Antigua here we come

Nicola Rodrigues fell in love with a men, her husband John, and a dream, saling around the world and drifting from island to island in the Caribbean.

Imet John in 2001 when I gatecrashed his party for top advertising clients in London’s Soho. On our second date he said he wanted to sail around the world one day, and asked if I’d like to come too. He was in the process of buying a clipper, anticipating coastal sailing for a few seasons.
We named her Serafina in a force 10 gale. On our second sail, on November 5th in a force 3 gale, we toasted hundreds of firework displays. A few days later John proposed and we realised that one day was now. We sold the clipper and began the search for a suitable boat for a round-the-world trip.
In March 2002, the day after we found Moonshine, a Westerly Corsair, everyone in my department was made redundant. The redundancy money paid for the refit; we were married in May and sailed in July. 25,000 miles, eight years, two hurricanes and two sons later, I’m writing about my experiences.
Sailing on your own boat, on your floating home, through the Caribbean is very hard to beat. Caribbean islands have such different characters, whether they are French, English or Dutch. The Isles de Saintes, with their intriguing anchorages and excellent restaurants, are the perfect place to go for a snorkel or indulge in a long lunch and snooze.

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