My Journey from Midwife to Caribbean Captain
Let me tell you the story of how I completely changed my life: from being a midwife in Berlin, Germany, who delivered more than 700 babies, to the Captain of my own boat in the Caribbean, crossing oceans and exploring the most beautiful and remote places.
When I was 21 years old, my whole life changed completely with the untimely passing of my mom, Sabine, who was fighting cancer for 5 years.
It was devastating but also a wake-up call: life is short! Live it NOW, to the fullest and in the moment. Don't wait for retirement to fulfill your dreams.
I decided to travel more but still worked full-time as a midwife in Berlin's very busy delivery rooms, always dreaming about exploring the world.
(Photo: Me in the delivery room, dreaming of sailing the world)
On one of my travels - on a beach in Mallorca, Spain - I saw sailboats anchored in the bay. Being stuck on the very busy beach, feeling like a sardine in a tin, I thought it must be so fantastic to be on your own boat, have your own space and bring your home to whatever destination you'd like to explore. The sense of freedom that being on a boat promised, inspired me to dream big!
Back in Berlin, stressed and tired from all those busy night shifts at the hospital, I looked up sailing channels on YouTube that immediately fascinated and captured me. I started to research all about sailing. Nobody in my family (including myself) ever sailed or had anything to do with life on the water, so I really had to start from scratch.
I realized that - depending on how you do it - it can actually be very affordable.
I booked a three week sailing vacation in Mallorca, Spain, that included classes with the amazing sailing school Sail&Surf Pollensa for both: dinghy sailing to get started and develop a feeling for the wind, the movement of your boat and how to adjust and trim the sails, as well as yacht sailing.
The yacht sailing classes included theory lessons about all boating basics like the Collision Regulations (ColRegs) that everybody should know about before operating a boat. In Germany, you actually need a license for boats with an engine with more than 15hp, so that was the next step and I did those classes on the Baltic Sea in Germany - which was a bit rougher than the Mediterranean waters during my summer holidays - but a great way to learn!
I did all this during my vacations or whenever I could manage to get a few days off until I got my license and was comfortable to go on my first bareboat charter - which happened to be in the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean. I was hooked!
Ah, there it was—the lifestyle I'd dreamed about for years, the one I'd budgeted and saved for. Finally, it was within reach. While the bareboat charter in the British Virgin Islands had given me a taste of freedom and a proper introduction to life on the water (and those two weeks were truly unforgettable), I knew then and there: I had to commit fully. There was no turning back. I wanted to return to those turquoise waters, but next time, it would be on my own boat!
The dream of quitting my job to sail around the world started to form.
At first, I thought I would just be taking a 1-year sabbatical - but it turned into a more than 5 and a half year journey now.
It is amazing what you can achieve if you believe in yourself, take the risk and just do it!
After quitting my job as a midwife on December 31, 2018, I took a bold leap into a new chapter of my life. I sold off everything I owned and moved onto a boat in Sydney Harbour, Australia, where I spent six months getting acquainted with life at sea. Then, I flew to the Greek Islands, where I lived on a 38ft Hallberg Rassy with my partner at the time. Together, we sailed through the picturesque Greek Islands, as well as several other countries in the Mediterranean, always going west until we eventually reached Gibraltar. From there, I fulfilled my biggest dream: crossing the Atlantic Ocean and arriving in the Caribbean in early 2020.
Over the span of more than five and a half years, I explored 14 countries, bought my own boat, and launched my business as a lifestyle blogger and content creator as 'Sailorgirl Kristina'. All told, I've sailed approximately 10,000 nautical miles, with many more adventures yet to come.
If you'd like to learn more about how to get started and how I overcame my fears of failure, check out my blog post From Fear of Failure to Freedom. Let me take you along this amazing adventure and maybe inspire you to fulfill your own dreams. If I can do it, so can you.
Fair winds,
Kristina