How Sunsail Owners Became Full-Time Sailors

March 8, 2017 3 min

You can’t help but learn something new every time you meet a Sunsail Yacht Owner. At this year’s Strictly Sail Miami, we had the chance to speak with several owners who kindly took the time to chat as their journey with the Sunsail Yacht Ownership Programme draws to a close.

And what did we learn? We discovered how some owners are using the Yacht Ownership Programme as a stepping stone towards becoming full-time cruisers.

Discovering Cruising

Rodney and Diane Hayes are the proud owners of a Sunsail 44i based in St Lucia. Their boat is called Baraka. As Diane explains, “Our daughter spent time as a missionary in Uganda, where they speak Swahili. We named our boat ‘Baraka’ because it means ‘Blessing’ in Swahili.”

The Hayes have dreamt of sailing for many years. They’ve attended countless boat shows, enjoy their Cruising World magazine subscription, and have developed a real passion for being on the water—particularly in the Windward Islands. It’s hardly surprising that they eventually found their way to the Sunsail Yacht Ownership Programme. What makes their story especially interesting, though, is the way they approached the programme, their goals, and what they ultimately achieved through it.

Rod recalls how everything fell into place: “We wanted to practise for long-term cruising. We looked into buying a boat to gain experience, but we wanted to do it affordably. When Sunsail and The Moorings dominated the market in 2008, we were intrigued and had to ask ourselves, ‘What will this involve?’”

Choosing Sunsail

With their enthusiasm for sailing and keenness to learn more about yachts, Sunsail turned out to be an ideal match.

Their time in the Yacht Ownership Programme allowed them to build the confidence they needed to become full-time cruisers. Rod says, “Being a Sunsail owner was the perfect transition into the cruising lifestyle. We may be the exception, but we never did a charter shorter than three weeks.” Their passion for sailing naturally pulled them towards longer trips. “Sailing 8 to 10 hours isn’t a big deal for us. We wanted to make the most of our time and build real experience. Open passages and weeks on our own were exactly what we were after.”

What began as a way to learn more about cruising soon became an opportunity to try out multiple boats and get a genuine feel for the type of yacht they’d eventually want to live aboard. “The programme let us sail boats of different sizes and styles. It gave us a clear idea of what kind of boat we’d want to live on full-time because we spent so much time on so many different boats, in all sorts of conditions.”

Given the amount of time they spent exploring the Windwards, the Leewards, and the wider Caribbean, we couldn’t resist asking about their favourite spots. “Our two favorite destinations would be a tossup between Antigua and Belize. Our favorite islands are Les Saintes—the southern islands of Guadeloupe. We enjoy the solitude, and you can easily find a deserted tropical island to have all to yourself. Another favorite spot is Chatham Bay on Union Island. For snorkeling, the BVI is the best because you have Benures Bay, the caves and the Indians. Cooper Island has good snorkeling if it is settled, and snorkeling at Sandy spit can be really nice too,” Rod and Diane revealed.

Becoming full-time sailors

In 2015, after four years in the programme, Rod and Diane decided it was time to take the leap into full-time cruising. They bought a 47’ Beneteau, and just two months later they were living aboard. Rod shares, “Our new boat is in Key West at the moment—we sailed her down from the Chesapeake. Being Sunsail owners gave us the confidence to do that. The experience really put us ahead of the game.”

Baraka is now being phased out of the Sunsail fleet. We’ll certainly miss having Rod and Diane as part of the Sunsail family, but it has been a pleasure to see the Yacht Ownership Programme play a part in helping them realise their dream of becoming full-time sailors. At the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about—the love of sailing.