It was incongruous — we were sailing along the heat of the equator off the South American coast, but now we were officially in the European Union. France, in fact!
This was French Guyana, a French territory between Brazil and Suriname. 7 euro coffees, French gendarmes keeping the peace, everything is very tidy. The European Space Agency’s spaceport is based here — it is favorable to launch satellites into space close to the equator.
We motored the last 8 hours since the wind died, and dropped anchor at Ile Salut (ironically named Salvation island, as we’d soon learn). Gosh it felt lovely to sit at anchor and look at the tropical foliage swaying behind us. Yet this pretty cluster of 3 islets couldn’t hide its dark history.
Watch our reel:
After all, the next door island betrayed its past with a lovely name, “Devil’s Island”. It is infamous as a harsh penitentiary in the late 19th century, which featured terrible conditions of malnutrition, torture, and disease.
A memoir from a falsely convicted Frenchman made this prison famous, and was turned into the movies “Papillon” (both in 1973 with Dustin Hoffman/Steve McQueen, and a modern version in 2017 ) chronicling his multiple escape attempts through shark-infested waters.
1973 movie2017 movie
Landing at Ile Salut and doing short hikes for a few days was a wonderful break from the long sail to the Caribbean. It is now a national park with clear signage and excellent trails. Imposing colonial buildings like the old hospital and prison administrative center were surrounded by huge old trees. Several magnificent peacocks strutted about.
Walking around the ruins of the prison was a melancholic experience. Closed in 1953, it is now being overcome by the trees. Thick roots and rebellious trunks are carving their way straight through concrete walls of the solitary confinement cells. Like the trees are trying to reset a century of ungodly abuse of humans with their natural transformative power.
These sobering moments of reflection remind us how lucky we are. Standing on the same land — but we are comfortably sailing along the coast with our family, while other humans who also stood on this land suffered (or committed) unspeakable atrocities . For all the confusion and injustice and violence in our world, if Ile Salut is a small example of the general trend, then things are getting better. Fingers crossed.
This mental cold shower brought us newfound appreciation aboard the boat. The stark contrast between this sad past and on our own trivial woes — like having to repair the toilet pumps yet again, sweaty and annoying and foul as it may be— shifts our perspective so that we’re now unable feel that tendency to complaint. Rather we just feel immense gratitude that this is the small cross we have chosen to bear.
We toil to prepare Nesi for the next push of the trip. The weather looks poor — not terrible, but nothing good for the next two weeks. We decide to carry on, pushing our way straight north to Trinidad, the southernmost island in the Caribbean. It’ll be a 4-5 day trip. We’ll see what the equatorial convergence zone has in store for us.
“We have a leak!” Sabrina yelled. That is one of my least favorite phrases to hear on a boat. Especially when we’re at the start of a 3 night, 450 nautical mile passage with few good safe harbors.
Sabrina and Meggane reeled in a nice Crevalle Jackenroute to French Guyana; the girls cheered on.
We had just left the monstrous Rio Pará, timing the ebb tide to propel us out to sea, catapulting our way into the Atlantic as a decisive farewell to Brazil.
Current map courtesy of Copernicus on Windy; and the route plan on Open CPN from Belem to French Guyana.
It had been amazing 8 months in my home country. Seeing this land by boat is an entirely different experience. Navigating the coastline between the lush south of Rio where I grew up , the dry north-east of steady wind and sanddunes, and the hot soggy north of the Amazon rainforest; all whilst dodging fronts and sneaking into river mouths behind fishermen boats; attunes one to the mysteries of how geography shapes a place.
Case in point, being 100 miles offshore surrounded by mud-brown water from the Amazon River for 24hrs straight, offered us a sense of grandeur and awesomeness at the vastness of that river basin. Something you can’t absorb by reading a text book.
Crisp shadows painted on the muddy sea!
Then first mate Sabrina unceremoniously announced we had a L-E-A-K. My sense of contemplative nostalgia was shattered, and it was time to get to work in Six Simple Steps:
1) Bilge pump evacuates the bulk of water;
2) Taste the water to determine if salt or fresh (yuck?);
3) Use shop vac to thoroughly remove extra water;
4) Towels line the bilge and observe where water is pooling
5) Work upstream with more dry towels to identify where the leak is coming from.
6) Fix the leak in uncomfortable upside-down position.
Not the most flattering view of the boat innards.The original meaning of “cringe-worthy”
We aim to keep our bilges painted (last coated by Ian & Dophaise in South Africa, bless their hearts), clean, and bone-dry. That is essential to diagnose leaks in critical moments like this.
With 450 miles to go to French Guyana, we worked fast to make sure an emergency stop in the Amazon River wasn’t required.
We found the culprit quickly — a broken PVC fitting in one of the sinks. PVC plumbing was used in French boats of this vintage, but the modern best practice is to only use flexible hoses .
Alas, we must live with this occasional panic attack caused by cracked plastic. Perhaps this will speed up our quest to replace our plumbing one day.
Letting our skin soak with full moon rays while sailing underway has beneficial impacts on stoke levels.
Having enjoyed that cocktail of sweaty adrenaline & cortisol , we settled into the remainder of the passage, which had both the most calm and most blustery moments.
For 2 days straight, we rode the equatorial current north at blazing speed. The seas were so smooth it felt like Nesi was in a marina, not in the middle of the ocean, yet we sped along at 8 knots with full sail under broad reach. Simply Glorious.
Since Neptune enjoys some mischief, and invariably tests the ability of mortals to not get too lazy, at the inconvenient time of 1am on day 3, he sent us a 35knot squall of drenching rain, forcing us to quickly furl the Genoa and then reef the mainsail. Besides the confusion of waking up from deep sleep in 8 seconds flat, we were unable to communicate between the helm and the mast, due to the maelstrom of rain and cacophony of wind.
Soaked through to the bone, at least it is not freezing cold. The squall was a big one and lasted 3 hours — howling and propelling Nesi at 11 knots (in the right direction, this was a plus).
Nesi going 11.7 knots, 35 meters of depth , visibility zero. Pleasant working conditions. 45 degree rainfall at 1am.
This second cocktail of adrenaline & cortisol was compliments of the Earth’s Equator, which is an efficient (if chaotic) distributor of excess solar energy. It is the fuel that drives the entire globe’s wind patterns and currents, largely responsible for the habitable conditions on our planet. So we can’t complain about the occasional slap in the face as our puny little crafts attempt to transit this zone.
Few sailors love to go through the equator due to this ground zero effect, where unpredictable winds and squalls are the norm. Perhaps this is why there are some notable traditions for greenhorns crossing the equator.
However — between the panicked leak and the panicked squall, we didn’t really give our greenhorns a proper hazing. Shucks!
We did make it to French Guyana in one piece, in darn good spirits, which are two goals to celebrate.
Sabrina putting up our Yellow Flag which means we’re arriving on a foreign vessel without having yet cleared immigration.
Loved this? Watch the reel (1:20) about the experience:
We could see Venezuela, just 6 nautical miles across the channel from Nesi‘s mooring in Trinidad. “Jana is riding her bike across Venezuela,” we told the girls, “She’ll take a little ferry, and meet us here in a week, with many stories to tell!”
Jana was our first boat school teacher in the Caribbean. She comes from Czech Republic, and spent the last 10 years traveling around Europe and South America. She’s got plenty of experience on the road! She is sailing with us 3 months from Trinidad to Martinique (the so-called Windward Islands)
At this time, the US had already started its military campaign to against narco-traffic boats around Venezuelan waters. An announcement was made that an aircraft carrier and lots of Navy resources were being relocated to this area — which put everyone in Trinidad on high alert.
“Hmmm… we should probably take off soon!” we thought. Based on the risk & uncertainty in the area, we also decided to re-route and head north to Bahamas by the end of this season, instead of our original plan to sail back south and cross Venezuelan waters.
Now with Jana onboard, we picked up our first co-op guests, and started cruising along the chain of islands from Trinidad & Tobago, to Grenada, to St. Vincent & Grenadines, St. Lucia, and onward to Martinique for the holidays.
Below, Jana shares her highlights from 3 months aboard Nesi.
Captain K
Jana shares her story…
Travelling on a catamaran across the Caribbean islands with a wonderful family is something I had never even dared to dream about. But the stars aligned, and the universe worked its magic.
It’s not easy to describe the uniqueness of such a trip. The adventures, connections, stories told, experiences shared, and lessons learned while living this kind of life are truly magical and deeply meaningful.
I joined Sabrina, Kristian, Kaiana, and Naiyah in Trinidad, where they had left Nesi for a few months, moored in a marina during hurricane season, while they went off to spend time with their families. When they reunited on the boat, we met up and started sailing to Tobago, which was 8 hrs sailing away.
I didn’t have any boating experience, so as you might imagine, getting on a boat for almost three months with people you don’t know (with limited access to land!) can be scary.
I remember thinking, “Well, in the worst case, I’ll at least get to see the Caribbean.” Fortunately, this experience went far beyond “just” exploring islands. They quickly became part of my chosen family, and I feel so blessed for this.
Just a few of the unforgettable moments aboard:
night swimming with bioluminescence in Tobago;
standing night watch from Tobago to Grenada while watching a comet shoot across the sky;
of course, watching dolphins swim alongside Nesi!
observing schools of cuttlefish in Grenada and snorkeling the Sculpture Park;
swimming with sea turtles in St. Vincent;
enjoying a volcanic mud bath in St. Lucia;
seeing countless sea stars in Martinique;
Cocoa plantations and chocolate factories;
my first Thanksgiving!
and just exploring the mesmerizing coral reefs throughout the entire journey.
