I set out to sail and use as many owners weeks in as many locations around the world on as many different boats as possible. Get max benefits out of my DYC Dreameasy contract. And what happened?
A grand total of 6 days of sailing in Croatia on No Shoes in 2023.
That’s depressing you might say. You could even say that I totally missed the point of owning a boat. I grant you, for 2023 that stands true! Though just imagine I would have owed a boat full time during that period and not use it at all.
From a “glass half full” angle – it wasn’t a boring year by any stretch of the imagination.
In March 22, I resigned from Cathay Pacific Airways after 21 years of service. It was time for a change. A good opportunity for more sailing. Almost.
We decided instead to secure the families future (whatever that means) and purchased a large parcel of land south of Adelaide, South Australia. Let’s build an AirBnB in the midst of one the most beautiful wine regions in the southern hemisphere, do organic farming and be self-sufficient. Totally off grid.
Should be done in a few months, then go sailing!
Then ‘Willunga Ridge – Boutique Accommodation’ was born…
The build is progressing, albeit at sailboat speed in the doldrums. However, the current cost of creating such a setup in Australia is somewhat depleting my savings beyond what I am comfortable with to start retirement. And boats cost money, right?
I needed something to fill up the piggybank … quickly.
The USA currently offers some great opportunities for pilots and admittedly, I missed the flying. So off I went to Miami, Florida.
All that was needed was a new license (#3 by now) and a new type rating.
I have pretty much flown Airbus planes all my life, so stepping foot into a Boeing 747 cockpit needed additional training. Actually, it’s more like a brain transplant. Boeing don’t seem to speak ‘French’.
The strip at NW 36th Street bordering the northern runway of Miami Airport is littered with airline training facilities. Big halls of simulators, crew outfitters, maintenance operators and cheap restaurants. This place has aviation history.
One of the more famous local pubs called Bryson’s has served pilots for well over 40 years. The boss of a not-to-be-named airline operating a fleet of flying boats would walk in and ask who would want to do trip to the Bahamas, he needs crew now. A couple of guys would put down their beers, take the cash and go to work.
Clearly not much has changed. One night, after a week of lessons, simulator flights and tests, I met some former colleagues from Hong Kong. We had a couple of buckets of beers, exchanged war stories and plans of what was in store for us in the future.
It was suggested I should join National Air Cargo, based in Orlando, Florida. So I put down my beer…
Welcome to National Airlines...
After a quick interview with the boss, a start date was organized, even a quick trip back to Australia to get family affairs and the AirBnB-build in order. Then back to the States to start one of the most colorful and exciting flying I have ever done in big planes.
If you didn’t know how to freight “stuff” halfway around the world, you’d better call National. They’d make it happen. If it wouldn’t have been for the excruciating long hours each day / night in the aircraft.
There was a catch though. Due to government regulations, I had to give up my rank as Captain and had to work again as a First Officer. My previous 16000 hours of global flying experience didn’t count in the eyes of the local authorities and they thought I’d need another 1000 hours to prove myself.
This one of the downfalls of a seniority based, local rule controlled industry. Moving from job to job is extremely difficult and costly. But still, fun was had and I made some incredible new friendships all around the world.
Full Circle ...
I am by nature an impatient boy, and the pay at the time just didn’t add up for the efforts put in, so I was kind of excited to receive a recall from Cathay Pacific. They needed captains, now, and offered to promote me to become a training captain at the same time.
This was something I always aspired to. Passing on some of that accumulated knowledge to the younger generations. It keeps me on my toes and allows me to guard some of the more traditional values in aviation, a field of work that has given me so much pleasure over the last 30 odd years.
So I put the US of A on hold for now and flew back to my beloved city of Hong Kong, right back into my old flat, with a side trip to Australia to again check on the progress of the ongoing build of our AirBnB.
At the time of my return, it’s been just over a year since I left Hong Kong and it’s devastating Covid control measures. Whilst the rest of the world has quickly returned to normal (I use that term very loosely here given the current status quo of world tensions and wars), Hong Kong still has a lot of catching up to do.
Plenty of masks wearing people are still prevalent and aircraft of various air carriers are still parked at the corner of airports in the region.
The economy is trying to recover and rebuild. The task of bringing talent back to fill the void is immense. A perfect time to join the training team. Ironically, I re-joind Cathay almost at the exact date as my very original start date in 2001.
Remember the thing I mentioned earlier on about this being a seniority based industry? Well, I now have kids over 30 years younger being senior to me (at least on the staff travel and holiday bidding list).
How does all this fit in with my desire to do more sailing and use my owners weeks with DYC? Paid Holidays. For once at least some of the stars are starting to align.
The AirBNB at Willunga Ridge is almost finished under the relentless stewardship of my wife and No Shoes co-owner. One less thing to stress about. We are open for business soon.
On the sailing front, Dream Yacht Charter has helped by matching available boats in exotic locations around the world with my approved leave, squeezing every last possible sailing day out of my contract.
To keep things fresh, inline with the thought of “change”, I am moving over to the dark side for two of the sailing trips …
Yes, I booked a Sun Odyssey 519 in the BVI and a Bavaria Cruiser 46 in the Seychelles.
Why this crazy move? Well, admittedly, I rather liked sailing on Akuna, a 39′ Sun Odessey here in Hong Kong. So I thought this would be a perfect, last opportunity to try out a big mono before taking home No Shoes at the end of 2024.
It’s probably one of the biggest benefits of having a contract with a very large charter company … options.
And there are always a couple of ‘walk in’ weeks remaining for a sneaky sail in Phuket!
But fear not Davor, I just got confirmation for one last week onboard ‘No Shoes’ in September for a quick reunion and a final sail under your guardianship before the phase out in November.
