 🐽 || We made it back to Staniel Cay! Believe it or not this was the first stop we have returned to on the boat since the 5 year journey began.

When we were last here over 4 years ago we were SUCH newbies to cruising. It’s been a strange experience to revisit that time… We have lived the last few days through the lens of our memories. Every familiar scene and experience has served as a strong reminder of that formative experience at the start of this trip. Feelings and perspectives that have been forgotten in the onslaught of everything that came after are now vivid. It’s shown us how far we have come, not just in miles but in our own development as well.

A very small example of that is my photography. Staniel Cay is famous for its swimming pigs. We went to visit them 4 years ago and naturally went again this time. My photos from that visit are here - but the last 2 pictures are from 4 years ago. Can you see how much I’ve changed? The place is the same. The experience is the same. But I am different. And I like that.

Change used to make me sad. I always felt that I was loosing something that could never be regained. But in this context the change feels additive. I am stronger, happier and better for all that has happened and for that I am incredibly grateful ⛵️

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#pigbeach #stanielcay #sailtheworld #caribbeansailing #sonyalphafemale taken in Staniel Cay, Bahamas by @wewentsailing

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6 months ago

INAGUA || Little Inagua and Great Inagua were our first stop in the Bahamas.

Little Inagua was a diving paradise. An uninhabited island we had entirely to ourselves. We anchored on perfect sand and jumped off the back of the boat onto a shelf that went hundreds of meters deep… into crystal clear water. It was heaven. The highlight? Making friends with an octopus who stayed with us for 15 minutes… the lowlight? Getting followed by 7ft reef sharks who were overly curious (I doubt they would have hurt us - reef sharks are not usually aggressive - but it was disconcerting how they simply would not leave us alone).

Great Inagua is a check-in port and is famous for its salt pans…. Aren’t they stunning?! I could not get over the varied colours. I felt like I was walking in a Rothko painting. Normally there are also hundreds of thousands of flamingoes but it’s nesting season so we only got to see a few stragglers.

Needless to say, it was only a matter of days before we reminded ourselves why the Bahamas is still one of our favourite places to cruise on earth. Crystal clear water, amazing diving and beautiful diverse islands - what’s not to love? Watch this space for more…

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#bahamascruise #sailbahamas #bahamaslife #saltflats #abstractlandscape taken in Inagua, The Bahamas by @wewentsailing

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6 months ago

WE SAILED AROUND THE WORLD!!! || 33,000 nautical miles, 1830 days, 42 countries, 16 knots top boat speed, 6 haul-outs, 2 people, 1 boat… countless memories.

We did it guys!!! I still don’t think I’ve really taken it in 🙈 It keeps hitting me in waves and I know it will be a long while before I fully process it. Of course, as always, the boat keeps us humble. Right after crossing our tracks our fridge failed so we had to fix that at sea. Then on night watch we sailed through lightning storms for 4 hours and got a leak in the ceiling… it never stops out here!

But on a serious note I just want to take a moment to say how grateful I am for this experience. We are some of the lucky few that get to do this and every day I count my blessings. Crossing this milestone is surreal and emotional. It has been the hardest thing I have ever done but also the most rewarding… I’m not sure I can put into words what the last 5 years have been like but “transformative” is the one that springs to mind.

For much of this journey we have been alone. Utterly alone. In some of the most remote places on earth. But through it all we know we could never have done it without our community. So thank you. Thank you to everyone here who has supported us on this journey; your encouragement has meant more to us than you could ever know. Thank you also to all the many talented individuals who helped us with maintenance and keeping Acushnet afloat… and thank you to all the inspiring crazy wonderful sailors we met out there who showed us the way.

So… what is next you ask? Well we are not done yet! There are no concrete plans to leave the boat. We are taking her up the east coast of the USA this summer and after that we will take a step back and decide what to do. Return to land full time? Sail seasonally? Take her to the Mediterranean? So many options! This chapter is closing of course but a new one, an equally exciting one, is about to start ✨

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#sailingaroundtheworld #circumnavigation #yachtingworld #sailtheworld #worldsailing taken in Ragged Island, The Bahamas by @wewentsailing

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6 months ago

DINNER CRUISER STYLE || Magic moments like this one are what cruisers live for. Interestingly enough, when sailing around the world at pace (and yes, 5 years is going pretty fast) experiences like this are few and far between.

For this to happen you need all the stars to align; you need the right location; out of the wind on a beach where fires are permitted. You need the right weather; no rain and wind from the right direction. The insects need to play ball; vast swarms of mosquitoes or no-see-ema will quickly have you running back to the boat. And lastly, but most importantly, you want the right people to share it with.

So when the opportunity presented itself we scrabbled to grab it with both hands, and held on tight. In reward, we watched the stars rise behind the boat, with the comforting crackle of the fire behind us. Something I hope I’ll remember always.