All is not just “roses and rainbows” as Sabrina sometimes says. Every step of the way, different challenges confronted us, and I had the privilege of being part of them to learn how to problem-solve on a boat.
First, a rat intruder came aboard in Trinidad while Nesi was tied up at the marina. Trying to catch it took 5 whole weeks, and took a massive toll on our serenity—especially Sabrina’s, who could probably write an entire book about the experience!
Spoiler alert: Sabrina eventually caught the intruder, and we held a special funeral ceremony—not only to say goodbye, but mainly to celebrate the return of peace of mind! 🙂
Our very first outing on the boat brought an unexpected crisis — the engines were running in gear, but the folding props didn’t open! The propellers had got completely covered in barnacles, so they provided zero propulsion, and we were dead in the water, adrift. Watching Kristian and Sabrina handle the situation with such professionalism was truly inspiring and gave me a deep sense of calm, knowing that the weeks ahead on the boat would be safe and fun.
Another challenge was the 5 day haul out for Nesi — mainly to replace the propellers (good thing!) but also to get rid of the barnacles that had gathered on the hull for two months in the water. Scraping the barnacles off was surprisingly fun, as was painting and cleaning the boat. After about two weeks of preparation, we finally got back in the water, ready to start our first trip.
The Boat Teacher role
Being the girls’ teacher was one of the greatest highlights of the trip. In truth, they taught me far more than I could ever teach them—through their snorkeling skills, vivid storytelling, independence, and confidence on the boat. They are among the brightest, most adventurous, and most fun children I have ever met.
Some of my favorite activities with them included:
Snorkeling and building canyons and volcanoes out of sand I was a bit anxious before my first snorkel with the girls, as I didn’t have much snorkeling experience myself. That anxiety quickly disappeared when they showed me just how confident and capable they were as swimmers and snorkelers. The same went for paddleboarding or simply swimming around the boat. Building castles, volcanoes, and canyons on the beach became a long-lasting and creative learning activity—especially when the girls happily left their beach toys behind and built incredible things using only their imagination.
Learning how islands are formed Volcanoes were a major topic during the trip, mainly because many of the islands have active volcanoes and because the girls’ fascination with them grew during their previous travels. Play-Doh became our go-to material for building volcanoes, combined with baking soda, food coloring, and vinegar to demonstrate magma eruptions. The girls were thrilled to see how an island can form from a seamount eruption.
Creating the Sun and the Moon and demonstrating orbits There is already a globe on the boat, and thanks to a book they read with their dad (in Portuguese), the girls are very interested in the solar system. We created the Sun using a blown balloon covered with kitchen paper and lots of messy paint (of course 😄). The Moon was made from crumpled paper with dark spots, wrapped in tape. And voilà—something simple turned into a fun and memorable demonstration of the Earth–Moon orbit.
Exploring islands and local chocolate factories
Most of the islands are famous chocolate manufacturers and it’s the best school taking the girls there showing them where chocolate comes from and how it’s made! They loved snacking on raw cacao fruit! The same way seeing animals in their natural habitat which they can see everyday observing the water animals but it’s also fun to get inland and observe local animals, in Tobago we got to see and learn a lot about hummingbirds!
Learning about the invasive lionfish The lionfish is an invasive species in the Caribbean. To explain what “invasive” means, we cut out paper fish and turned it into a storytelling activity. We also played games in the water, where I was the lionfish and the girls had to find ways to get rid of me—by becoming sharks, fishing me out, or spearfishing me. My favorite moments, though, were the stories we created during long sails, when the girls’ imaginations ran wild with ideas about how lionfish arrived, how to prevent their spread, and how to reduce their numbers.
Playing card games We especially loved Cover Your Assets, Monopoly Deal, and Sleeping Queens. I adore board games, and the girls do too! They happily play games designed for older children, and since math is one of their favorite subjects, the games quickly became competitive. Naiyah and Kaiana play like professionals—so smart that I often asked them for advice, whether we were on the same team or not. Playing with them never feels like playing with little kids; it feels like playing with serious players.
Making up sailing stories The girls have wonderfully vivid imaginations and love beavers and their tiny LEGO guinea pigs. We made up stories about guinea pig and beaver sailors while sailing, which made long passages fly by. Sabrina is an incredible storyteller, and this is clearly one of the many gifts the girls inherited from their amazing mum.
Creating posters for each island we visited The girls keep two journals: one travel journal for their adventures, and another where they each write one sentence per day. I loved creating posters with them for each island we visited. We started each day—after hugs, LEGO time, breakfast, and stretching—by writing the date and country in their personal journals, along with one daily affirmation to set a positive mindset for the day.
Cooking Arepas
The girls love cooking and were thrilled to help me prepare traditional Venezuelan dish I introduced to the boat. The girls can prepare scrambled egg, bake muffins or cook arepas for you! They are great cooks, just like their mum! 😉
Every day on Nesi is an adventure. Every day is meaningful, enriching, and a blessing. You never get bored, that’s for sure! This journey became one of the most intense and self-evolving experiences of my life. I still pinch myself in disbelief that this was my reality for those months!
Not only the family themselves but also all the guests that came aboard are great people to spend time with. Reflecting on the day’s stories during dinner time and the appreciation for the whole trip with each group was one of many highlights.
What a privilege to live this—and what an honor to be chosen as a teacher by a family where respect, communication, love, adventure, fun and dance parties are the norm.
Love you, Sabrina, Kristian, Kaiana, and Naiyah. See you again soon.
This was our first time in a giant river! Once we arrived in the Amazon Basin, everything changed dramatically.
We sailed overnight from the sand dunes of Ilha Lençois, then up the river into a tropical rainforest…
We went 50 nautical miles up the river = 8hours at 6 knots… it’s a loooong way! We couldn’t even see the other side of the river, it’s immense.
It’s our first time seeing rain clouds and dense forest in a month… The sand dunes and dry sunny conditions of northern Brazil are now behind and we’re officially in the rainforest Equatorial region. It’s super tricky, but we manage to time the currents to arrive before sunset at the dock in the periphery of Belem.
Checking out of the country was challenging because we had received a non-standard extension of time, while we were in Fernando de Noronha. But the Belem officials were gracious and everything worked out.
On our way out, we couldn’t time the currents, so we stopped overnight in the river village of Soure, which turned out to be a highlight, with water buffalos, bike riding, ceramics, and river estuaries. Then we sailed 3 days to French Guyana.
lateJuly 2025 ~ Within 2 months of our visit, two sailing yachts wrecked on the sandbars of Ilha dos Lençois — so it is no joke!
There are many shifting sandbars and deceptive currents in this remarkable island. It’s known to be safe and dangerous at the same time. How is this possible?
To safely approach Ilha dos Lencois, we took our navigation seriously. Navigation comes in 2 parts: Preparation (what we do in advance) and Presence (what we do in the moment).
Preparation is basically an attempt to visualize all possible futures — peering into the crystal ball. When will the wind and tide and sunlight align for a best condition for safe entrance? What’s our backup plan, what does that look like? Curiosity (and some degree of anxiety) are very helpful to motivate preparation. It drives us to collect information (sailor resources, study charts, tidal info) and try to make a decent working Plan. Not forgetting, of course, that the “plan” is simply a roadmap that might (will) be changed.
Presence is where the “rubber meets the road” . We need to rely 100% on observation and instantaneous response, based on intuition, experience, and the knowledge gained from Preparation. Watching the wind & waves, the clouds, the depth sounder, the charts, reviewing notes. Preparation is the guide book outlining a plan; Presence is the guide that, in the moment, alters the plan.
We sailed overnight from Atins, and arrived just after 10am (with good lighting) in the region littered by sand bars surrounding Ilha Lençois; and entered on the incoming tide (in case of running into a sand bar, the tide is rising!)
Disorganized seas confused us at first. Eyes go from chart to reality and back. Is that an unmarked sand bar? Why is the water color an odd milky seafoam green?
We pick our way into the estuary of Ilha dos Lençois, rewarded with an incredible experience: like anchoring in a calm river with mangroves on one side, and magnificent sand dunes on the other.
We reveled in the surreal light that plays on the dunes. We spent a few night, visiting the village, kayaking through the mangroves — it was relaxing and wonderful.
If you missed our community Zoom call — or just want to know our recommendations for DIY Galapagos tours — read below.
First off: the Galapagos isn’t as expensive as you’d think. There are affordable options (ie. staying in the inhabited towns), as well as super expensive ones (ie. doing cruises by boat).
It’s going to be our 3rd time sailing through this magical archipelago so we’d like to share our insights.
Galapagos is 600 miles offshore of Ecuador, and is intersected by the equator.
You’ll need to fly to Quito or Guayaquil. We recommend Quito — it’s arguably safer and more interesting. There’s tons of stuff to do if you have time in the Andes.
As a ballpark, some flights SFO-Quito are ~ $550 roundtrip.
Then you’ll fly Quito to Santa Cruz Island (GPS airport code), about $200 roundtrip. The airport is located on Baltra island, a taxi ride through the highlands to the town of Santa Cruz.
Some people fly directly to San Cristobal which is an interesting option if you’d like to spend time there.
