Julie joined the original Ocean Nomads Atlantic expedition as a novice and never left. She hitchhiked across the Atlantic herself, made the Caribbean home, and has been building her sailing life ever since. She’ll be onboard for the Ocean Nomads Expedition legs (2, 3, 4) as trip host, welcoming you, helping you find your sea legs, and setting the ON vibes and values at sea.
Hello dear Ocean Nomads!
I just wanted to share a bit of my story and what got me here ☺️
I was very lucky to join the Ocean Nomads community through the epic legs 1 and 2 of the Twister Atlantic trip in October 2022.
This voyage was deeply eye-opening and sooo rich in new experiences and social/emotional connections.
Almost 3 years later, I can now say this trip completely turned my life around. I left Amsterdam after quitting my job at a moment when I was lacking inspiration and had no drive whatsoever to start hunting on LinkedIn and look for another corporate job where I’d sit behind a computer 40h per week.
When I boarded the ship I told everybody I was just taking a “three-month break”. I thought I would end my trip in the Canary Islands and probably by then have enough energy to start looking for a new job, more or less similar to what I had before.
This Ocean Nomad trip brought me all the inspiration I needed and so much more than I could ever imagine!
After meeting Suzanne and getting her book in my hands during the off-watch hours of sailing, I felt the drive to continue the journey and look for a ride across the Atlantic.
And of course after a week of adventures on Tenerife with the amazing Reminy Irene Simon Kilian and Flo, I was definitely longing for more 😍
It was not easy finding a boat, and this experience was actually a journey in itself. Rem and I spent a month volunteering in a finca, getting our hands in the dirt planting potatoes and harvesting fresh food for our meals – not to mention all the pallets we tore apart to help build the wooden outdoor kitchen (and benches 😉). But I was too far from the marinas where boats stay shortly before going to another island or crossing the big pond.
So in January I decided to leave the finca and head back to Santa Cruz to actively (but politely 😇) hustle the pontoons.
Read the full boat search success and failure stories on the Ocean Nomads Network. How I found my sailboat ride, lessons learned, and take away tips
For sure it was not 100% perfect, I had to put aside some important values to be flexible and allow opportunities to come my way, and take time to let the fish catch the fishing I lines threw (metaphorically 😉). But I learnt so much through this adventure!! About sailing and about myself.
Now, 3 years later, I got official papers for sailing as deckhand on traditional sailing ships in the Dutch fleet. I have been super lucky to sail again on the Twister every now and again and I hope to continue doing so.
When I’m not sailing, I’m living and travelling in the campervan that we built together with Ian. Of course I always try to join ocean nomads trips whenever possible and to meet up with other ocean nomads wherever possible 😍😍
My life has nothing stable anymore but surprisingly it doesn’t feel unstable at all 🙊 I once read somewhere that the feeling of safety comes from trusting your ability to survive. During the past 3 years I guess I learnt a little bit more how to navigate with uncertainty and to trust myself day after day. And for that I have to thank Suzanne, Brianna, Paula, Thomas, Nitya, Rem, Irene, Jonte, Saymon, and all the people I met along the way for being such an inspiration ☺️
Hope this story resonates with some of you 🫶🏻 and thanks for reading up to here.
We hope many of you get to meet Julie on our upcoming voyages around the Atlantic Ocean
