Europe to the Caribbean with Abundance

Collage of various photos taken of a sailing adventure — Great adventure, great memories!

Posts in this series (legs of the trip)

How did this come about??

My wife and I had been discussing our plans to start sailing in the Caribbean, when she hurt her ankle and so was “grounded”, so to speak, for a few months. We said that it could be good for me to get out and go sailing anyway, if I could find a good captain or crew or opportunity.

I connected with a captain who was in Spain and looking to get his boat all the way back to the U.S. Virgin Islands, in time for the sailing season to kick off (he captians professional charters there in the high season).

He agreed to let me join his crew, and I agreed to accompany him on this 2-month long sailing excursion.

In the end, I boarded his boat, s/v Abundance, in Yacht Port Cartagena, Spain, and did not part ways with his boat until we landed safely in the Virgin Islands.

Image of sailing catamaran in its marina slip, with red commercial vessel in the background — Where my adventure began: Yacht Port Cartagena, Spain

What was the actual journey??

The trip had us sailing down the east coast of Spain all the way to Gibraltar, then across the Strait of Gibraltar to Tangier, Morocco, then down the west coast of Africa to the Canary Islands. From there, once we found a good weather window, we embarked on the final leg of our trip: a 3-week Atlantic crossing ending in the British Virgin Islands (BVIs). I boarded the boat in Cartagena, Spain on 10-October-2023 and we arrived in the BVI’s on 23-November-2023.

This was my first time doing an Atlantic crossing, and in fact my first glimpse into what the “live aboard” lifestyle is really like. All in all it was a great experience and humbling adventure.

My wife and I started a WhatsApp group chat with friends and family, and as the trip progressed I posted updates to the group chat almost every single day. I’ve collected all of the updates and consolidated them into the above posts, which serve to document the journey. Happy reading!