This shows the 4 inhabited islands of Galapagos with red underline. This shows the Fast Boats (aka ferries) between the islands in blue, and the flights from mainland Ecuador in orange.
INHABITED ISLANDS
There are four towns / inhabited islands in Galapagos:
Santa Cruz Island is the tourism hub. Puerto Ayora is the town/main harbor. There are over 12,000 people living here — it’s a happening town! Being central in the archipelago, most boat cruises leave from here. There are ferries aka fast boats going from Santa Cruz to the other three inhabited islands. We recommend:
Free activities: Playa Tortuga, Playa La Station (in front of Charles Darwin Center)
Top Day Excursions (paid): Scuba in Gordon Rocks (best) or Scuba North Seymour / Daphne (also excellent). Las Grietas and Charles Darwin Center.are both affordable but have an entrance fee.
Aerial view of the small town of Puerto Ayora with Las Grietas in back, Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
San Cristobal Island is the administrative, sailing, and surfing capital. Puerto Baquerizo Moreno is the town/main harbor. There are around 7,000 inhabitants – it’s built up, but fairly quaint and walkable. We recommend:
Free activities: Loberia, Carola, Puerto Chino (camping yourself)
Top Day Excursions (paid) : 360 tour includes Kicker Rock (snorkel or scuba) and other beaches
Aerial view of the small town of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno with airstrip and its beautiful beaches, San Cristobal, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Isabella Island has a very charming village called Puerto Villamil, with about 2000 people. It is located on the largest island, but it’s a lot of new (impassable) volcanic terrain. There are sandy streets, very charming place. The geography is incredible.
Free activities: see flamingos in town, walking to nearby beaches, snorkeling Concha Perla.
Top Day Excursions (paid): Kayaking in las Tintoreras, boat trip to Los Tunneles (one of our favorites), and the volcano Sierra Madre is also amazing.
Floreanna Island has the smallest village, with only about 100-160 inhabitants in Puerto Velasco Ibarra. It has a mysterious history captured by the documentary “Satan comes to Eden” and is very fascinating. Free day excursions include hikes to local beaches.
Free activities: walking around the beaches.
Top Day Excursions: Highlands tour, Isla Champion, Corona del Diablo
UNINHABITED ISLANDS
The other islands are all 100% National Park and require boat cruises to visit. Some of the top ones are Fernandina / western Isabela, Santiago/Bartolomeu, Floreana north side, Genovesa, Espanhola (especially during Albatross season May-November) and the scuba diving islets of Wolf & Darwin.
Visiting the uninhabited islands is the premium experience in Galapagos — seeing the land and animals in the most raw & pristine state — but the boat cruises are expensive, from $500/person/day to $1500/person/day, depending on quality of service.
HOW TO ORGANIZE YOUR TIME
Try to see at least 2 or 3 (if not all 4) inhabited islands. You’ll want minimum 3 days per island, at a fast pace, to account for transit time with the ferries.
If you can afford it, add a 5-10 day boat cruise to the outer, uninhabited islands.
We’re super excited to cruise the Galapagos this coming year and share it with other families! See our trip schedule http://www.greencoco.org/#schedule
PHOTOS FROM OUR LAST TRIP
Pictures follow from our visit in 2016 and 2017 aboard SV Aldebaran on the original Green Coconut Run.
Wondering what Nesi is like inside, what are the cabins like? The cabins have a taste from all our travels– including woodwork from Madagascar, plants from South Africa, crystals from Namibia, and sheets from Brazil! We’re really proud of how they feel.
One awesome thing about Nesi – a 60ft Fountaine Pajot Eleuthera – is that the rooms are very adaptable / modular. Double beds can split into twin singles; the vberth can even be a bunk bed for two kids. The cabins each have little adjoining doorways for connecting parents and kids, if desired. It’s a perfect space to host families. (Cabin details summarized at bottom)
Admittedly, it only looks this nice just before guests arrive ! We have to be grateful for our guests, for motivating us to clean!!
Enjoy the boat tour:
GUEST CABIN DETAILS:
Port Vberth – single or bunk bed. Has standing room, no bathroom.
Port Fwd Cabin – only a double bed. Connects via little door to Port Vberth
Port Middle Cabin – double bed or twin singles. Connect via little door to Port Aft Cabin
Port Aft Cabin – double bed or twin singles. Small size cabin, less floorspace.
July 2025 ~ We had an unbelievably great time in the north coast of Brazil. It was so exciting to explore this part of my home country (Capt K was born in Rio)!
Unusual for Nesi, we had no co-op visitors during this period. The reason is that customs & immigration in Brazil has been very unfriendly to cruising sailboats, and left us completely unable to plan our schedule, in the face of too much uncertainty.
In exchange, we welcome 5 work-trade crew members aboard to help us with boatwork, the kids, our videos, and business development. It was a very international crew: Egypt, Madagascar, Germany/Namibia, USA, and France were represented! More on these great crew members later.
The first stop after the heavenly island of Fernando de Noronha was Galinhos, off-the-beaten path destination near Natal (read about these two places in our last post). Then we sailed overnight to Paracuru, a random little town along the coast where we had organized to pick up a package … the things that we must coordinate as sailors!
Paracuru:
Paracuru was an unpretentious, “real” town, non-touristy, just doing its thing. We enjoyed the visit but the wind wasn’t any good for kiting. Then we sailed overnight to Jericoacoara, which was the exact opposite!
“Jeri” as locals call it is an end-of-the-road sandy point which has attracted an impressive amount of visitors for its beautiful dune scenery, party-goers for “feet in the sand” dance clubs, and lots of kite/wing foilers in the steady trade winds. The narrow alleyways through the town are charming, creative artwork spills everywhere, but the quads and 4×4 trucks and touristy crowds are a bit hectic. The anchorage was quite rolly and the tides are extreme, we had to dinghy thru lightly breaking mini-waves, it was challenging! So we only stayed one night, before carrying on to the gem of the coastline: Atins.
“The best can also be the hardest” — this was the case in Atins, which has an infamous rivermouth to navigate. Very few sailors make it into this river due to the chaotic breaking waves. We hired a fisherman as “pilot” to guide us thru the entrance, and it was still a nail biter! But spending a week in Atins was one of the highlights of our time in Brazil, like dropping into a forgotten village with lots kitesurfing and great people.
We had an unforgettable lunch where we kited to the sandy peninsula, in the middle of nowhere surrounded by sand and sand alone, and had amazing shrimp pastéis. We kited offshore downwind through the surf to the Lençois National Park and met our crew and kids in the truck. Rode in butter smooth lagoons surrounded by dunes. Unreal!
This coastline left such fond memories in our heart. So much adventure, challenge, fulfillment, and fun. The desert kiting and remote rivermouths in Brazil’s north coast are worth seeing!!
Up next: we sail to Ilha dos Lençois and onward into the Amazon Basin!
Meggane comes from France, and has experience in outdoor education AND teaching children French. A perfect fit! Learn more below about her favorite teaching activities, experience with life aboard, and the Green Coco Expedition.
See here more about the boat school + teachers that have been aboard
Where did Meggane meet us?
Nesi was inside the rivermouth of Itacaré, a bohemian surf town in Bahia, when Meggane arrived. It’s one of our favorites spots! It is surrounded by Atlantic rainforest, water-sports & health loving folks, samba music and safe, good vibes.
Itacaré Fresh Fruit DrinksRivermouth anchorage (Nesi at back)First Day at Sea! Wahoo!
Meggane quickly settled in with the kids and the boat space (she has even worked on a commercial fishing boat in Australia) so it was all smooth sailing.
What does Boat school aboard Nesi look like?
The intention is for school daily at 9am-12:30pm, lunch break, 1:30-2:30pm wrap-up activities, followed by play time in the afternoon.
However, since the boat is always moving into new places, the dynamic is always changing!! Meggane did a great job adapting to these 3 environments:
SCHOOL DURING PORT DAYS: This is the easiest. When Nesi is docked or anchored between trips, daily school happens as planned 9-12:30pm , usually onboard or at a friendly restaurant on shore; followed by beach time and nature exploration in the afternoon.
SCHOOL UNDERWAY. When we are sailing at sea, it really depends on conditions, If it’s calm enough, we do 1.5hr of school, otherwise the girls like to do arts & crafts, imagination stories, play Legos & magnetic tiles (these are their daily staples!)
SCHOOL DURING CRUISING TRIPS. During our guest trips (as shown in our schedule) we’re always doing loads of fun stuff !! Example: when the Darling family & Dan (co-op members) visited for the Recife-Noronha leg. During these times there’s A LOT of distraction, plenty of people aboard, and we are exploring exciting places every day. Nevertheless we try to squeeze in 1.5hrs of school in the day, in between excursions and playing with other kids; with occasional full school days when guests do their own thing. It’s a lot to juggle, but it’s fun!
A few highlights from our Recife to Noronha leg with co-op guests follow (see reels here):
3000 nautical miles from Brazil to Caribbean
It’s a LONG WAY to the Caribbean, with tons of awesome spots (and challenges). On this route we got a huge variety of conditions.
