Sailing Stories

Donna wouldn’t recommend how she learned to sail to any of the students she teaches now. “I learned how to sail by myself,” she laughed. “I put the sails up within a couple weeks of buying [a sailboat in Connecticut] and just figured it out on my own. I bought some books and just tried…

Are you born a sailor or do you become one? Edwin van Es thinks his sailing trajectory may have been destined. “I am Dutch so it’s in the blood, if you will,” he joked.  In 2007, his fate was sealed as a sailor when he met his wife and married into a sailing family. “From…

Merrilee Hertlein had her first introduction to sailing as a young teenager. Her mother had grown up on a sailing lake and made the decision to buy a twelve foot Butterfly sailboat with the hopes of reigniting her own passion for sailing.  At first, the sailboat just sat propped up against the side yard of…

Christi Grindstaff had heard enough about sailing from her friends— it was time to try it herself! “We have friends that have done sailing in the BVI,” she said. “Just hearing their stories and [hearing] how beautiful it is really piqued our interest.” So Christi signed herself, her husband Rick, and her son Lane up…

  Dave Work started sailing about seven years ago and immediately fell in love.  “I went with a buddy of mine, who took me on a charter, and then since that first charter I’ve just kind of gotten hooked,” he said. “I think it was love at first sail. I just loved it.”  Since his…

Nina is all about throwing her husband, Jake, head first into new adventures. “I have never been on a sailboat in my life,” Jake said. “We lived out of a little airplane, a little Cesna, for a while – you know… I had just gotten used to that— and she’s like, ok I think I…

Claire DeDeckere had never stepped foot on a sailboat before her boyfriend, Jalil, invited her down to see him at work in the Virgin Islands.  “I hadn’t ever been sailing as a kid. I grew up in Michigan,” she said. “The sailing culture there is more racers— and powerboats. Mostly powerboats in Michigan.” At first,…

Bob Labine is Go Sail Virgin Island’s newest sailing instructor. However, he’s not new to the Go Sail family and he certainly isn’t new to sailing!  Bob got his start sailing at a family summer cottage six decades ago.  “Everyone had small sailboats and thought that would be something I would be interested in,” he…

Nancy Hendrick had always loved kayaking, however, it wasn’t until 2012 that she found her love of sailing.  “That was just the start of a wonderful hobby that just grew and grew,” she said about her first time sailing on the Chesapeake over a decade ago.  One of her friends had told her about a…

Rob Parke is no stranger to catamarans— but sail-powered catamarans? That was a new one for him. “My wife and I had essentially no sailing experience,” Rob Parke said about life prior to sailing with Go Sail Virgin Islands. Rob grew up powerboating with family and friends on lakes in the Midwest and Puget Sound….

Haley Zapal knew she was a sailor long before she ever took the helm of a sailboat. “I’ve always been a lover of nautical fiction and history — I even have a Moby Dick tattoo on my arm,” she said. However, it wasn’t until her late 30s that her love of sailing stories led her…

When you imagine learning to sail you may think of the beautiful waters, stunning views, incredible sea life, and unforgettable memories made aboard a yacht. But what about the food? Go Sail’s Captain Jalil wants to make sure every guest aboard Go Sail Virgin Island’s Learn To Sail courses walks away reminiscing about just how…

In college, Thomas Powars found himself lined up as a counselor for a summer camp in Massachusetts. As a kid, Thomas had never been to a summer camp so he didn’t exactly know what to expect but he certainly didn’t expect to find himself sailing.  “I didn’t know it was a sailing camp,” he laughed….

Many sailors start out young but how many sailors have you met that are already aboard a 44 foot yacht as teenagers? “It’s the best boat that I’ve ever been on because… I haven’t been on many boats,” 17 year-old Christian said about sailing with his step dad, Go Sail’s Captain Jalil, as first mate…

Sailing had long been a dream of Captain Jalil before it became a reality. “I had been dreaming of sailing my whole life,” he explained. “I built sailboat models as a kid in the basement.” It wasn’t a lack of interest stopping Captain Jalil from sailing the real life versions of those boat models he…

If you ask a sailor what they love most about sailing, you’ll often hear a story that features peace, quiet, and tranquility. What you’ll likely never hear, is a sailor professing their love for the smell of the diesel generator that powers everything onboard their boat.   For Waymon Arnold, his disdain for the smell of…

Waymon Arnold has been a long-time resident of the Virgin Islands. His kids were born here. Grew up here. Boated here. But sailing? Never. Not Waymon, or his wife, or his kids. “I never learned to sail that first go around when I lived here the first time.” Waymon explained.  “We were on boats all…

Sean Morgan started sailing young but it wasn’t exactly an enjoyable experience. “My brother and I absolutely hated it,” he said. “My dad thought it was hilarious to go out on the boat and flip it over. So my brother and I thought we were going to die.” For decades, sailing was a sport Sean…

Tom Granese is no stranger to the Virgin Islands. His in-laws own a home in the USVI and he and wife own property there. However, for the many times they had spent admiring the sailboats passing them by, they had never actually learned to sail one.  “We have a great view from the property. We…

Marc Gottlieb’s introduction to sailing came about less from a family love of sailing but more so from one particular family member’s hatred of engines. “I grew up sailing with my dad who was a very smart guy, genius level scientist— but hated motors and had no mechanical abilities whatsoever,” Marc laughed. “So he got…

