In August we met Nadiem. He got the last spot on the Ocean Nomads gathering in Galicia. With a few member vessels, we set sail exploring Galicia and simply connect with a bunch of like-minded salty souls. It was Nadiem’s first sailing experience. He hasn’t stopped since. He just continued sailing and now bought his own boat! We are so incredibly proud of him. He’s a beautiful example of “if it can be dreamt, it can be done.’ And he does! Here’s his story.
Let the sea, set you free
Nadiem:
During my third week of walking, I saw a shared post about an Ocean Nomads Sailing Trip in Northern Spain. This trip would start exactly at the same time and in the same area as where I would finish the Camino in Santiago. I always had the dream to go sailing one day, so I signed up and joined the Ocean Nomads Community.
From that moment everything escalated quickly. Initially, I signed up for one week of sailing in Galicia, Northern Spain. This one week turned into 1,5 months and together with some other Ocean Nomads we sailed from Northern Spain to the Canaries on the beautiful vessel Windfall (@intotheunknown.now). After this trip, I fell in love with the sailing lifestyle and I knew I wanted to get my own sailboat. A lot has happened since then. In short, I bought an old sailboat of a new Ocean Nomad Friend Dominic in West-Ireland, after he promised me to sail the boat back to mainland Europe, together. And so we did, and we arrived in A Corona, Spain from Ireland at the beginning of November. I cannot describe in words how grateful I am that Dominic showed up in West-Ireland, and thought me everything he knew about his old boat and gave me the confidence to continue on my own.
This morning I woke up in Nazare, after having sailed solo from Spain into Portugal and I will continue to sail south along the Portuguese coast.
To end, I would like to thank the Ocean Nomads Community, because without them I would not be where I am now. So if you are slightly interested in sailing and perhaps want to join a sailing trip in the future, have a look at joining the Ocean Nomads Community.
Thanks to Sophie Brouwer (Patterns of Life), who inspired me as one of the first sailors and shared a message about the Galicia trip and this Ocean Nomads platform after I just quit my job and was walking the Camino Santiago.
Thanks to Suzanne van der Veeken (Oceanpreneur), who of course put a lot of energy into founding this amazing platform, and gave me a spot on the Galicia summer sail trip.
Thanks to Thomas van Thiel & M.Khalid Ibrahim and everyone who joined Windfall I got to know life on board and ended up staying more than a month on Windfall sailing to the Canaries.
After all this inspiration, I wanted to learn more about sailing and decided to get my own boat.
Thanks to Dom Garben (New among Sailors), I learned a lot in a very short time as I ended up buying his old boat, while he promised me to sail it back to mainland Europe from Ireland. And as a man from his word, he flew to (rainy) Ireland the beginning of November and we sailed the 27ft boat back across the Bay of Biscay (see Dom’s extended post underneath about this crossing) to Northern Spain.
This has been one of the greatest adventures/gifts I ever received. As you know Dominic, I cannot describe how grateful I am that you showed up in Ireland and thought me everything you know about sailing and your old boat. Thanks to you I gained enough trust to continue on my own.
This morning I woke up in Porto, after having sailed the last days from Spain to Portugal on my own boat. I still can’t really believe it, so I guess I continue dreaming.
However, as it is part of sailing (and life), there have been plenty of setbacks as well. But luckily everything has been solvable and has been working out in the end somehow. When I am a bit more settled in with my new life (and in warmer weather), I hope to write it all down one day.
For now, I will continue sailing the Portuguese coast, and maybe make the crossing to the Canaries/Madeira.
I would love to meet more ocean nomads along the way. So if I happen to pass your area, please let me know.
And last but not least, thanks to the universe and the beautiful ocean for making this all happen!
Read more stories, advice, tips, and reflections from Nadiem and other ocean nomads on the ocean nomads private network.
Thoughts? Questions? Comment and connect!
Follow and connect with Nadiem here on the ocean nomads member hub
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