CENTRAL BRAZIL: After Itacaré, Meggane joined us during a special time — we were visiting Captain Kristian’s mom, dad, and sister who live in Bahia! Then we sailed 3 nights to Recife, which was wild and wooly riding cold fronts up the coast to Noronha (see This Post to get a sense of things)
NORTH BRAZIL: we sailed offshore 2 days to Fernando de Noronha in blustery seas for a glorious week visit. Then it’s time for the “turbo-chargers” as we ride 25kt winds downwind for 1000 miles past the big “corner” of Brazil: Natal’s Cabo San Roque. This is the area of giant sand dunes, world class kitesurfing, river mouths like Galinhos, Jericoacoara, Atins, Ilha Lençois. So memorable!
AMAZON BASIN: we sailed 50 miles into the strong, tricky currents of the Rio Pará to reach Belem with its misty forests and water buffalo in Marajo. What a crazy contrast.
AMAZON TO FRENCH GUYANA: We checked out of Belem (a very complex story for another time) and had the most blissful 3 night 500nm sail… except for one mega-squall that smacked us bad at midnight with 35kts. We had a wonderful rest at the Iles du Salut in French Guyana. I didn’t know this is actually a “department” of France (like a state) and technically it’s the only EU land in South America! The EU space program is hosted here, since it’s near the equator.
FRENCH GUYANA TO TRINIDAD & TOBAGO. Finally we had a very SLOOOOW 5 nights with no wind to Trinidad, expected due to the Intertropical Convergence Zone (a band of disturbed air around the equator) plus Hurricane Erin in the north was sucking all the wind out of sight, and causing occasional 25kts squalls headwinds, to add injury to insult. Typical equatorial chaos!
TRINIDAD. After long days and too much motoring, we finally pulled into the large island of Trinidad to dock Nesi at Peakes marina for a maintenance period and wait out the hurricane season safely – insurance requires us to be south of Grenada for hurricane season (which they very conservatively estimate as June 1- November 30). Now it was time for boat work and the kids flew back to Brazil to spend time with Grandma Susie.
What an awesome trip and unforgettable experience that we shared together. Meggane was truly exceptional in her ability to adapt to all the different environments and give the girls a consistent, learning presence.
Thank you Meggane , we love you!
Captain K & Sabby
———————-
About Meggane:
Hi! I’m Meggane and I’m from Lyon, France. I’ve spent the last 14 years traveling, living and working around the world. Even though my main profession is teaching, I also work with animals, agriculture, fishing, and even construction of eco-friendly houses …The world is a playground for learning!
Thoughts on life aboard:
I spent the last few years living in my van, so the boat life was easy to adjust to. I particularly enjoyed spending time with our crew of friends from all over the world — Dophaise from Madagascar, Karim from Egypt, Alex from Germany/Namibia, and Kaitlyn from the USA.
L to R: Dophaise, Sabrina, Naiyah, Kaiana, Kristian, Karim, Kaitlyn, Alex, Meggane. This was our passage crew from Brazil to Caribbean
Aboard Nesi, I also really enjoyed the incredible nature that constantly surrounded us. Whether underwater or on land, we were almost always immersed in nature, and I loved observing the fauna and flora evolving as we sailed up the coast.
A huge highlight, of course, was my time spent with the girls. I loved everything about our days together. They are two funny, creative, joyful, and positive little souls.
One big challenge was the long working hours on the boat — there is always something to do on a boat! Between school time, cooking & community tasks, and even night watches, it was tough to find personal time that I’m used to having. This certainly took some adjusting!
Highlights from Sailing:
Amazon
Ilha Lençois
Ilês du Salut
Phosphorescence in Trinidad
Our arrival in the Amazon was so special to me. After spending time around the vast sand dunes of the Brazilian coast, sailing along the Rio Pará, with its lush forests surrounding us, tropical birds singing from every direction, and meeting the welcoming and cheerful locals, it all felt so heartwarming.
I also really enjoyed kayaking through the mangroves at sunrise on Ilha dos Lençóis. It was such a magical moment, watching the colorful ibises in the calm, peaceful morning!
Ilha dos Lençois
I absolutely loved our stop at Îles du Salut. After several days of open ocean sailing, arriving at such a breathtaking place was truly unforgettable. It was fascinating to learn about these islands, rich in history, and to walk through their incredible jungle. I really enjoyed discovering this amazing part of France that, unfortunately, I hadn’t known much about before. It opened my mind to the French overseas departments and prompted me to do some research on these places that aren’t talked about enough in France.
Iles du Salut
Speaking of magical moments, I’ll never forget swimming in bioluminescent waters while anchored in Chacachacare, Trinidad. The water was glowing, the girls were dancing in it, and we even went snorkeling, feeling like superheroes in that glowing night!
Arrival in Trinidad – Celebration!
Favorite Activities with the Kids:
French
Learning from Nature
Arts & Crafts
Storytelling
Below is a detailed look at each of the above 4 activities.
French
One of my main goals with the girls was to help improve their French skills, in anticipation of their upcoming family reunion in Martinique. They already had a small foundation in listening and speaking French (thanks to Zoe and Ian), which made it easier for me to continue building on it.
We had so much fun learning — through games, creative activities, and exploration — that they didn’t even realize how much they were learning along the way.
French Field Trips
One of the best ways to practice French is to simply get off the boat (away from English speakers), head to the beach, and play in the sand — all in French. The girls are so imaginative and full of creativity! Every time we were on the beach, we’d come up with a new story together, and they could go on for hours — digging a river, building a castle, a volcano, a beaver’s lodge, or burying my feet, pretending they were little creatures trying to breathe and escape their sandy “prison.”
Imagination has no limits… and with it, we added so many new French words to our vocabulary. I always spoke to them in French, but I never expected them to answer only in French. Most of the time, they’d use or repeat some words or small sentences— which was already amazing! The goal was to immerse them in the language, help them realize how much they could already understand, and celebrate every little French word or sentence they gave me. It was all about making them feel proud and confident.
Frenchgames
Games are another great way to learn. Every new game I brought on board was introduced and played fully in French. I would explain everything in French (with lots of gestures when needed!), and if the girls didn’t understand, they’d just ask, which they are good at doing.
One classic game any French child knows is “Le jeu des 7 familles”. It was one of the first educational games I brought, and the girls absolutely loved it. It’s fast-paced, easy to understand, and allowed us to work on several areas:
Animal vocabulary and their habitats (ice floe, jungle, savanna, house, desert…)
Fun facts about each animal
Counting
Games also teach the kids useful card-related expressions, such as:
Pioche une carte (Pick a card)
C’est ton tour (It’s your turn)
On est une équipe (We’re a team)
Other games we play in French:
Uno – for practicing colors and numbers
Cactus – card game focused on math, calculation and memory
Dobble – fast-paced vocabulary practice
The Smurfs memory game – excellent for learning adjectives (like Le Schtroumpf Farceur, Gourmand, Bricoleur…)
Similo – working on animals, similarities and differences
What I really like about these games is that they are quick to play, can easily fit into any part of the day, and most importantly, the girls loved them. Thanks to the repetition built into the games, we were able to pick up new vocabulary very quickly.
Legos
The girls are absolutely obsessed with Legos — they can build, destroy, and rebuild for hours! One day, instead of interrupting them for school, we turned Legos into school.
We turned the table into a pretend Lego store. I laid out all kinds of Lego pieces in front of me (different shapes and colors), and the girls had to “shop” for parts to build a car.
That’s how we introduced shapes, new colors, prices and questions you could have to ask at the supermarket:
J’aimerais le petitLego bleu.
Le carre?
Non, le petitrectangle.
Ok, ca coute 8 dollars.
Et le Lego plat, vert clair?
They looked at their coins, counted, calculated, and gave me the “change” for my payments 🙂
This activity was so complete — and they were having so much fun, they didn’t even notice they were working on so many skills, such as:
French vocabulary (colors, shapes, questions, numbers)
Math and basic operations
Observation, anticipation, teamwork, and planning
We also did something similar with coloring — one of us would be the “shop owner” with markers, and the other had to buy colors to finish a drawing — all in French.
Body parts in French
Here’s another example of a fun vocabulary activity.
We drew a giant kid on a piece of cardboard. I wrote names of body parts on small pieces of paper, which the girls would draw from a “magic box.” I’d read the word out loud, and they had to stick the label in the right spot. As a reward, they could color that body part!
Another variation was sticking the labels on my body — which they found hilarious, especially when it came to funny parts like teeth or elbows!
LEARNING FROM NATURE
Aside from French, we also learned biology, science, math, writing, reading, music, and arts.
The Green Coco world schooling approach is to learn from nature & culture around us — which I absolutely love.
Example: on a beach day, we found many sand dollars on the water’s edge. We picked some up, (dead ones), observed them and we became so curious about these fascinating creatures, asking: What do they eat, where do they live, how are they structured?
This curiosity led to a a Sand Dollar Project, including:
Research about sand dollars and their family
Making salt dough and creating sand dollar models
Exploring fine motor skills and artistic expression
Comparing them to similar species
Learning about their common traits and differences
We then connected our next activities to that one, to learned about other species from the same family (starfish, sea cucumbers, brittle star…).
Everything around us can be the source of inspiration, if we just follow our curiosity!
ARTS & CRAFTS
I loved our craft afternoons — painting, building, drawing… filling imaginations with color.
One activity I particularly enjoyed was making macramé and micro-macramé bracelets with the girls and two of our young guests during our Fernando de Noronha trip.
Macramé is a craft technique that involves knotting cords or strings to create decorative patterns and designs. Micro macrame uses the same technique but with thin cords or threads. I thought it was a great way to learn knots — a useful skill on a boat!