Sailing is a passion that runs in Zander Nelson’s blood.  “I’ve actually been sailing pretty much my whole life. My father was a sailor and his father was a sailor,” he said. “It’s been a family tradition.” At age four, he was already sailing with his dad on a Sunfish. By 12, he was racing…

Edi Stan had a sailboat. He’d had a sailboat for 15 years. However, until he got a push from his daughter, he’d never taken his vintage 1970s Aquarius 23 out on the water. It was a good conversation starter and a subject of daydreaming but not more than that,” Edi said. “[My daughter] said your…

Sailors have had some odd sightings over the years, from mermaids to the Loch Ness Monster. But what about eerie sightings from above? Mark and Tina McHenry were on their first bareboat charter with their daughter when they spotted mysterious lights in the night sky. “At first I thought it was a car dealership with…

Todd Ferderer grew up in the landlocked state of North Dakota without much thought about sailing.   “I was never really introduced to sailing of any sort,” he said. “But boating— yes!” However, when he moved to Los Angeles in 1997 “with a love of water and warm weather” he  did eventually find his introduction to…

High school brought Rocky and Dana together when they were young. However, sailing became a major factor in bringing them back together 44 years later.  “We went on a hike and he pointed down to Lake Pend Oreille Lake,” Dana said about their first time meeting up in Idaho after all those years.  “I have…

2023 was a year full of amazing sailing stories for Go Sail Virgin Islands! Take a look back at some of the best moments and take-aways of the sailing year in the Virgin Islands according to our students’ reviews on Google and Tripadvisor: The Beginning of Many New Sailing Stories  Go Sail Virgin Islands saw…

Not all sailing stories are individual experiences— many are intertwined with another person’s journey to becoming a sailor. That is certainly the case for Cynthia Forsch, Captain Genevieve’s mom.   “My first big sail was when Genevieve was working in Belize and she invited several family members [on a sailing trip],” Cynthia said. “We rented the…

If there is one thing you need to know about Frankie Olivieri to understand his sailing story– it’s that he isn’t the type of person to sit around and wait for things to happen. Frankie is a true go-getter. This quality of Frankie’s is evident from the very start of his sailing story. His decision…

Sara was already a seasoned traveler before she found sailing. However, sailing appealed to her as a novel way to explore more places around the world.  “In a catamaran, you can basically go anywhere there is water,” she said. “and that’s the majority of the earth!” She booked a catamaran trip with friends in the…

Matt had never spent much time thinking about sailing. In fact, it wasn’t until a coworker brought it up to him that the sport had ever crossed his mind. However, after his coworker mentioned it, he felt somehow compelled to give it a whirl. And a “whirl” it was.  “After a few hours of classroom…

For some sailors, their lives contain chapters and chapters of Sailing Stories. Bill Reed’s Sailing Stories could easily fill an entire book. They include memories upon sailboats in Florida as a young child, sailboat racing stories on the lakes of Michigan, and informal teaching stories on Montana’s Flathead Lake. Bill’s most recent Sailing Story is…

Dave Shafer isn’t quite sure where his sailing story starts. On the one hand, you could say it started when he was a teenager living in Appalachia.  “I was on a very small lake on— I don’t even know if you want to call it a sailboat, it was a 2x4s with a sail on…

“Sailing Stories” are a fun way to memorialize your sailing experience forever. These professionally written articles are available for all Go Sail Virgin Islands to participate in and receive. Here’s more about what your sailing story will include, why you should consider signing up to do one, and how to contact us to create yours!     …

While some sailors have been comfortably climbing aboard sailboats since the time they could walk, many more find this wonderful sport much later in life.  That was certainly the case for Barry White. Barry found sailing when he was on the hunt for fun retirement activities. “I’ve been doing masonry for going on 30 years…

Sailing stories rarely involve just one person. There are usually multiple people along the way that influence a sailor’s journey, their sailing plans, and their sailing futures. This is absolutely true for Captain Trevon and first mate Stephanie! While their sailing stories began separately, they are now strongly intertwined. Stephanie grew up on the water:…

It’s common for many sailing stories to start in childhood— but that’s not when JT Quinn’s love of sailing was born.  “Most people say they grew up on the water,” he explained. “But I am a Colorado mountain boy so sailing wasn’t something I was around until college years.” He first learned about sailing during…

Genevieve was born and raised in Montana and spent many summers on Flathead Lake. “When I was 16, the neighbor came by and asked me if I wanted to go sailing on his Hobbie cat. Before I knew it, we were flying across the top of the water without a sound. It was an overwhelming…

Captain’s Log: On Sunday Paul, Tim, and Al boarded Speculation at Crown Bay Marina around 5 pm. All 3 students were old friends and had the goal of becoming proficient with the catamaran to take their families out on a bareboat charter. Solo sail handling & maneuvering were chief objectives. We focused on the electronic…

Nick moves to St Thomas and Mark becomes an ASA Instructor. On Sunday Mark and Nick came aboard around 5 pm. We started off with a couple painkillers and a light appetizer. We had a nice introduction, discussed sailing goals, discussed locations, and sailing experience. Mark is long time student and wanted to earn Sailing…

Captain’s log: On Sunday Lucas and Ashely came aboard around 5 pm. We started off with a couple painkillers and a light appetizer. We had a nice introduction, discussed sailing goals, discussed locations, and sailing experience. Lucas and Ashley have been on several sailing cruises in the Virgin Islands and Belize with a Captain and…