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#beachfire #beachdining #cruiserlife #campfires #sailorsdelight taken in Turks And Caicos by @wewentsailing

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6 months ago

LIFE LATELY || Enjoying the simple life out here in Turks and Caicos ✨

Shout out to our wonderful friends who have been with us here this week. It makes it 10 times more magical to share it with those you love; don’t you agree?

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#turksandcaicosislands #islandhopping #sailorlife #carribeansailing #islandgirls taken in Turks And Caicos by @wewentsailing

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7 months ago

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC || Dear reader, this is, yet again, another tail about rolling with the punches and making the most of the cards you are dealt. This time with the beautiful DR as our backdrop. So what happened? Let me tell you:

We stopped in the DR for just under a week. As always, we were trying to see a lot in a short space of time. And, as always, boat maintenance had other ideas…. We spent 3 wholesome nights tucked up in Samana Marina, a hotspot for long term live-aboard cruisers. It was very grounding to spend some time reconnecting with that community.

After that our plan was to head to the national park for 3 nights. So, merrily, we set off in the am to make our way to said park. On the way, our engine started smoking (not a good sign) and screaming as though in pain. Sigh. We stopped it before we saw any actual flames. After that we made our way to one of the most secluded and beautiful anchorages we have ever visited (see photos) and then spent the next two days working on said engine. We did not leave the boat. The good news though? We fixed it entirely on our own (with the help of some advice from some very generous mechanics - shout out to Randy in Trinidad and Raf in Miami). This included tightening the belt, replacing the alternator and then testing and adjusting the settings for the alternator controller. (Side note, sailors we highly recommend getting a flir heat camera - it’s a game changer).

So after all that? Well after all that we had one afternoon to explore the park we visited… but what a park!! And what a visit! We saw amazing caves that we got to scramble through solo (proper Indiana Jones vibes). Take the dingy up jungle rivers and speed through small islands in a landscape that felt more like Thailand or Malaysia than the Caribbean. It was utterly magical and all the more so for being hard earned.

Is there a lesson here? I guess. The same one sailing always teaches you. To live in the moment. Enjoy the challenge and adapt to what life throws at you. Plans change. It’s changing your attitude that makes all the difference.

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#dominicanrepúblic #visitdominicanrepublic #outdoorsygirl #caveexploring #boatmaintenance taken in Samaná, Dominican Republic by @wewentsailing

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7 months ago

SAN JUAN || A small appreciation post for our favourite city in the Caribbean so far… Puerto Rico’s San Juan 🙌

This city felt like it had it all; amazing restaurants, a beautiful beach, inspiring galleries and fascinating history. The old town is charming, the people friendly and… it had great anchorages! What more could you want?!

So so many things to say but here are out highlights from our long weekend:

1. Trying traditional food at the inspired Cocina al Fondo restaurant @cocinaalfondo
2. Exploring the tunnels and towers in the Castillo San Felipe del Morro fort
3. Doing beach yoga on Playa Ocean Park beach
4. Walking in the footsteps of the Rolling Stones at @elbateytavern
5. Hanging out with locals (and getting our wellness game on) at Las Ruinas Bathhouse @lasruinaspr
6. Absorbing the Caribbean’s creative soul at Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico @museomapr
7. Munching on a yummy brunch in a fun setting at El Huevo @elhuevosanturce
8. Admiring the lights of the old town from the bow of our boat

I could go on but you get the idea 🙌 Anyone else here love this city?!

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#sanjuan #explorepuertorico #puertoricolife #sailtheworld #travelpuertorico taken in San Juan, Puerto Rico by @wewentsailing

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7 months ago

RUINS || Dedicating this post to the ruins of the Spanish built lighthouse on Culebrita in Puerto Rico.

We followed a slightly overgrown path up to this location having spotted the building from our anchorage. I was skeptical at first but in the end it reminded me strongly of our time exploring the ruins in the desert of Namibia. The colours were so unique and the quiet space spoke softly of ages long gone. The sweeping views on the calm sunny day bathed everything in a bright piercing light that I thought was very beautiful. It was romantic and adventurous all at once. Ross takes me to A LOT of forts and lighthouse ruins… but this one felt unique.

This lighthouse was first erected by the Spanish in 1882. It was an active lighthouse until 1975 when the US coast guard closed the facility. Now it is a ruin, slowly disintegrating back into the earth.

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#lighthouselove #lighthouselovers #ruinsphotography #uniquespaces #sailorlife taken in Culebrita Island - Culebra, Puerto Rico by @wewentsailing

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7 months ago

LIFE LATELY || A few snaps from our days exploring the eastern islands of Puerto Rico. Lazy days of perfect beaches and beautiful island communities.

Not pictured? The phosphorescence on Vieques because I could not capture it… so you will just have to take my word for it that it was utterly magical. Running your hands through the water felt like you were scooping diamonds.

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#visitpuertorico #culebrita #explorepuertorico #islandparadise #beautifulplaces taken in Culebra, Puerto Rico by @wewentsailing

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7 months ago