The girls were very focused and created beautiful patterns. The 9-year-old visiting the boat with his family even went further and made a water bottle holder!
STORY TELLING
Story telling is an incredibly creative activity. The first time we used the Dixit card game, with its beautiful watercolor illustrations. Each of us picked a card that inspired us. I would usually offer a card showing a character, and the girls would invent details about them — name, origin, personality, hobbies…
Then, we’d connect the characters. We’d ask: Did they know each other? Would they meet? What happened next?
As our imaginations flowed, we’d draw more cards, sometimes picking blindly, sometimes choosing intentionally — and our story would continue to unfold!
The first time we played (and the next too!), we couldn’t stop, we played the entire morning.
Over the three months, we kept returning to the game, adding inspiring cards from other games. We created so many amazing stories together!
FINAL THOUGHTS
It’s hard to pick favorite activities — it’s truly been an incredible three months with the girls. I loved everything we did together. We turned every activity into a game, and every game into a learning opportunity.
I’m deeply grateful to have shared Kaiana and Naiyah’s daily life. We had so many unforgettable moments, and I learned so much from them! These two beautiful, free spirits reminded me every day that learning doesn’t need walls or desks: it can happen anywhere, at any time, when curiosity leads the way.
Kaiana and Naiyah — keep being your amazing, joyful, creative selves. Stay curious, stay playful, and keep being excited about life and the world around you.
The world is a playground for learning. You can prove it every single day!
Do you dream of sailing tropical islands on an amazing boat with a stellar group of people, while running an innovative, nature-based education program?
We are a sailing cooperative called Green Coco. We have a 60 foot catamaran, hosting families and adventurers in 7-14 trips while we sail around the globe. We launched this Expedition in 2014, starting in the Seychelles Islands, as a world schooling voyage. We are a family of 4 with twins age 6 (very soon!)
We operate like a world schooling hub at sea: with a liveaboard teacher (3-6 month contract) we host co-op members and visiting families and kids. The focus range for teaching purposes is 5-9 years old, but we welcome guests of all ages.
We have space for a teacher in the Caribbean through the Panama Canal to Galapagos (November 2026 through March 2027) and then in Hawaii (April 2027 through July 2027). See our Rough Gameplan.
Interested in coming aboard as a guest? Have kids? Please check out our pricing options for guests in this post.
THE POSITION: EXPEDITION TEACHER
We are looking for a teacher who is:
passionate & enthusiastic, dynamic and is excited to turn travel experiences into teachable moments.
Emotionally attuned and very present
Has experience with kids aged 4-10, and embraces a whole child approach (à la Montessori, Waldorf, experiential learning style)
Loves the outdoors and teaching using the natural world
Preference for native speakers of French, Spanish and English.
Email to expedition@greencoco.org a simple intro video about yourself (casual selfie is fine, 2 min max) and a basic resume (list of your relevant jobs, education, experiences, references).
Read below for more details on the positions, and check out all the posts from all our previous teachers.
Our Caribbean schedule has been fully booked for ages… but some cancellations just occurred! This is a rare opportunity for families who dream of visiting these super expensive islands, at a fraction of the retail cost.
Dates Available
March 11-17, 2026. Virgin Islands
March 20-26, 2026. Virgin Islands
May 17-23, 2026. Bahamas
You might be wondering: “how much are charters usually“?
Retail Rate: $25,000. That’s the approximate retail price for a fully inclusive, specialty charter trip in the Virgin Islands or Bahamas for 7 day trip with captain & chef on a 55-60ft catamaran for 6-7 people, in the high season (Dec-Apr). Not including alcoholic drinks, park & mooring fees, airport transfers. This is at the upper end of the spectrum. See moorings.com for comparisons.
Green Coco: affordable & authentic options
Similar trip as above (except we are way more real than charter operations!) for 6-7 people for 7 days.
Public rate: $16-19K. Our public rate is around 25% less than the Retail Rate — we’re able to do this by keeping our overhead low. Booking available immediately.
NewMember rate: $12-15K (save $4,000). Our new member rate is 30% less than our public rate. Requires membership application and video chat, takes ~10 days and $400 one time fee, then booking is available. Options for increasing discounts, shared cooking, work trade.
Investor rate: $6-9K (save $10,000). This is our best deal: 1/3 the retail charter cost! Plus investor perks, free passages, last minute discounts. Process takes 2-3 weeks and involves contract, then booking is available. Limited availability. See this post for options.
BOOK OR INQUIRE: send us an email to expedition@greencoco.org
We’ve run authentic cooperative sailing voyages for over 11 years in more than 13 countries and 3 oceans! We just sailed from East Africa (starting in Seychelles) to the Caribbean and we’re heading to the Pacific in late 2026. See the gameplan here.
The Expedition is a learning voyage by sailboat, with 15 years planned as we circumnavigate with an onboard teacher and visiting guests, who join for 1-2 weeks at a time. Captain Kristian & First Mate Sabrina welcome you aboard with their twin girls (age 6 very soon!).
Visiting families are welcome to integrate with our kids learning activities led by onboard teacher.
Guests are invited to explore one of our workshops:
Sailing 101 for Cruising the World
Breathwork for Free Diving & Heart Health
RIE parenting for empowering kids and harmony at home
NVC communication for empathy and effective problem solving
Cooking Off Grid for deliciously easy DIY bread, yogurt, sushi + more
In the Naturalist style of 18th century explorers… we send physical letters filled with art & wonder to families around the world. Check out our Expedition Letters and subscribe, support this educational project bringing inspiration to kids!!
And don’t forget to check out our latest blog posts here:
We heard about this surf-rich zone in Madagascar… and we decided to find out for ourselves…!
When we first launched Green Coconut Run in 2015 we were a bunch of surf-hungry adventurers.
We wanted to sail though Central America and across the Pacific to the South Seas in search of waves. And that we did!
Although our focus has shifted over the years to sharing the Cruising Life — ie. visiting dreamy islands, paradise beaches, snorkeling, wind & watersports — it was very exciting to reconnect with our surf exploration roots during this Madagascar leg.
Enjoy this vid — we have hopes to make this experience available to others in the future. Stay tuned!
Interested in joining us in the Caribbean? Off the beaten path in Venezuela or Colombia? The indigenous San Blas islands enroute to the Panama Canal? The Galapagos? Or Hawaii and Alaska?? Read on … !
[Boat Shares are available for a limited time — this is the most affordable and best way to get involved in the Expedition. Read more here. Most Green Coco trips are 5-14 days with up to 3 cabins available]
Nesi in Atins, a kitesurfing paradise on the north coast of Brazil.
Celebrating this victory
Friends, first we need to celebrate the slight miracle of Nesi arriving in the Caribbean, after just a year and a half. Since early 2024, we voyaged thousands of miles around Africa, while hosting dozens of guests, doing repairs & improvements to the boat underway. It was non-stop, full-on for 18 months. We are so happy & proud that we succeeded in this huge goal.
From our starting point in the Seychelles we went south via Madagascar, South Africa, north thru Namibia, west across the Atlantic to Brazil, and then up to Trinidad in the Caribbean… a long way, with a lot of different conditions, awesome experiences & challenges to overcome.
What’s up ahead ?
Our next phase in the Expedition is very exciting. Caribbean in 2026. Then the vast Pacific in 2027, from north to south. Check the details below.
Caribbean
Starting in November 2025 (which marks the end of the Hurricane season in the Atlantic) we will start cruising up the Caribbean chain of the Antilles islands — from Trinidad, Grenada, Martinique, Guadalupe, Antigua, St. Martin, to Virgin Islands.
Until April 2026, here are available cabins:
1 CABIN AVAILABLE. BVIs roundtrip. February 19-25, 2026 (7 days) Highlights: Snorkeling, island hopping, kitesurfing
1 CABIN AVAILABLE. BVIs ➜ Guadeloupe. April 7–18, 2026 (12 days) Highlights: Snorkeling, kiting, island cruising, visit French friends in Guadeloupe
After May 2026, we have a few open trips available:
3 CABINS AVAILABLE/PRIVATE BOAT. St. Vincent ➜ Grenadines. May 17–23, 2026 (7 days). Highlights: Snorkeling, Grenadines cays, kite surfing, island variety
This is going to be an exciting exploration of off-the-beaten path locations in the southern part of the Caribbean. We’ll also visit some well known spots like Bonaire & Curacao for diving.
Here are the available trips in Venezuela/Colombia (see complete schedule):
3 CABINS AVAILABLE/PRIVATE BOAT: Trinidad ➜ Bonaire. Oct 1-14, 2026 (14 days). Highlights: Remote Venezuelan islands, coral reefs, diving, fishing, island exploration, kitesurfing. Difficulty: Black Diamond Run(overnight sail 3x)
3 CABINS AVAILABLE/PRIVATE BOAT: Bonaire ➜ Curaçao. Oct 19–24, 2026 (7 days). Highlights: Great diving, Dutch island life, kitesurfing. Difficulty: Blue/Green Run(easy calm conditions with 1 five hour sail)
3 CABINS AVAILABLE/PRIVATE BOAT: Cabo Vela, Colombia. Nov 8-14, 2026 (7days). Highlights: Kitesurfing trip to remote Colombia coast of Bahia Hondita, desert cultures.Difficulty: Green Run(easy calm conditions)
Famous among sailors as one of their favorite destinations in the whole world — due to the mix of indigenous culture, paradise beauty, and amazing snorkeling and kiting.
