Do you want to know what it is like to own a yacht in St. Lucia yet sail other yachts around the world? Frank and Katie, owners of the Sunsail 444 "TomKat", have a home base in St. Lucia, however, having been in the program since 2014, they have spent time sailing in all parts of the Caribbean and beyond. But what I found the most interesting about the couple’s time in the program is that not only have they enjoyed plenty of owner use, bringing along friends and family, but they have also provided their daughters with sailing time so that they could share amazing sailing experiences with their friends too!
To Share or Not to Share?
If you are feeling generous and want to give the gift of sailing, one of the perks of the Sunsail Yacht Ownership Program is that you can let your adult children use your owner time, should you deem them worthy. As Frank revealed, “One of our daughters sailed out of St. Lucia to Bequia, Mustique, Union, Mayreau and back to St. Lucia. She and her friends said 'It was the trip of a lifetime!' Both daughters joined us on a trip to Belize. They loved the fishing, the snorkeling, and the fresh lobster. We were there during the beginning of lobster season. The lobster was plentiful and the price was great.” He continues, “One daughter is just about to finish up with her veterinary residency program and her schedule is not flexible. Because she had to miss a few sailing trips, she will be making a choice of destination after her graduation, which may be the Seychelles.” Could you think of a better way to celebrate such an accomplishment than spending a week or two sailing in a faraway archipelago?
Short Notice, ASA Certifications and Sailing St. Lucia
When receiving an opportunity to engage with our owners, it is always interesting to learn how they make the Yacht Ownership Program work for them. Frank and his family admit that they appreciate a nice mix of the different opportunities. “We do a combination of everything as Sunsail Owners. We have sailed out of St. Martin a few times and down to Nevis and St. Kitts. We are going to Croatia in September to charter out of Dubrovnik. I got my ASA certifications using my owner points early in the program so I could have to ability to sail the Mediterranean. For the upcoming trip I went ahead and booked an extra week in Croatia and I will try to book a week of short notice, but if that does not work out we will enjoy a land vacation for a week.” Frank continues, “We are going back to the Caribbean in two weeks to sail from St. Lucia to Grenada and back. We will spend seven days going south and nine days sailing back north. The first time we went from St. Lucia to Grenada and back we did it in 14 days but we are going to take a little more time this time. What we usually do is take friends from St. Lucia to Grenada then drop them off and pick up more friends in Grenada for the trip back.”
A Boat is a Boat
Frank and his family are not particular about the specific kind of yacht they will be on, for them the goal is to enjoy sailing, expand their knowledge of sailing and explore new terrain. As he reveals, “We like sailing our boat, but we don’t mind sailing other yachts as well. We are catamaran owners, but we will sail monohulls too. I’ve sailed the Sunsail 50 and the Sunsail 47 monohull. We are just happy to go sailing. One time I got a 38 ft. catamaran. We have also done $400 the cross brand fee on short notice bookings for The Moorings.”
Discovering the Program
As with many of our owners, Frank and Katie discovered the program by chartering yachts in the BVI. But on one particular occasion Frank was walking the docks at the Sunsail base in Tortola when he discovered an Open House event taking place. He ran into a Yacht Sales Agent and the rest is history. They entered the program in September of 2014 and they will be wrapping up in September of 2019. "We are studying the situation. My family would love for us to stay in the program. We had the opportunity to sail the Sunsail 454 and it was a very nice boat, they have made some great improvements. We really like the layout of the galley on the newer model," Frank confesses.
Whatever the future does brings for these owners, it is evident that they will make the most of it, just as they have done during their first four years as Sunsail Yacht Owners.
Do you want to keep up with the adventures of Frank and Katie? Head over to their Instagram account and give them a follow!
