A passion for everything nautical, travel and writing
Boat ownership and sailing can be incredibly rewarding and satisfying. Sharing these experiences with others makes them worthwhile. So I started writing …
Once you get a taste of life on the water, that feeling of freedom and peace whilst at sea, it is impossible to let go. There is no turning back. It doesn’t matter if it’s just a day sail, a holiday charter for a week or round the world cruising … as long as you are on the water!
My name is Nils Gruttner and I spent most of my last 25 years flying people to exotic locations around the world, reuniting families and taking business people to close their next big deal.
Mixed in with that has been a fair amount of recreational sailing, even a few years living on board a 35 foot catamaran in the waters off Hong Kong. I have always held a passion for everything nautical but didn’t move past a windsurfer and canoe until later in life.
Now, as I am transitioning from flying for a living to full-time sailing for pleasure, I discovered another passion … writing.
Trying to balance my constant urge for sailing holidays and the dream of retiring on the yacht with live’s realities of supporting those around me, I started to look into ways to help pay for the yacht and get to sail at the same time. No point waiting for retirement to arrive and losing the dream along the way!
That’s how I ended up buying “No Shoes”, a brand new Fountaine Pajot Helia 44 Evolution. It was to be the last Helia ever produced. We then placed her with Dream Yacht Charter as a bareboat in Croatia. End of contract: November 2024.
This blog is as much about yachts in Charter as it is about sailing experiences, business relationships and locations worth visiting ….