Here are the available trips in San Blas, Panama (see complete schedule):
2 CABINS AVAILABLE: Cartagena ➜ San Blas (Panama). Nov 24–Dec 5, 2026 (12 days) Highlights: UNESCO sites, diving & snorkeling, island hopping, indigenous island cultures. Difficulty: Blue/Black Diamond Run (only 1 overnight sail).
3 CABINS AVAILABLE/PRIVATE BOAT: San Blas roundtrip (Panama). Dec 7-11, 2026 (5 days) Highlights: San Blas diving & kiting, remote exploration. Difficulty: Green Run(easy calm conditions)
3 CABINS AVAILABLE/PRIVATE BOAT: San Blas ➜ Colon (Panama) Dec 13-21, 2026 (7 days) Highlights: San Blas diving & kiting, remote exploration. Difficulty: Blue Run(5-6hr daysailing)
This world-renown location will be a memorable experience! The transit is reportedly beautiful as it crosses a fresh water lake and traverses through rivers, in between the many locks that make the Canal possible.
3 CABINS AVAILABLE/ PRIVATE BOAT: Panama Canal Transit (Colón ➜ Panama City). Dec 23-29, 2026 (6 days).Highlights: Panama Canal transit. Difficulty: Green Run (easy calm conditions – requires line handling athleticism)
3 CABINS AVAILABLE/ PRIVATE BOAT: Panama ➜ Galapagos. Dec 31, 2026 – Jan 13, 2027 (14 days). Highlights: Las Perlas Islands, potential stop at Malpelo. Difficulty: Black Diamond Run (4 night passage)
This is one of the most remarkable naturalist destinations in the world. Rarely have we felt more “intimate” with animals as we’ve been during our previous visits to Galapagos. We look forward to exploring these wild islands together.
PORT STAY. 3 CABINS AVAILABLE/ PRIVATE BOAT: San Cristobal, Galapagos. Jan 17-20, 2027 (4 days). No sailing. Nesi is moored in harbor, acts as home base.
PORT STAY. 3 CABINS AVAILABLE/ PRIVATE BOAT: San Cristobal, Galapagos. Jan 23-26, 2027 (4 days). No sailing. Nesi is moored in harbor, acts as home base.
PORT STAY. 3 CABINS AVAILABLE/ PRIVATE BOAT: San Cristobal, Galapagos. Jan 30-Feb 2, 2027 (4 days). No sailing. Nesi is moored in harbor, acts as home base.
CRUISING TRIP. 3 CABINS AVAILABLE/ PRIVATE BOAT. San Cristobal ➜ Isabella Island, Galapagos Feb 6-14th, 2027 (9 days). Special permits required at additional cost, please inquire. Dates subject to change.
CRUISING TRIP. 3 CABINS AVAILABLE/ PRIVATE BOAT: Isabella Island ➜ Santa Cruz, Galapagos. Feb 19-28, 2027 (10 days). Special permits required at additional cost, please inquire. Dates subject to change.
PASSAGE. 3 CABINS AVAILABLE/ PRIVATE BOAT Galapagos ➜ Hawaii. Mar 6-Apr 3, 2027 (30 days). This will be a remarkable 4000 nm passage with generally favorable winds, normally fast sailing!
This will be an opportunity to see the Hawaiian Islands in a whole new way: from the ocean, Green Coco style! We’ll explore the anchorages, live among the sea creatures, visit land for hikes and cultural visits.
Trip Schedule to be determined. Contact us if interested.
ScreenshotScreenshot
Alaska – British Columbia – Channel Islands
Wait, Alaska? Here’s the thing. Our aim has always been to bring Nesi to California for a season. We studied the pilot charts and couldn’t find great options from Panama Canal going up the coast of Mexico — it’s upwind 2500 nautical miles, with the Baja Bash being the crux. So we decided to follow the wind… even though it’s a BIT out of the way, haha…
The more we looked into it, the more excited we got… Alaska looks like such an amazing place to visit by boat (in the summertime!)
If the plan holds, here are the potential stops we’ll do in Alaska & British Columbia:
Yukutat
Glacier Bay
Sitka
Petersberg
Ketchikan
Haida Gwaii
Shearwater
Tofino
Trip Schedule to be determined. Contact us if interested.
Screenshot
After California our plan is head back south towards French Polynesia and the South Seas enroute to New Zealand. But that’s further down the road!
Here’s the upcoming route map:
We encourage you to check out our Boat Share opportunity, available for a little time: Read more here.
A few Expedition investors are selling their boatshares. This is a rare and limited opportunity. If you’re interested in coming aboard Green Coco (affordably) somewhere in the globe, read on!
PurchaseBoat Shares: $5K for 20 days or $8K for 40 days
Boat Shares are the best value for sailing with Green Coco Expedition.
Not only do you get credits for cabins — you also get investor perks:
free passages (no cabin fees)
last minute super deals
much lower change fees
ability to re-load credits at low rates after trips
chance to stoke out your friends with cheap rates
Your credits (ie. 20 days or 40 days) can be used to cover your cabin fees. 1 credit gets you 1 cabin/day on the boat up to 2 people. You can mix & match your credits.
For a private boat, reserve 3 cabins. Otherwise it is a shared boat.
Food fees are additional, and co-op membership is optional. See MoreDetailsbelow.
Background on Boat Shares
With 13 years experience in community expedition sailing, Green Coco is the specialist in this field. Starting in 2012, we hosted hundreds of people throughout California, Central America, and the South Seas, while operating both a classic 42ft trimaran (1968) and a modern 46ft catamaran (2000).
In 2023, we launched Green Coco Expedition , a world schooling circumnavigation. To acquire Nesi, the 60ft catamaran for the voyage, we used a community financing approach: 80 investors bought boat shares.
Curious? Request the Investment Proposal & Community Agreement: Email expedition@greencoco.org
During the last 2 years, we accomplished huge milestones. We purchased Nesi and moved aboard in Seychelles. We retrofitted her for off-grid sailing (a giant ongoing job), and successfully navigated the challenging route from East Africa across the Atlantic to the Caribbean — all while hosting families and guests and onboard teachers for the kids.
Between 2024 & 2025: we ran ~30 different trips with ~ 100 guests throughout Seychelles, Madagascar, South Africa, Namibia, and Brazil. Trips are 7-14 days segments along the voyage. We mostly host investors & members, with a handful of public trips. It’s been an amazing experience for all!! (Check all the action on this blog or our instagram)
Purchasing boat shares now represents a fantastic value as the project is significantly more developed.
We’re excited to welcome new Green Coco members to experience this transformative lifestyle.
2026: We’ll sail the Caribbean (see the schedule for available trips) from Virgin Islands, Grenadines, all the way to Bonaire, San Blas, and Panama Canal.
2027: We’re visiting Galapagos, then Hawaii, and then summertime in Alaska & British Columbia, ending the year in California. Yep — we’re gonna have to install a heater system aboard Nesi.
2028 onwards: Channel Islands of Santa Barbara, Baja’s Sea of Cortez, French Polynesia, then heading west across the South Seas… our goal is to go as far as Indonesia’s Coral Triangle and then re-evaluate…
If you’re interested in joining us in any of these destinations over the years, we encourage you to consider purchasing boat shares in the expedition.
I was the boat teacher on the Green Coco Expedition aboard catamaran Nesi this last April-May in Brazil.
A little about me… I’m Australian-American from Colorado, and spent my childhood summers on the Great Barrier Reef. I’ve always had a passion for swimming, diving, and marine life. I studied Psychology and Film in school and later earned my Master’s in Education. I taught first grade on the island of Kauai for two years before trading classroom life for travel.
🎥 –> Watch this short reel 👇
About my top 5 favorite activities during my time with Green Coco in Brazil!
How it all began
When I saw Green Coco’s teacher post, it sounded like the perfect opportunity to connect my passions of traveling and teaching.
From the moment I boarded Nesi, I was welcomed with open arms. I quickly became part of the crew and boat family.
Kristian motivated me to try new things and taught me lots about sailing. Sabrina brought a creative spark to the kitchen and was always a kind, peaceful presence in daily life. The girls were playful, curious, intelligent, inquisitive, and avid explorers. They brought so much light and joy to our days aboard Nesi.
Every day on Nesi is an adventure – from exploring the Brazilian coast to taking turns on night watch and experiencing the beauty and hard work of boat life. Watching the girls light up & engage with the world around them gave me a renewed sense of excitement for the wonders of this world.
As Nesi’s boat teacher, we enjoyed many educational activities at sea. We focused on foundational skills in reading, writing, and math but always took time to learn from and be inspired by our surroundings.
About my top 5 activities:
#1. Tadpole Discovery to Frog Lifecycle
While in Ilha Grande, we came across thousands of tadpoles. Sabrina brought a few back to the boat, and we watched seven of them transform into frogs. It was an exciting “experiment” for everyone aboard- kids, crew, and guests. We explored the frog life cycle, observed them under a microscope, and watched them evolve right before our eyes.
#2. Native Birds: From endemic species to the pirates of the sky
We studied Red-Billed Tropicbirds, Masked Boobies, and Frigatebirds. We observed them in their natural habitat, visited protected bird islands, and reflected on the experience through journaling and art.
