Sailing Story: Edwin van Es

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 grandparents to the parents to the uncle, they all sail. Her uncle is a racer,” he said. However, it wasn’t until fairly recently they took up the hobby seriously themselves.

“Last year we went to Tahiti and we had just the best time,” Edwin said about the trip with his father-in-law and family. “We said, ‘listen this was fun but we want to be in charge of the boat!’”

Once Edwin and his wife returned home to San Diego, they immediately signed up for ASA 101 and ASA 103 courses locally. However, for their ASA 104 course, they decided they would like to venture a bit further than home. They found Go Sail Virgin Islands online and booked their spot on a Cruising Couples Catamaran. 

“We were very nervous about being on a boat with a bunch of strangers,” Edwin said about his initial thoughts when booking. However, once aboard, they quickly felt comfortable.

“It was a lovely social experience,” Edwin said. “I’m 50 and I felt like I was 25 again.”

For Edwin, taking ASA 104 in the Virgin Islands was both an incredible learning opportunity and an amazing vacation.

“We thought we were sailors and then we learned a crap load,” he explained. “[Captain Jalil] made the experience absolutely stunning and amazing.”

Edwin also enjoyed seeing how much his wife’s sailing abilities and confidence grew over the week at sea. In the past, he had taken on many of the sailing tasks on their bareboat charters but “after this trip it built her confidence so much we are likely going to do it quite a bit differently and she is going to take on more tasks,” he said. 

Now, they are already planning an upcoming sailing trip back to Tahiti, a BVI sailing vacation over Christmas, and another bareboat sailing adventure in the Mediterranean for next summer. 

“We’ve stayed in fancy hotels but it gets boring,” Edwin said. “Every major vacation that we do there is going to be sailing involved– that was the main goal, now it’s actually feasible.”