Where Are They Now?

Throughout our entire Great Loop trip, Emily and I have always been asked, “What’s next?” It’s a question Emily has had an answer for, but one I’ve been tactfully avoiding for as long as possible. Avoiding because for a long time I didn’t have an answer. I figured out early on during our trip that I wanted to keep living the sailing life for as long as possible, but beyond that I had no plan. My idea was to get my captain’s license and see where the wind would take me.

So far, it has worked out! Through a serendipitous series of events I ended up at the Annapolis Boat Show reunited with Emily, and talking to Jessie (our inspiration to do the loop in the first place) about how to move on and find the next step. She connected me to friends who run a sailing school in Grenada and I’m now in the Caribbean teaching sailing!

The sailing school (working with the American Sailing Association) is LTD Sailing- Living the Dream! It’s meant to fulfill the dreams of our students, but I can’t imagine a more perfect opportunity to merge my love of sailing, boat life, and teaching. We get to do a little bit of everything: day sails, two day 101 sailing classes, skippered charters, and 7-10 day long teaching charters. It’s a beautiful place to sail and explore, and it’s hard to beat sunshine and constant breeze- thank you trade winds! To say I’m enjoying Grenada is an understatement. Every day that I get to teach and sail is a great one, and there’s no greater gift than being able to share that with our students. If you’re dreaming of an island hopping sailing escape this winter, you know where to look!

[Check out our website here: ltdsailing.com ]

While I’ve been chasing my pirate life, Emily is amazing and in grad school at Columbia. When she’s not studying, she’s exploring the city and trying to convince her roommates that it’s normal to eat hummus every day.

And yes, Emily and I are still friends and we talk all the time. We’ve been adapting to life off of the boat, and it has been quite the learning experience trying to return to “normal”. I still get nervous when the faucet runs for too long, I sometimes forget that I can buy food from the refrigerator section of the grocery store, and even just staying in the same place for more than a week has taken a lot of getting used to. We miss Elpis dearly, but we’re enjoying our new adventures. And don’t worry; we’re always scheming of ways to return to boat life. Stay tuned!

P.S. We PROMISE we are finishing the blog and the rest of the stories!

Captain Frankie at the helm of LTD's J105, Dogsmile