#3. Wild Animal Encounters: Spinner Dolphin
While cruising with guests around the beautiful Ilha Grande, we came across a pod of spinner dolphins. This sparked lots of curiosity, so we paused our regular lessons to deep dive into learning about dolphins, countershading, and dolphin anatomy.
#4. Journaling from experience
Each place we visited was incredible, and journaling gave us a chance to slow down, reflect, write, and appreciate our surroundings. The girls observe mountains, cultural landmarks, and lighthouses- all from their back deck.
#5. Bingo with Shells
We have some young readers aboard! We made a simple reading activity more engaging by using shells collected from around the world to try to make their bingo. By using shells and a bingo format, the girls were able to read many new CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words!
Honestly, the girls have taught me a lot as well: how to be a good sister, how to share exciting moments with others, how to find joy in the little things, and how to always treat others with kindness.
Sailing up the coast of Brazil from Angra dos Reis, Rio de Janeiro, Abrolhos, to Itacaré (in the state of Bahia) was truly incredible — what an array of different places and experiences. Excited to do it again in the future in whatever ocean Nesi is sailing through!
Until next time,
Tess
Captain K’s Notes:
The above map shows our route with Tess in Brazil (see our schedule here). Tess first met us in Paraty after we finished a series of trips with extended family there. We cruised around Ilhas Grande with a family group who just joined the co-op as new members (with twin girls too!) ; and then with another group in Angra dos Reis who have been onboard several times.
After hosting those families in super idyllic cruises, we had a series of tough passages going north to Rio de Janeiro with our crew mates Dophaise and Karim; a week of boatwork; then onward to Abrolhos archipelago for 3 nights at sea, where we spent several days exploring the bird & marine reserves.
Finally we did another 2 nights to arrive in the coastal surf-town of Itacaré, navigating through our first rivermouth in Brazil with a pilot, where we spent 5 days anchored, before visiting my family just up the coast in Peninsula de Maraú.
In Itacaré, Tess said farewell. She overlapped a day or two with our new boat teacher Meggane (who comes from France), and plans to sail with us until the Caribbean.
Thanks for everything Tess, you rock! The girls made a TON of progress with writing & reading with you. All of us will miss you!!
…. and here’s a quick plug for Tess’ Travel Journal, a super cool product that she made to help her travels, and now she sells this to other travel enthusiasts. Check it out:
As my love for travel has grown, I created a small business to share one of my favorite tools for exploration and reflection- a travel journal. It’s filled with interactive, travel themed content including journal prompts, trip planning pages, travel reflection, and maps. The journal is currently available on my website and on Amazon if you’d like to check it out!
How do we ride the ups and downs of a 15 year circumnavigation? The first year was a battle around Africa. Now in our second year, we are licking our wounds, enjoying the gold of Brazil’s calm & beautiful anchorages 😅🏝️
Read our newsletter about the Pirate history in Brazil and how we’re now reaping the rewards of this great cruising coastline… and preparing for the next phase in the Caribbean.
Highlights:
Our latest crew included another set of 4 year old identical twin girls (!), and all types of visitors young and old.
Don’t miss: your chance to win a FREE TRIP: subscribe to Expedition Letters.
The history of colonial Paraty’s wealth, downfall, and revival
While we were sailing through Madagascar last year with our onboard teacher Joelie, we thought:
“Wow how amazing to share with kids all these cool Lemurs & Chameleons & Zebus we are seeing — but geez why does EVERYTHING have to be online these days?? Imagine reading the hand-drawn notes of 18th century naturalists, what a different experience that was!”
Wait…
What if we could re-create that? After all, who doesn’t love receiving letters in the mail, with cool art and inspiration from Nature around the world?
Hence the idea of Expedition Letters was born — hand made, sent to your home every month by snail mail!!
We also want to BRING letters subscribers onboard, to experience actually sailing with us on Nesi!
So we’re giving away one boat trip, along with some fun souvenirs from our travels, available only to Expedition Letter subscribers. Plus, you can increase your odds of winning by purchasing additional raffle tickets for $20 each!
RAFFLE – DEADLINE MAY 15
WANT TO SUBSCRIBE OR LEARN MORE? See here, $10/month or $100/year.
All the proceeds go towards our production costs for the Letters.
The Artist behind the Letters
Joelie spent 4 months with us sailing from Seychelles to Madagascar. Read about her experience aboard Nesi teaching our kids here. She lives in Western Australia. Thanks Joelie for doing a great job with these beautiful creations!
Good luck to everyone ….
and thanks for supporting this Green Coco educational project!
Quick links
RAFFLE – DEADLINE MAY 15
WANT TO SUBSCRIBE OR LEARN MORE? See here, $10/month or $100/year.
We had an amazing crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. The total time from Walvis Bay (Namibia) to Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) was 32 days, with 7 days being anchored in islands of St. Helena, Trindade & Martim Vaz). Distance covered was 3500 nautical miles, which equals an average speed of 5.8 kts. Pretty great considering the wind was so light and mellow 🙂
Our arrival in Brazil was really, really special. I’ll have to write more about this soon! 🙂
Now we are preparing for our sail along the coast of Brazil and then onwards to the Caribbean. We’ve had a lot of issues with customs & immigration in Brazil (it’s easy to stay 3 months, hard to stay longer); so we only got 5 months permit for Nesi in the country. As such we had to change our itinerary, and we update it in our newsletter below (or see our schedule here).
Check out the latest newsletter on this link. If you’d like to subscribe to receive our future newsletters, click here.
If you’re interested in joining our trips, check out our schedule here.
During the last 6 months we had a stellar teacher aboard Nesi: Ian Bacon from Chicago (UCSB recent grad- go gauchos!!). He was aboard during the toughest sailing stretch we’re likely to have for a loooong time. We knew this was the case, so we wanted to find a super amazing person for the role… And guess what? We got very lucky 🙂
Here’s the story — and read at bottom for Ian’s impressions of life aboard & his favorite teaching activities with the girls.
Our goal: to SWIM across the Prime Meridian, in the middle of the ocean!! The prime meridian is the imaginary line of 0 degree Longitude, which divides Western and Eastern Hemispheres.
Haha this is admittedly a very random goal, but such things happen a week into a passage, I guess 🙂 There’s plenty of traditions about crossing the Equator, but not for the Prime Meridian… until now!
It deserves credit…. after all, the story of Longitude is fascinating. Longitude was a monumental problem that vexed navigators for centuries.
Latitude was relatively “easy” to calculate using a sextant, which measures the angle between celestial bodies (sun, stars).
However, Longitude calculations were basically guesswork. This caused countless shipwrecks , since vessels found themselves dozens of miles from where they presumed to be.
The invention of chronometer watches in 18th century finally gave navigators the tool to calculate Longitude reliably – by seeing the exact difference between their time and Prime Meridian time. This requires very precise astronomical observations. And guess who was at the forefront of this? The Royal Greenwich Observatory in London.
Hence it was no big surprise when delegates of 25 nations in 1884 agreed to establish the Prime Meridian as Greenwich, which had the most reliable data in the world at the time (the French disagreed and used Paris as the prime meridian until 1911 when they finally joined the rest of the world).
This supremacy in navigation technology helped the British become the largest empire the world has ever seen, and helped English surpass French as the world’s diplomatic & commercial language.
We crossed the Prime Meridian — this deeply important yet curiously arbitrary line — with our swim, in perfectly calm conditions, with Nesi adrift. And of course, followed by a cup of English black tea 🙂
DAY 7. Mahi Mahi transcendence.
The end to an amazing day… the breeze returned, we were cruising all day under spinnaker going 6.5kts, grilled burgers & pineapple in the outdoor BBQ … then at sunset we got a double hook up of mahi mahi…! Jumping and sparkling yellow- green-golden, skittered above the waves, what fighters! What fish! What an honor to land one and make get excited about a fantastic meal.
Day 9. Arriving by Sea: St Helena Island
After 9 days of open ocean & sky it is a delight to see land. Slowly she comes closer into detail. First just rocky shapes , then colors, then trees! This slow unveiling is like a brilliant wine, savored, unhurried. There’s nothing like making landfall by sailboat. St Helena island, mid Atlantic.
Nesi
DAY 10. Jamestown, St. Helena
Known as Napoleon’s final exile & deathbed. But this large island in the middle of the Atlantic is full of surprises.
It was protected tooth and nail by the British, as a critical reprovision station on the clipper route from Europe around Africa to India.
The island’s perimeter is absurdly dry, but the interior valleys are surprisingly lush. Ultra steep volcanic rock everywhere. The few landing places had massive fortifications built of stone into cliffs to ward off enemy ships.
Like a countryside English town plopped into a tropical island. The stone buildings are stout and charming, built into the narrow slots between the steep slopes. British pounds are accepted, no credit cards or ATMs . A feeling of stepping back into time.
DAY 11. Napoleon’s Tomb
Napoleon – the famous Emperor who navigated France out of the post revolution chaos, was wildly successful, then lost it all with one terrible decision – marching into the Russian winter and losing nearly 1/2 million men.
Then he was exiled to St Helena Island, this little mid Atlantic rock we are visiting, under close British supervision until his death.
What a story of hubris, ambition, and over reach. Amazing to walk down history lane and see his tomb and home-in-exile with our own eyes
DAY 12. Freediving St. Helena waters
40ft down in Saint Helena island 🏝️ 🇸🇭 with a wreck of a 1911 ship that was enroute from England to Australia and caught on fire so the captain ran her aground and there she lays to this day in shallow water
DAY 13. Catching a Nice Wahoo
Wahoooooo! Final gift from St Helena. Every day here I feel a kinship to the sailors from clipper ships who used this island to provision in centuries past. We are walking in their footsteps. Provisioning with blessings from the sea, ready to embark on the next leg of the journey… to Brazil 🇧🇷 !!!
Our Expedition Letters are about to ship
Sabrina is in Brazil with the twins getting our Letters project up & running. We hear that they’re going to arrive in mailboxes next week. Support our artist Joelie and support the Green Coco video productions: $10/month for custom hand made awesome educational materials from around the globe, delivered to your home. Learn more here: www.greencoco.org/#letters
Would you like to sail the world, explore beautiful islands, live on an amazing community boat, while helping create an innovative program?
We are a sailing cooperative called Green Coco with catamarans run by sailing families. We have space for a teacher and videographer in Brazil and Caribbean 2025 & 2026 aboard 60ft Nesi (with Kristian & Sabrina) and in French Polynesia aboard 46ft Selavi (with David & Eleanor).
We are looking for:
TEACHER. A passionate & enthusiastic teacher for kids age 4-10, who embraces a whole child approach. Preference for native speakers of French, Portuguese, and English. Duration: 1-6 months.
VIDEOGRAPHER OR SOCIAL MEDIA EXPERT. Someone who loves capturing and editing videos, and/or has social media skills. Duration 1-6 months.
Email to expedition@greencoco.org a simple intro video about yourself (casual selfie is fine, 2 min max) and a basic resume (list of your relevant jobs, education, experiences, if you have a career mission statement). Videographers/social media experts: please share a portfolio or similar. We will also need 2 references, which you can supply later, don’t get bottlenecked with this.
Read below for more details on the positions, and check out all the posts from all our previous teachers.
In February 2024, we moved aboard our 60ft catamaran Nesi in the Seychelles with the help of Zoe (read her post here)
We worked non-stop, full-throttle for 2 months, suffering with the summer equatorial heat, running two very eventful “shakedown trips” with co-op members, and doing a million repairs & projects on the boat.
Joelie arrived in April 2024, just as we frenetically prepared to leave the protected waters of Seychelles. No time to waste… when she arrived, I gave her a drill and screwdriver and we started installing solar panels.
Catch our daily updates on our Community site (free enrollment required) or on @greencocosailing
Preparation: Kids depart, Last Minute Repairs, Provisions
We had 3 weeks in Walvis Bay, Namibia to prepare for the Atlantic Crossing but it just is never enough. The girls & Sabrina said farewell to Nesi and flew back to Brasil with Grandma & sister Sammy — we had an awesome road trip which we’ll share later.
Upon my return, it was non-stop hustle to do repairs on the boat. The diesel fuel tank had a leak; major job. The starboard engine was still giving us alignment issues; major job. The new lithium battery banks needed more protection; major job. And endless minor jobs.
Our deckhand & electrician Dophaise played a key role, as he has done in the last 4 months. He has been a massive help, but we had to say good-bye as his time with us came to an end. He got a work-exchange job at a local farm near Windhoek, Namibia’s capital. His journey to find work abroad continues!
Provisioning is a HUGELY time consuming. This is a task that Sabrina does so well, and without her, our steward & first mate Ian Bacon and I would now have to figure it out. It took us multiple days to shop & pack the boat with multiple shopping carts worth of food, for 5 people aboard 33 days across the Atlantic (assuming we won’t provision in St. Helena Island, in the mid-ocean).
DAY 1: Our Atlantic Crossing begins!!!
Such a frenzy to prepare the boat this last week- repairs, provisions, documents.
Yet we managed to leave on the 13th of Jan with our co-op guests Kim and friend Shawn, plus my dad Bob and our first mate Ian.
Riding a South wind into the SE trade winds, heading to St Helena island, 1200nm (9 days) to arrival.
We’ve been FLYING ever since leaving Walvis Bay, averaging 8kts.
DAY 2: Towards the horizon
I won’t lie – heading into 3000nm of ocean is intimidating and scary… takes some trust and faith in all our hard work on the boat & experience.
I thank these dolphins for leading us into the big sea with their playful joy 🙂
We did 200nm on the first 24hrs- over 8kt average. Nesi is flying. 1000nm left for St Helena island.
Night watches were 3 hrs each. Captain K sleeping in the cockpit close at hand, as we wove between some cargo ships and fishing vessels, showing up on radar and AIS.
Full moon popped up thru the clouds to illuminate the ocean.
We are so HERE !
DAY 3: This is what trade wind dreams are made of!
Gentle downwind sailing. Perfection all around. 15kts breeze from ESE. Sailing WNW.
Yesterday was a little nuts with wind shifts and spinnaker tear; gotta pay the dues. Today repaired the small rip (caught on spreaders while furling).
I’d like to report to my land-bound wife @sabby_sirena that although our cabin is still utter mess from our departure chaos, we did clean the bathrooms and galley and are keeping a hawk’s eye on food spoiling. Make you proud honey.
We’ve already gone 1/3 of the way to St Helena— less than 800nm to go. yeww!!
Day 4: Flipping eggs!
This is how we keep 360 eggs unrefrigerated during our trip 🙂
Managing food is a major part of a passage or expedition. Try making wholesome healthy food for 5 people for 34 days without going to the grocery store! Here’s how we’re trying do it:
Fresh Food. In Walvis Bay Namibia, we filled 4 shopping carts worth of fruits & vegetables, meats & cheeses, dairy & eggs. Divided this into 10 baskets, 3 fridges, and 3 freezers. Produce is ideally fresh from a farmer’s market, unrefrigerated, which lasts much longer. However, the Namibian desert isn’t exactly a farmer’s paradise, a lot is imported from S. Africa, so we had an extra challenge with that.
Provisioning. There’s the equivalent of about 15 shopping carts of food packed into Nesi’s cupboards & bilges; these require shelves and plastic bins with labels and easy access. About 3 months worth of food. There’s stuff from every country in there: Seychelles, Madagascar, South Africa, Namibia. Try to keep track!
Food Management. The worst is to let food go bad. Each food category needs careful attention. Heard of the saying “one bad apple spoils the bunch”? The superstition that bananas are bad luck aboard? Nope, it’s not true, but there’s a reason for all of this!
How to deal with each of these food categories is in itself a fascinating story. Ever since our first days on Aldebaran crossing the Pacific from Galapagos to Pitcairn (21 days, 4 people, with just 1 mini fridge!) we’ve learned a lot.
In our modern world of refrigeration and ready access to groceries 24/7, we’ve lost the knowledge of food storage & preservation needed for off-grid living. We like bringing it back little by little, because it’s super cool, and hey, might be good to know someday.
Day 5… Broken Oven, Slow Spinnaker
We are going so slow its like we are walking across the ocean … it’s very relaxing haha .
3-4kt boat speed today with spinnaker just barely staying in the air. With zero wind yesterday we even stopped the motor for a quick swim which was delightful, the water is getting warmer, entering the tropics properly!!
Our power is ample with 2.5kw of solar ☀️ and new 800ah lithium batteries 🪫. This is fortunate because the gas burner in the oven is malfunctioning, so we are using the electric backup (which mows thru power. The oven thermocouple disconnected from the wire, i fixed it, not sure why it still is broken.)
No surprises here, everyday something breaks, usually small things… it almost seems like a law of boating. We are bobbing along. We had a massive egg & bacon breakfast to keep the crew morale up 🙂
Catch our daily updates on our Community site (free enrollment required for Public Updates; co-op membership required for Private Member site) or on @greencocosailing
Don’t forget!
Deadline for our Expedition Letters Launch is January 20, 2025 — you’ll receive a raffle ticket for a FREE boat trip (if you’re one of the 50 first subscribers); and option to nominate a teacher to receive the letters. These our monthly delivered by snail mail to your house, ideal for families, kids, and schools.
Greetings from the mid Atlantic!! We left Walvis Bay, Namibia, and we’re heading to St. Helena Island then Brazil.. It’s going to be a 30+ day trip. Hard to believe we are plunging into this vast ocean with 3000 miles ahead. More news on this tomorrow, stay posted 🙂
But first — we’ve been working hard to bring the NEW Expedition Letters to share with kids & families. Please subscribe and spread the word (deadline January 20th), read more & sign up on this link.
Just $10/month for awesome handmade 4 page letters full of beautiful art, delivered by snail mail to your home!! Digital PDF only version also available. Subscribe here.
BIG BONUS: the first 50 subscribers get a free raffle ticket for a chance to win a boat trip 🙂
REFER YOUR FRIENDS: you’ll get an extra raffle ticket for each person you refer who signs up. So spread the word and boost your chances of winning.
PLUS: sign up by January 20, and you can nominate a teacher to get a FREE subscription for 1 year. Stoke out school kids with adventure travel stories they can touch and feel.
Read more about the artist behind the Expedition Letters – Joelie Russel from Western Australia. How did this come about? Learn here. Your subscription helps support her art & work.
Be sure to subscribe to our channel, and if you’re a family with kids, sign up for Expedition Letters here. These are awesome (screen-free) complements to our video series, you’ll love ’em. If you sign up by January 20, you’ll get a chance to nominate a teacher to receive our monthly Letters for free! Plus a chance to win a free boat trip.
